Public Health Program

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health prepares students to immediately enter and find success in the public health environment (community health, health education, health and safety administration) or to pursue graduate studies in public health, public policy, health administration and associated fields.

As a Public Health major, you will explore the history and principles of public health, community health, public health leadership, health promotion, marketing, multicultural populations, health informatics and health policy, all within a rigorous curriculum.

All Public Health majors complete a 150-hour internship with a supervisor who is a public health professional. This provides you with practical learning experiences to complement your studies and prepares you for a smooth transition to employment or advanced studies.

In the community

Public Health students share their research data with the Catt County Board of Health, host info tables at the YMCA, visit InTandem, and more!

View the photo album

Two career-building concentrations

Two new concentrations have created new career pathways for students majoring in Public Health at SBU.

1. Health Education Specialist

2. 3+2 Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy

Meeting a demand for skilled, ethical practitioners

The public health field relies heavily upon its practitioners and professionals to exercise sound judgment and reasoning, which is in keeping with St. Bonaventure's Catholic Franciscan heritage.

We address questions of ethics from a health perspective as part of our commitment to developing knowledgeable, skilled, compassionate and ethical individuals who value individual dignity, community inclusiveness, and service to others.

The public health field is booming and in constant need of new professionals. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of public health service managers to grow by 18 percent over the next several years, and an 11 percent growth rate for health educators and community health workers. The demand for bachelor's level health professionals is particularly high, notes the Educational Advisory Board.

Public health offers a variety of career positions, depending on your interests and skills. There is a need for community health workers, disaster preparedness coordinators, environmental health specialists, health educators, health promotion specialists, and public health program coordinators.

More than 12 percent of Americans live below the poverty level and more than 8 percent of them have no health insurance, statistics that support the steady demand for professionals. As a public health major you will be prepared to address these and other challenges facing the public health industry.

Program information

Bachelor of Science in Public Health

The major in Public Health prepares students to succeed in a public health environment or to pursue graduate studies in related fields.

Degree requirements and a four-year plan for the Public Health major

Minor in Public Health

For non-majors, the Public Health minor provides students with insight into the broad range of public health issues in the world today and their influences on daily life.

Requirements for a minor in Public Health

Minor in Health Education Specialist

The Health Education Specialist minor allows non-Public Health majors the ability to sit for the national exam to become credentialed as Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES).

Requirements for a minor in Health Education Specialist

Upon successful completion of the Public Health program at St. Bonaventure University, graduates will be equipped to:
- Describe why public health originated and how it’s evolved to its current role in society
- Analyze public health’s role in the US and internationally in promoting population health
- Explain how economic and social issues inform the theories and practices related to public health
- Interpret research and determine how to implement these findings into public health interventions
- Apply knowledge and skills appropriately in program planning and evaluation
  demonstrate effective communication skills to address public health issues
  employ analytical and critical thinking skills to create solutions for public health problems
- Demonstrate effective communications skills to address public health issues
- Employ analytical and critical thinking skills to create solutions for public health problems
- Apply the Franciscan values of dignity and worth for every individual
Ethical Component of the Program
The public health field relies heavily upon its practitioners and professionals to constantly and consistently exercise sound judgment and reasoning. Therefore, questions of ethics are addressed initially in the PHB 101 course and within the SBU general education curriculum’s ethics course (suggested to students to take PHIL 338). With the recent change to the general education curriculum at SBU, the inclusion of ethics from a health perspective, is a natural fit for the proposed Public Health major and is traditionally a required course within Public Health curricula.

SBU’s SWOB mission trip nurtures health, hope in DR

May 02, 2025 | Building on years of service, the latest mission by St. Bonaventure University’s Students Without Borders (SWOB) took the group back to the Dominican Republic, where they left behind not only immediate care but the seeds of sustainable health practices.

SBU offers early college opportunities for high schoolers

Apr 09, 2025 | Local high school students can accelerate their academic journey through St. Bonaventure University’s Early College Access programs, which allow them to earn affordable college credits while gaining real-world academic experience.

Research by SBU's Olomofe accepted for conference poster presentation

Apr 06, 2025 | Dr. Charles Olomofe, visiting assistant professor of Public Health, had an abstract accepted for poster presentation at the annual conference of the Society for Epidemiologic Research (SER), in Boston, Massachusetts, in June.