All courses, arranged by program, are listed in the catalog. If you cannot locate a specific course, try the Advanced Search. Current class schedules, with posted days and times, can be found on the NOW/Student Dashboard or by logging in to SiS.
This required, non-credited seminar for Freshman and Sophomore Environmental health Students explores current affairs and controversies in environmental health theory and practice. Readings and outside speakers will supplement short lectures, faculty and student-led discussions.
This course is designed to orient first year Public Health students to the College of Health Sciences and the University as a whole. The general purpose of the course is to help students identify their areas of interest in Public Health and teach students valuable skills that will maximize their likelihood of success in achieving their academic and professional goals. Areas of priority will be time management and study skills, critical thinking, and communication.
Pre-req: Public Health Majors Only.
Public health topics, both historical and contemporary are of importance to all citizens and to societal decisions. This survey course provides a foundation for understanding public health through exposure to current health care and policy issues viewed through the perspective of multiple disciplines. Methodology for understanding population health and developing critical thinking and decision-making skills in the analysis of public health issues using a population-based perspective will be developed. The course will provide an ecological understanding of the causation and prevention of disease with an emphasis on health issues that affect society as a whole.
Pre-req: College of Health Sciences Majors, or Public Health minors, or Permission of Instructor.
This course emphasizes the concepts, philosophy, and principles of public health and their relationship to physical, mental, and social well-being of the community. The focus is on the prevention of disease, the promotion and maintenance of health, and the provision of environmental and personal health services through organized community effort.
College of Health Sciences Majors or Permission of Instructor.
This course focuses on the role health education plays in the development of healthful patterns of living. A philosophy of health education emphasizing holistic health will be generated. The organization and administration of school, community, health care facility, and workplace health education programs are introduced.
Pre-req: Public Health Majors, or Community Health Minors, or Instructor Permission.
This course introduces students to the concept of social determinants of health, and strongly emphasizes the influence of social power relations on public health. There is a focus on how social, economic and political factors affect the level and distribution of individual, community, and population health. Students will examine health and social inequalities and explore potential solutions for their elimination.
Pre-req: PUBH.1021 Introduction to Public Health, and Public Health, or Nutritional Sciences (Nutrition and Wellness option), or Exercise Science (Exercise and Fitness Management option), or Pharmaceutical Sciences, Majors or Minors.
Introduction to research methodologies used in the study of community and environmental health problems. Students will discuss actual research studies conducted by UMASS Lowell faculty in the College of Health Sciences.
Pre-req: Public Health or Community Health Majors Only.
This introductory course focuses on the organization, financing and delivery of healthcare in the United States. Students will learn about the public and private sectors of the healthcare system and examine the effects of market competition and government regulation. Students will be exposed to healthcare systems of other countries. Students will also explore major issues currently facing providers, hospitals as well as the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries in the United States.
Pre-req: PUBH.1021 Introduction to Public Health, and ENGL.1020 College Writing II, or Public Health minors.
This is a survey course that provides an overview of the rapidly growing field of environmental health, through an introduction to the links between environmental stressors and impacts on public health. The course will explore human and industrial activities that impact on health such as overpopulation, food production, air and water pollution, waste, toxic substances, pests, and global climate change. The course will also examine the types of diseases and illnesses that result from environmental impacts. These impacts have multiple causes and understanding these can in turn provide clues as to the most effective prevention options. Students will explore topics of interest in greater detail through short writing assignments. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Social Responsibility & Ethics (SRE).
Pre-req: Public Health Majors or Minors or Permission of Instructor.
This course covers the basic tools for the entry, analysis, and presentation of data in al areas of public health. Central to these skills is assessing the impact of chance and variability on the interpretation of research findings subsequent recommendations for public health practice and policy. Specific topics include tools for describing central tendency and variability in data; methods for performing inference on population means and proportions; and statistical hypothesis testing. Software will be used to analyze health datasets, including relational databases and create graphical presentations of study results. Coursework will also focus on the interpretation of statistics in the health science literature and other communication.
Pre-req: ENGL.1020, and MATH.1280, or MATH.1310, or MATH.2830, or MATH.3630.
This course is the first of a two course series designed to introduce undergraduate Public Health students studying Community Health and Health Promotion to the concepts and principles underlying the planning principles geared toward promoting health and preventing disease in a variety of settings. The course emphasizes practical utility of the concepts as they relate to the students' future health education/promotion professional activities. The foundation of the course will be the skills necessary to conduct a needs assessment and develop a comprehensive program to address a health concern affecting a specific population in a particular setting.
Pre-req: PUBH.2040 Introduction to Health Promotion.
This course explores the uses of a variety of established and emerging health communications strategies, techniques, and modalities. Students will consider the ethical considerations pertinent to the use of assorted health communications approaches in health promotion. The course discusses the concepts of health literacy and eHealth literacy. Awareness and sensitivity toward cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity will be particularly emphasized when discussing various communication techniques in relation to particular health issues. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Written and Oral Communication (WOC).
Pre-req: PUBH.1021 Intro to Public Health, and ENGL.1020 College Writing II, and HSCI.3400 IPE Research Methods, or PUBH.2060 Research Methods in Public Health, and Public Health Majors/Minors only, or Permission of Instructor.
Public health is inherently political because it attempts to characterize and prevent societal factors influencing disease and well-being. As a result, public health professionals must be effective advocates for policies and actions that improve people's health. This course introduces students to the political underpinnings of public health. By studying the political contexts of public health issues, students will explore the interface of government, law economic interests, and social movements for public health. They will learn about the role of advocacy in promoting, implementing and sustaining effective public health policy.
Pre-req: PUBH.3070 Intro to Public Health Policy, and Public Health Majors or Minors Only.
This course is designed to introduce basic epidemiological methods used in the study of current major health problems. Content includes explanation of the scope and focus of epidemiology, simple measures of disease frequency and association used in the study of the distribution and determinants of disease, types of epidemiological study designs, and practical applications. Emphasis on interpretation of epidemiological information and application of findings Prerequisite: Community Health and an elementary statistics course. Required for seniors in Community Health Education; open by permission to other upper division students in Health Professions. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Information Literacy (IL) and Quantitative Literacy (QL).
Pre-req: HSCI.3400 IPE Res Methods, or PSYC.2690 Res Methods, and PUBH.1021 Intro to Pub Health, and MATH.1280, or MATH.1310, or MATH.2830, or MATH.3630, or PUBH.3010 and Pub Health Majors/Minors only, Nutritional Sci, or Pharm Sci, Jr/Sr Majors only.
This course focuses on building health assessment skills of Public Health professionals. The course will introduce students to concepts of Community Health Assessments and guide students to practice skills necessary to conduct them. The course will emphasize the importance of using assessment results to make programmatic and policy decisions and will direct participants in how to communicate findings to allow policymakers, health professionals, and members of the public to take action to improve Public Health. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Critical Thinking/Problem Solving (CTPS).
Pre-req: PUBH.3011 Program Planning in Health Pro, and HSCI.3400 IPE Research Methods, or PUBH.2060 Research Methods in Public Health, and PUBH.2050 Social Determinants of Health.
One of the core functions of Public Health is developing policies and plans that support individuals and community health efforts. This course introduces students to the legal, ethical, economic and regulatory dimensions of healthcare and public health policy. Students will explore local, state and national governmental agency roles in public health policy. Students will learn about the implications of laws and regulations that impact Community Health and Safety.
Pre-req: PUBH.2070 The U.S. Healthcare System, and ENGL.1020 College Writing II, and HSCI.1020 Anatomy and Physiology II, or Public Health Minors.
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of communicable diseases and how humans and the environment affect their distribution and impact. The course will provide an overview of infectious diseases, how these diseases affect humans, vectors and sources of these diseases. The course will also cover infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigation and response as well as prevention planning and bioterrorism.
Pre-req: HSCI.2110 Basic Clinical Microbiology & Pathology, and HSCI.2130 Basic Clinical Microbiology & Pathology Laboratory.
Through a combination of class lectures, field trips, and a service learning project, this course is designed to introduce students to the daily responsibilities of an environmental health professional. The class will provide in-depth knowledge and hands-on understanding of topics such as food safety, indoor air quality, water quality, waste water disinfection, and chemicals management. Through lectures and guest speakers students will understand the challenges facing environmental health professionals and the resources available to them. Students will undertake a final group project for a health board or other organization.
Pre-req: PUBH.2080 Principles of Environmental Health, and Environmental Health or Public Health (BS).
Provides a broad overview of how the design, manufacture, use and disposal of chemicals and chemical products affect health and ecosystems. Provides an in-depth overview of how chemicals are monitored in the environment (including biomonitoring), how their risks are characterized, and the prevention of chemical risks through safer chemical design. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Written & Oral Communication (WOC).
Pre-Reqs: HSCI 2510 Physiological Chem I, HSCI 2520 Physiological Chem II, 31.313 Prin of Environmental Health or Public Health (BS).
The Public Health Senior Seminar prepares public health students for their capstone experience. Students will reflect on their career plans and their current state of preparedness for the next steps in professional development. This course provides an overview of the current state of various professions in public health and the future of public health practice and ethics, both nationally and internationally. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Social Responsibility and Ethics (SRE).
Pre or Co-req: PUBH.3050 Introduction to Epidemiology, and Public Health Majors only, and Senior Status.
This course is the second in a two course series designed to introduce undergraduate Public Health students studying Community Health and Health Promotion to the concepts and principles surrounding implementation and evaluation of programs geared toward promoting health and preventing disease in a variety of settings. This course emphasizes practical utility of the concepts as they relate to the students' future health education/promotion professional activities. The foundation of the course will be the skills necessary to develop an implementation and evaluation strategy for a planned health promotion initiative, taking into consideration the phases of implementation and evaluation, ethical considerations, and resources and skills required to implement and evaluate a successful health promotion program.
Pre-req: PUBH.3011 Program Planning in Health Promotion.
The interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit is integral to achieving "wellness". It is also important to acknowledge the impact each of these three aspects of wellness has upon each of the others. The growing body of research indicating the significant effects of things such as stess, anger, optimism, and healthy relationships on health status will be analyzed and evaluated. Practical strategies related to health advisement will be shared and experimented with during the semester. In this senior level course, we will explore these and many other areas of mind, body, and spirit awareness that are critical to consider when conducting health education programs.
Pre-req: PUBH 3010 Program Planning in Health Promotion, and Co-Reqs: PUBH 3040 Politics of Health; and Community Health or Public Health (BS).
This course focuses upon the communication techniques and mass media approaches necessary to promote and implement effective health promotion programs and activities. Awareness and sensitivity toward cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity will be particularly emphasized when discussing various communication techniques in relation to particular health issues. Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Written & Oral Communication (WOC).
Pre.req: PUBH.3011 Program Planning in Health Promotion,and Public Health Majors only or instructor Permission.
This course is designed to serve as a service learning experience in the fall semester of students' senior year in Health Education. Students will be expected to participate in a pre-determined community health project happening in the City of Lowell for a minimum of 40 hours. During the course of this experience, students will provide the community health organization with their time, knowledge, and effort, and will, in return, gain tremendous experience in the organization, development, implementation, and/or evaluation of Community Health Education and Promotion Projects. Collaboration with various professionals involved in the programs and projects will certainly add to students' understanding of what a Health Educator does! An integral piece of this service learning experience will be the bi-monthly seminar geared toward asuring the connection between the community experience and the theoretical and academic framework from which it is derived Through the use of readings, discussions, student presentations, and guest speakers, students will gain wonderful experience in terms of what it means to "build the capacity of a community". Meets Core Curriculum Essential Learning Outcome for Applied & Integrative Learning (AIL).
Co-req: PUBH.4050 Communication Techniques in Health Promotion and Public Health Majors only.
This capstone is the culminating experience for all students in the BS in public health that allows students to integrate, synthesize and apply the knowledge of public health gained throughout their undergraduate program. This course fulfills the critical thinking and problem-solving essential learning outcome for the core curriculum. It can be structured as a cumulative, integrative and scholarly experience or an applied experience or inquiry project. Each student will craft an experience that is appropriate for his /her professional goals and aspirations. A work experience is a required component of this course. Work experiences must be directly related to the student's major field of study and an integral component of the curriculum. Projects may include internships, research papers, honors theses, or other appropriate activities that apply a range of public health competencies and skills. Students create a portfolio of work and/or research poster for the experience demonstrating proficiency in the domains of public health.
Pre-req: PUBH.4010 Sr. Seminar in Public Health.
The class will introduce students to the basics of public health program administration including planning, evaluation, and management. Through lectures, guest seminars, site visits and research, students will build and understanding of different types of agencies and organizations involved in public health administration and their roles and responsibilities. They will learn the steps of development, implementation, and evaluation of a public health program at a local or state agency. Students will also study basics of the management of public health agencies, including staff management, budgeting, stakeholder engagement, conflict resolution, and risk communication. Students will be required to apply concepts learned in class to a real life public health problems.
Pre-req: Public Health Major, or Minor, or Senior Status.
The concepts of program management including budgeting, managing partner relationships, grant writing, and managing technology resources, and quality assurance which are essential functions for individuals working in public health agencies, are presented. Students will be expected to develop a grant proposal for an agency. This course is an integrative experience and resources form all other relevant coursework will be called upon.
Pre-req or Co-req: PUBH.4011 Implementation and Evaluation in Health Promotion, and Public Health Majors only, and Senior Status.
This course is designed to provide students real world practical experience in the field of environmental health, as final preparation for their BS Degree. This 32 hour/week internship opportunity situates students in an environmental health setting most conducive to his or her needs and interests. Placements can vary from health boards and health departments to non-profit agencies, government agencies, university research institutes, and industry. Students work directly with an academically and professionally qualified preceptor to assure their progress in the field. The faculty supervisor is responsible for periodic meetings and correspondence to also assure appropriate development.
Pre-req: PUBH 4090 Service Learning in Community Health, and Co-req or Pre-req PUBH 4140 Program Mgmt. in Health; Environmental Health (BS).
There is currently no description available for this course.