Public health professionals help fight disease before patients get sick. With a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Georgia Southern University, you could lead education efforts, detect infectious diseases and advocate for health-forward policies — delivering solutions on a community-wide level.
Locations
- Statesboro Campus (In Person)
- Armstrong Campus (In Person)
- Online
Why Major in Public Health at Georgia Southern?
- Choose from four emphasis areas: community health, environmental health sciences, epidemiology or global health.
- Complete your degree wherever you are with our online-only option.
- Get job-ready skills through a senior-year internship.
- Graduates qualify to take the national Certified Health Education Specialist exam.
- Ranked among the top 100 public health programs in 2023 by CollegeFactual.
- 124 credit hours to completion.
Prevention-based approaches often serve as the first line of defense to optimize health and quality of life, including increasing awareness and lowering rates of heart disease, diabetes, strokes, cancer, obesity, vaccine-preventable conditions, and many others. Going beyond one-on-one patient care, public health professionals further take into consideration the broad-reaching effects of clean water, food safety, international aid, disease surveillance and data on population-level health trends and outcomes.
Georgia Southern’s bachelor’s program in public health gives you the tools to halt disease and elevate quality of life at the community level, both in the United States and abroad.
Ready to Apply?
What Can You Do With a Bachelor’s in Public Health?
Prevent, Protect, Promote: A bachelor’s degree in public health prepares you to meet the growing demand for professionals equipped to identify environmental pollutants, analyze the spread of disease and develop outreach campaigns that inform and protect the health of entire populations, including close to home and anywhere in the world.
Where our graduates work:
- 501(c)(3) health organizations
- Alzheimer’s Association
- American Red Cross
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Georgia Department of Public Health
- Kaiser Permanente
- Peace Corps
- UnitedHealth Group
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- YMCA of the USA
What our graduates do:
- Community health consultant
- Government policy analyst
- Health educator
- Health and safety engineer
- Medical/health services manager
- Nutrition specialist
- Occupational health and safety specialist
- Public health officer
- Refugee coordinator
- Water quality inspector
What You’ll Learn
For public health majors, classes focus on the foundational elements of human health, including biology, anatomy and nutrition, while also exploring ethics, political science, public administration and other topics integral to identifying, monitoring and addressing population-level health trends.
Regardless of the emphasis area selected, required courses demonstrate:
- How to investigate the spread of various diseases.
- How to plan, implement and evaluate disease prevention programs and activities to promote a healthy lifestyle.
- How to identify and examine environmental pollutants.
Emphasis Areas
Choose from four emphasis areas, each of which opens a door to countless career paths.
Environmental Health Sciences
Pollutants are a significant source of illness. Learn what causes disease, which populations are more susceptible and how risk analysis and policy decisions combat emerging global health problems.
Epidemiology
Epidemiologists are like detectives, studying health patterns and outbreaks while seeking ways to reduce disease, disability and other health-related events. In the state’s only bachelor’s-level epidemiology emphasis, you’ll learn how to gather and analyze data and present your conclusions.
Global Health (Online)
In this online-only program, you’ll earn a B.S. in Public Health while focusing on global-level health determinants and related sociological and anthropological topics. Learn how these disparities and risk factors affect outcomes while exploring ways to increase access to health care.
Community Health
Policy and education are two of the most important tools at a public health expert’s disposal. Learn how to conduct research and analyze data, and then how to use your findings to plan, implement and assess health and disease prevention programs.
Build Your Experience
Students in the bachelor’s program in public health have numerous opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to practical situations, including community engagement, research, field experiences and many more.
EPICH
Are college students more likely to engage in risky behavior if they’re stressed? What are some ways to increase awareness of perinatal mental health issues? These are among the questions students can explore through Eagles Participating in Community-Engaged Health (EPICH), an ongoing program that pairs students with faculty on a variety of research projects.
Internships
The application of knowledge gained in the classroom is the best way to learn and gain real-world experience. Every public health major completes an internship in the second semester of their senior year that prepares them for the future job market or for further study.
Study Abroad Opportunities
Traveling to other countries can provide a life-changing perspective on the intersection of culture, politics, history and health care. Study abroad opportunities in Ghana and Ireland allow you to see classroom lessons in action while you learn directly from the people you serve.
Get Involved
Take your learning beyond the classroom when you get involved with our public health student organizations. Build your network and participate in community outreach in the Public Health Student Association, or improve outcomes for mothers and children in the Maternal and Child Health Interest Group. Students may take a leadership role by joining the Dean’s Student Advisory Committee (DSAC) to advise the dean on student issues impacting the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.
“I reached out to professors and public health officials on campus and asked what they do, what their college experiences were like and how they found their passion. Connecting with these people on campus gave me a track on what I should do moving forward.”
Want to Learn More?
Explore essential information about our B.S. in Public Health program, including application details, accreditation status, and licensing disclosures. Gain insight into the program’s credibility and requirements to help you start your journey toward success with the knowledge you need.
Follow these steps to complete the Georgia Southern application:
- Create an application account.
- Complete our online application using the PIN you received after creating your application account.
- Once complete, pay the $30 application fee or upload a valid fee waiver. Previous Georgia Southern applicants and dual enrollment students do not need to pay the fee.
You can check your application status at My.GeorgiaSouthern.edu/admissions three days after completing your application. This page contains live information about your admission status, including a checklist of missing documents we need to make a decision.
Apply as a First-Year Student Transfer to Georgia SouthernOnline students can earn a B.S. in Criminal Justice and Criminology while studying anywhere in the world. Even if you have a full-time job and family responsibilities or are serving in the military, Georgia Southern’s convenient and accessible online programs let you work toward a degree on your schedule.
Learn More About Online ProgramsFor All Online Programs
Federal law requires colleges and universities to make certain disclosures to prospective students of these programs. These disclosures include information on the University’s authority to operate outside of Georgia, complaint processes, adverse actions and refunds.
For required disclosures in general with regard to online programs offered by the University, visit the Office of Legal Affairs website.
Our program is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health. Available on the Armstrong Campus, Statesboro Campus and Online, the Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree program builds on the five basic areas of public health: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, health policy, and community health education/social and behavioral sciences.
- Georgia Southern University Admissions Information
- BSPH Competencies and Outcomes
- Plans of Study
- Disclosures
Want to change your major to Public Health?
We have a flexible program that makes it easy to switch! Just click here for the details.
Faculty Feature
When rural hospitals close, the patients who rely on them are forced to travel far out of their way to seek care. Dr. Bettye Apenteng, a professor in the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, has spent years seeking ways to help these vital facilities stay open. Now, she and another Georgia Southern professor are taking their work nationwide, thanks to a $4 million federal grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
See How Dr. Apenteng is Closing the Health Care Gap
Take the Next Step
You don’t have to be a doctor to fight disease. Learn how you can improve global health outcomes with a B.S. in Public Health from Georgia Southern.
Contact the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health
Statesboro Campus
Hendricks Hall
501 Forest Dr.
Statesboro, GA 30458
Phone: 912-478-2674
Email: BSPH Advisor