Public Health (AS Degree S0428)

Natural Sciences Division

The AS degree in Public Health at Mt. San Antonio College is an interdisciplinary program grounded in the biological sciences and designed to prepare students for entry level employment in public health fields. Students completing this program will exemplify a high level of health literacy and will be exposed to a large variety of disciplines. Through this preparation, they will improve their understanding of the relationship of the environment to health, recognize and evaluate the economic impact of changing demographics on health care, identify and control disease outbreaks, and develop interventions to promote healthy behavior.

This degree requires the completion of General Education coursework plus the following:

Required Courses

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, a student will be able to:

• Explain how the history, philosophy, and literature of public health reflect broader social influences and movements that influence our view of health.
• Explain the population health perspective and the methods used in public health to define and address population-wide/social concerns and the needs of vulnerable populations through the provision of essential services.
• Apply options for intervention frameworks including when (primary, secondary, tertiary), who (individual, population at risk, general population), and how (education, motivation, obligation) to intervene.
• Explain principles of epidemiology that are necessary in order to understand health and impairments of health, including the uses of rates, the meaning of causation, and the evaluation of the effectiveness of interventions.
• Apply the principles of epidemiology to assigned reading of research articles, including case-control, cohort studies, and randomized clinical trials.
• Explain from a global perspective the burden of disease, socioeconomical determinants of health, the links between health and development, and approaches to global cooperation to monitor, promote, and protect health.
• Describe biological principles needed to understand public health issues across the life span and apply these principles to public health interventions to eliminate, prevent, and control disease and to minimize the impact of disease on health.
• Explain the use of clinical interventions for assessing, protecting, and improving health and preventing, detecting, treating, and minimizing the impact of disease.
• Explain the way biological, environmental, and social/cultural factors interact in disease production and understand how these influences can impact prevention strategies.
• Describe the historical examples of the changing definitions of public health in a variety of cultures and times, including major scientific advancements.

Review Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) for this program.

Looking for guidance? A counselor can help.This Guided Pathways for Success (GPS) is a suggested sequence of coursework needed for program completion. It is not an official educational plan. Schedule an appointment with a counselor or advisor as soon as possible to create an individualized Mountie Academic Plan (MAP) specific to your goals and needs.