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Public Health

Major/Minor

Improving the Wellness of Communities

Why are whole communities sicker than others? What can be changed to make a community healthier, both physically and mentally? What are ways that a community can improve the health of its members?

Public health looks further than the biological factors that affect community health in order to identify societal issues that contribute to a healthy community. Informed by health education, biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, intervention, and health services administration, public health professionals bring information, awareness, and solutions to families and communities to improve their health and wellness.

Addressing Root Causes of Disease and Health Problems

If you are passionate about people, health, and social justice, a major in Public Health gives you ways to address critical family and community health issues. These are leveraged by the expertise of several health-related professions.

Public Health majors learn to address the causes of poor health and human diseases, analyze societal health problems, use community data to develop solutions for health issues, and serve communities in health-related areas. In a semester-long senior capstone, you will work with fellow Public Health majors to develop a system of improvement for the common welfare of a community.

Get on track for these careers

  • Biostatistician
  • Healthcare Administrator
  • Emergency Management Director
  • Public Health Engineer
  • Epidemiologist
  • Infectious Disease Analyst
  • Refugee Coordinator
  • Health Program Coordinator
  • Mental Health Counselor
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Study and Serve Abroad with Public Health

Every other J-term, students have the opportunity to travel to Ecuador and work in various communities with an organization called MAP International. Students collect data and conduct research on community health. This experience has led to summer practicums with MAP for many students.

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Minor in Public Health

If you are interested in better understanding the societal and environmental factors influencing community health, consider adding a minor in Public Health. This minor pairs especially well with Social Work, Philosophy, Biology, and Sociology majors.

Public Health Curriculum & Degree Options

Students interested in course descriptions and academic policies can check out our Undergraduate Catalog.

Liberal Arts Foundational Core

A Taylor liberal arts education will prepare you to live and work in a fast-changing world. It also goes a step further: laying a strong spiritual foundation that cultivates wisdom. You’ll become a well-versed individual, equipped with critical thinking skills, a lifelong love of learning, and an appreciation for God’s creation.

View Foundational Core Curriculum.

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Combine Public Health with Other Majors

Supplement your public health major with classes in Christian ministries, environmental science, economics, management, social and behavioral science, and natural and applied science.

The Public Health major can be effectively combined with other majors and minors to provide a deeper understanding of sustainable career paths. 

  • Public Health + Biology—Biostatisticians analyze data to determine the cause of disease and illness within communities, studying data to forecast scenarios and make informed decisions regarding health trends.
  • Public Health + Biology—Epidemiologists study food-born and viral outbreaks, researching the causes and spread of disease or injury.
  • Public Health + Environmental Science—Study how health is affected by surroundings, including air, water, soil, and genetics and how they relate to the rest of the environment.
  • Public Health + Psychology—Behavioral psychologists promote healthy living, including habits that hinder or eliminate the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, addictive behaviors, and unsafe conduct. 
  • Public Health + Psychology—Maternal and child health professionals work with women and children to facilitate healthy pregnancies and childhood development through research, education, and advocacy.
  • Public Health + Exercise Science—This field works with community members of all ages to develop healthy eating and exercise habits. Educating people about nutrition, physical activity, and lifestyle choices, they seek to improve the overall health and wellness of communities.
  • Public Health + International Studies—Cultures and ethnic groups around the world have different health issues related to all areas of public health. Professionals with a global perspective are needed to bring education and advocacy to these communities.

Related News

From Taylor Degree to the CDC

Aug 19, 2021

Anna (Goeglein) Shaum ’15 works for the CDC’s Division of Global Migration and Quarantine. She reflects on how her Taylor education prepared her to earn her master’s and launch her career as an epidemiologist.

Read Article
The World is Your Laboratory

May 12, 2020

At Taylor, we believe that there is much to be learned by going beyond our campus and exploring the world around us.

Read Article
J-term Trip to Africa Helps Students Develop Healthy New Perspectives

Apr 06, 2019

This past January, students from a sustainable agriculture class and principles of community development class traveled to Malawi and Zambia in southern Africa to study and learn sustainable practices in agriculture and public health.

Read Article
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