Community Health - BS

Community Health

Program Coordinator:

Meredith Manze, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor, Community Health
2180 Third Avenue, Office #523
Phone: (212) 396-7736
E-mail: meredith.manze@hunter.cuny.edu
Website: http://cuny.edu/site/sph/hunter-college/a-programs/undergraduate/community-health.html

Community Health Program Description:

*Why are children in East Harlem hospitalized for asthma at twice the rate elsewhere in NYC?  How can we assess if gun violence is a health priority for members of our community and ensure their expertise informs local public health efforts?  How can social media be leveraged to reduce sexually transmitted infections?*

Students in the Community Health program will develop the skills needed to be able to effectively answer these types of public health questions through a social justice lens. Community health professionals work to improve the health and wellbeing of entire communities. While clinical health professionals might treat an elderly diabetic patient, a community health professional will work to understand and reduce a community’s elevated risk for diabetes.  At Hunter College, students in the Bachelor of Science program in Community Health will learn to analyze how both social structures (including poverty, racism and environmental exposures) and behavioral choices shape a community’s health.  They will take courses in health disparities, epidemiology, public health biology, and community health assessment to develop their analytic skills and courses in health communications and social media to learn tools for addressing public health problems.  Fieldwork experience and a research seminar give students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in a real-world setting on a community health topic of their choosing.  This program is designed to prepare students for work in community-based and human rights organizations, family planning clinics, mental health centers, homeless shelters, research centers, media organizations, as well as in city, state and national health departments. This is a competitive, 51-credit major, taken after 60 credits are completed of undergraduate study (see pre-requisites & application information below). 

Admission Requirements  

Admission into the COMHE major is competitive and students enter in the Fall semester only (no Spring admission). Students may apply during the semester that they are completing prerequisites for the program. All applicants, including current Hunter College students, must apply for admission to the program. The prerequisites for admission into the COMHE major are:

1. Completion of 60 credits at the time of admission (courses can still be in progress the spring and summer after applying and before entering that fall)
2. A combined GPA of 3.0 from all postsecondary institutions attended
3. Submission of a 500 word essay, in the supplemental application
4. At least a grade of “C” in the prerequisite courses listed below
5. Completion of the following courses:

• English Composition (ENGL 12000  ) -3 cr.
• Intro level statistics (STAT 11300  or STAT 21300 (STEM) ) , PSYCH 24800 , SOC 24100  , ECO 22100   or equivalent) - 3 cr.
• Any lab science in the Natural Sciences (Preferred: ANTHP 10100 (STEM)   or ANTHP 10200 (STEM)  ; BIOL 10000 (STEM)  , BIOL 10200 (STEM)  or BIOL 12500 (STEM)  or BIOL 15000 (STEM)  -4 to 4.5 cr.
• Intro to Sociology (SOC 10100  )- 3 cr.
• Intro level Psychology OR Anthropology (PSYCH 10000 , PSYCH 15000, ANTHC 10100) -3 cr
• Any upper level course (at least 200 level) in the social sciences (e.g., anthropology (ANTHC), community health, psychology, sociology or urban studies, women and gender studies, or human rights. (Note: The statistics prerequisite or SOC 30100 Medical Sociology  cannot meet this requirement.)  -3 cr.

For details on admissions process, see http://cuny.edu/site/sph/hunter-college/a-programs/undergraduate/community-health/admissions-info.html.