Chaminade University of Honolulu

School of Nursing & Health Professions

B.S. Public Health

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B.S. Public Health

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Today, more than ever, public health professionals are actively working to ensure the health and well-being of the public as a whole. Make a real difference by earning your bachelor’s degree in public health, one of the most vital and essential industries today as we strive to sustain and maintain healthy individuals and communities in a post-COVID world. As a public health professional, you’ll turn your passion for healthcare and wellness into a career that helps the public at large in areas like health policy, health education programs, preventative care, infectious disease and disease prevention, epidemiology, environmental health (climate change), health data analytics, non-profit health organizations and more. 

Chaminade’s Bachelor of Science in Public Health is designed to prepare you for a significant role in this network of care at a time of double-digit growth in the sector as well as to take the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) examination.

Given the wide range of professional pathways available to public health graduates, Chaminade’s program emphasizes flexibility, allowing you to choose from one of four specializations (tracks) so you can customize your learning around what is most meaningful to you, and help you meet your personal academic and future career goals.

Concentrations
  • Community Health Worker: Excellent preparation for a career in health education, health coaching, epidemiology, public health and policy.
  • Data Analytics: Harness the power of ‘big data’ to improve healthcare, model and predict diseases and inform decision-making and policy, developing an in-demand skill set in a fast-growing area of healthcare
  • Environment and Health: Explore the linkages between environment and health, especially in preventative health, policy and public health.
  • Non-profit: Develop your expertise in healthcare administration in the non-profit sector with a deep dive into the economics, finances and operations of community healthcare organizations.

Examples of public health positions include and are not limited to:

Epidemiologist
Biostatistician
Toxicologist
Behavioral health scientist
Environmental health scientist
Health commissioner

Healthcare administrator
Public policy analyst
Public health adviser
Health director
Global health expert
Demographer

Health educator
Surgeon general
Sanitarian
Industrial hygienist
Maternal and child health specialist
Emergency preparedness professional

Alexandrea Cole Patino ’25 in the Leadership Alliance's Summer Research Early Identification Program (SR-EIP) at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health.

As part of a research project with the Social and Behavioral Interventions (SBI) program within the International Health Department of Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, Alexandrea Cole Patino ’25, has been involved in an extensive literature review of menstrual health and self-care, from menarche (the first menstrual period in a female adolescent) to menopause. The literature review will be used to inform health care educational materials, self-care and more.

Read more about her experience here.

Upon completion of the undergraduate B.S. Community and Public Health degree program, students will be able to:

  1. Utilize public health concepts to assess major health-related needs of diverse populations, addressing social determinants of health, and factors that contribute to morbidity and mortality through the design and development of interventions that promote health equity and reduce disparities.
  2. Utilize evidence-based approaches to evaluate program outcomes and inform decision-making processes that prioritize service, justice, and peace in public health practice, while emphasizing the importance of using data and research to drive impactful, equitable, and sustainable public health interventions.
  3. Analyze public health data using statistical, epidemiological and data visualization techniques, to generate products that support communication and decision-making related to public health interventions.
  4. Investigate basic concepts of legal, ethical, economic, and regulatory dimensions of health care and public health policy, and the roles, influences, and responsibilities of the different agencies and branches of government.
  5. Develop innovative sustainable public health strategies that address complex challenges, promote equity, and contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), while fostering sustainable development practices locally and globally.

View a sample 4-year plan: Public Health

In addition to the general education requirements, these are the pre-major and major requirements below:

Pre-Major Requirements
  • COM 101 Introduction to Communication
  • CUH 100 First Year Experience Seminar
  • EN 101 Intro to Expository Writing
  • EN 102 Expository Writing
Major Requirements
  • AN 340 Contemporary People of Hawai’i
  • BI 105/L Human Biology & Lab
  • BI 131/L Human Nutrition & Lab
  • BI 300 Science Writing I-Research Lit/ Proposals
  • BI 302 Science Writing Sem II-Bioethics & Conduct
  • BI 312 Epidemiology
  • HC 495 CAPSTONE
  • HC 307 Data Analytics in Healthcare
  • ENV 100 Intro to Environmental Issues
  • HC 100 Determinants of Health Across Cultures
  • HC 200 Health Promotion
  • HC 202/L Disease and Illness & Lab
  • HC 306 Disparities & Indigenous Health
  • HC 399 CHES Prep
  • MA 103 College Algebra
  • PSY 101 General Psychology
  • PSY 200 Life Span Development
  • PSY 315 Behavioral Sciences Statistics
Community Health Worker Specialization Requirements
  • HC 300 Health Education Program Design and Evaluation
  • HC 301 Health Education Program Design and Evaluation
  • HC 302 Health Promotion Coaching Strategies
  • HC 303 Case Management
  • HC 304 Telehealth
  • HC 305 Healthcare Economics and Policy
  • PSY 451 Health and Stress Psychology
Data Analytics Specialization Requirements
  • HC 300 Health Education Program Design and Evaluation
  • HC 305 Healthcare Economics and Policy
  • CS 202 Programming in Python
  • DS 101 Data Structures, Data Analytics and the Data Lifecycle
  • ELECTIVE Data Science Elective
Environment and Health Specialization Requirements
  • DS 407 Data Analytics and Visualization for Environmental Sciences
  • ENV 301 Environmental Human Health
  • ENV 400 Current Global Environmental Issues
  • ENV 401 Current Topics in the Environment & Human Health
  • HC 305 Healthcare Economics and Polic
Non-Profit Specialization Requirements
  • HC 300 Health Education Program Design and Evaluation
  • HC 305 Healthcare Economics and Policy
  • BU 200 Introduction to Business
  • MGT 301 Organizational Behavior
  • MGT 312 Organizational Leadership
  • MGT 425 Strategic Project Management
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Faculty

Our faculty members are leaders in their fields. They believe in the power of personal experience—stressing mentorship, collaboration and project-based learning inside and outside the classroom.

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Accreditation

Chaminade University of Honolulu is accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission.