Developing an Undergraduate Introductory Core

During the development of a new Bachelor of Arts (BA) public health program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, an introductory core course series was established. The objectives of this series were three-fold: 1) to provide new, incoming undergraduate public health students with a strong foundation in core public health knowledge; 2) to expose students to both a breadth of public health principles, and a depth in application of those principles to a local and global health setting; and 3) to initiate the development of written and oral communication skills as a foundation of an undergraduate degree program.

To address these needs, three courses were developed as the introductory core of the BA program. The first course, Introduction to Public Health, provides an initial exposure to the breadth of public health, establishes basic core public health knowledge, and includes assignments to assess baseline oral and written communication skills of students. The second course, Public Health in Hawai‘i, emphasizes the application of public health skills and principles to local issues, (e.g. concerns of Native Hawaiian populations and local sustainability topics), and provides students with a ‘sense of place.’ This course also emphasizes oral communication skills through class discussion, presentations, and activities. The third course, Introduction to Global Health, is intended to increase student awareness of global public health challenges, apply public health principles in a global context, and emphasizes written communication skills through class assignments and a final paper.

At the conclusion of the introductory core, BA public health students should have a firm foundation of public health principles and examples of public health application in both a local and global context. These topics are further reinforced by a required introductory epidemiology course, which provides students with the next step in applying knowledge toward scientific inquiry.