Health Studies

https://liberalarts.pacific.edu/liberalarts/academics/departments-and-programs/health-studies
Phone: 209.946.7713

Sarah Mathis, Program Director

Degrees Offered

Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Science

Majors Offered

Health Studies (BA, BS)

• Social Services Concentration
• Health Leadership Concentration
• Health Policy Concentration

Health is not simply freedom from disease or pathology, but rather a state of equilibrium between an individual and the social, political, and economic environment. These multiple influences on health require people who are pursuing health-related careers to obtain a broad base of knowledge in the humanities and social sciences. The Health Studies program provides a diverse course of study that balances intellectual exploration in the humanities and social sciences with the development of marketable career skills.

The Bachelor in Health Studies Major with a Concentration in Social Services is designed for students who would like to pursue a career in improving health literacy and providing social services to individuals within their communities. Graduates will be well positioned to pursue careers in social work and social service organizations.

The Bachelor in Health Studies Major with a Concentration in Health Leadership is designed for students who want to put health policy and science into action at a local level, in order to create healthier communities and organizations. Graduates will understand the processes and trade-offs of translating health policy and science into practice in the local community as they pursue careers in businesses, local governments, and other organizations.

The Bachelor in Health Studies Major with a Concentration in Health Policy is designed for students with a particular interest in health policies, systems, and advocacy. Health policy refers to decisions, plans, and actions that are undertaken to achieve specific health care goals within a society. Graduates will be well positioned to understand the implications of decisions made at the level of health policy and systems on communities’ and individuals’ health, in order to pursue careers in strategic roles within governments, medical systems, and other organizations.

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science options are available within the Health Studies major. The Bachelor of Arts option is for students who desire to focus on the social aspects of health. The Bachelor of Science option is for students who desire to focus on natural science or machine and computer programming languages.

Bachelor of Arts in Health Studies

Students must complete a minimum of 120 units with a Pacific cumulative and major/program grade point average of 2.0 in order to earn the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Health Studies.

I. General Education Requirements

For more details, see General Education

Minimum 28 units and 9 courses that include:

A. CORE Seminars (2 courses)

CORE 001	Problem Solving & Oral Comm	3
CORE 002	Writing and Critical Thinking	4

Note: 1) CORE Seminars cannot be taken for Pass/No Credit. 2) Transfer students with 28 or more transfer credits taken after high school are exempt from both CORE seminars.  

B. Breadth Requirement (7 courses, at least 3 units each)

At least one course from each of the following areas:
Artistic Process & Creation
Civic & Global Responsibility
Language & Narratives
Quantitative Reasoning
Scientific Inquiry
Social Inquiry
World Perspectives & Ethics

Note: 1) No more than 2 courses from a single discipline can be used to meet the Breadth Requirement.

C. Diversity and Inclusion Requirement

All students must complete Diversity and Inclusion coursework (at least 3 units)

Note: 1) Diversity and Inclusion courses can also be used to meet the breadth category requirements, or major or minor requirements.

D. Fundamental Skills

Students must demonstrate competence in:
Writing
Quantitative Analysis (Math)

Note: 1) Failure to satisfy the fundamental skills requirements by the end of four semesters of full-time study at the University is grounds for academic disqualification.

II. College of the Pacific BA Requirement

Students must take one year of college instruction or equivalent training in a language other than English.

Note: 1) Transfer students with sophomore standing are exempt from this requirement.

III. Breadth Requirement

Students must complete 60 units outside the primary discipline of the first major, regardless of the department who offers the course(s) in that discipline. (This includes general education courses, transfer courses, CPCE/EXTN units, internships, etc.)
 

III. Major Requirements

Minimum 59 units that include:

HLTH 011	Director's Seminar: Health and Healing	1
COMM 045	Communication & Health	3
HESP 180	Epidemiology	4
HLTH 189	Health Studies Internship	2
Select one of the following:
MATH 035	Elementary Statistical Inference
MATH 037	Introduction to Statistics and Probability
Select one of the following:
COMM 160	Communication Research Methods
ECON 161	Empirical Methods
INTL 101	Social Science Research Methods
POLS 133	Political Science Research
PSYC 101	Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology I
SOCI 171	Social Research Methods
Health Electives
Select five of the following, including at least three upper division courses **
ECON 183	Health Economics
ENGL 126	Environment and Literature
HESP 041	Health and Wellness for Life
HESP 045	Nutrition for Health
HESP 061	Medical Terminology
HESP 110	Health and Exercise Science Law
HHUM 051	Introduction to Health & Humanities
HIST 060	A History of Medicine
HIST 064	A History of Alcohol and Intoxicants
POLS 111	Introduction to Health Policy +
RELI 106	Illness and Healing in the Ancient World
RELI 145	Biomedical Ethics
or PHIL 145	Biomedical Ethics
SOCI 108	Food, Culture and Society
SOCI 111	Environment and Society
SOCI 125	Sociology of Health and Illness
SOCI 172	Diversity, Equity and Inequality
Natural Science Electives *
Select one of the following BIOL classes:
BIOL 011	Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOL 041	Introduction to Biology *
Concentrations		16
Social Services
SOCI 081	Introduction to Social Services	4
Select three of the following:
SOCI 079	Self and Society
PSYC 015	Introduction to Cognitive Science
PSYC 017	Abnormal and Clinical Psychology
PSYC 029	Developmental Psychology
Health Leadership ***
SOCI 081	Introduction to Social Services	4
BUSI 109	Management and Organizational Behavior	4
BUSI 175	Leadership and Change	4
Select one of the following:
BUSI 134	Conflict Management
BUSI 174	Creating Effective Work Teams
COMM 043	Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Health Policy **
Select one of the following:
ECON 051	Economic Principles and Problems
ECON 053	Introductory Microeconomics
ECON 055	Introductory Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy
Select three of the following:
POLS 041	U.S. Government and Politics
POLS 111	Introduction to Health Policy **
POLS 119	Government in Action: Public Policy Analysis
POLS 128	Introduction to Public Administration

*	Major-level science courses, including BIOL 51, 61, 170 (currently BIO 71), and 180 (currently BIO 81), can also be counted instead of BIO 11 and 41. Additional relevant science electives may be counted with the approval of your advisor.
**	If a class is taken for the Health Policy Concentration, it cannot also count as one of the health electives.
***	In order to be eligible for the minor in Business Administration concurrent with the Heath Studies degree, all BUSI courses must be taken at Pacific.

Bachelor of Science in Health Studies

Students must complete a minimum of 120 units with a Pacific cumulative and major/program grade point average of 2.0 in order to earn the Bachelor of Arts Degree in Health Studies.

I. General Education Requirements

For more details, see General Education

Minimum 28 units and 9 courses that include:

A. CORE Seminars (2 courses)

CORE 001	Problem Solving & Oral Comm	3
CORE 002	Writing and Critical Thinking	4

Note: 1) CORE Seminars cannot be taken for Pass/No Credit. 2) Transfer students with 28 or more transfer credits taken after high school are exempt from both CORE seminars.  

B. Breadth Requirement (7 courses, at least 3 units each)

At least one course from each of the following areas:
Artistic Process & Creation
Civic & Global Responsibility
Language & Narratives
Quantitative Reasoning
Scientific Inquiry
Social Inquiry
World Perspectives & Ethics

Note: 1) No more than 2 courses from a single discipline can be used to meet the Breadth Requirement.

C. Diversity and Inclusion Requirement

All students must complete Diversity and Inclusion coursework (at least 3 units)

Note: 1) Diversity and Inclusion courses can also be used to meet the breadth category requirements, or major or minor requirements.

D. Fundamental Skills

Students must demonstrate competence in:
Writing
Quantitative Analysis (Math)

Note: 1) Failure to satisfy the fundamental skills requirements by the end of four semesters of full-time study at the University is grounds for academic disqualification.

II. Breadth Requirement

Students must complete 60 units outside the primary discipline of the first major, regardless of the department who offers the course(s) in that discipline. (This includes general education courses, transfer courses, CPCE/EXTN units, internships, etc.)
 

III. Major Requirements

Minimum 59 units that include:

HLTH 011	Director's Seminar: Health and Healing	1
COMM 045	Communication & Health	3
HESP 180	Epidemiology	4
HLTH 189	Health Studies Internship	2
Select one of the following:
MATH 035	Elementary Statistical Inference
MATH 037	Introduction to Statistics and Probability
Select one of the following:
COMM 160	Communication Research Methods
ECON 161	Empirical Methods
INTL 101	Social Science Research Methods
POLS 133	Political Science Research
PSYC 101	Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology I
SOCI 171	Social Research Methods
Health Electives
Select three of the following, including at least two upper division courses **
ECON 183	Health Economics
ENGL 126	Environment and Literature
HESP 041	Health and Wellness for Life
HESP 045	Nutrition for Health
HESP 061	Medical Terminology
HESP 110	Health and Exercise Science Law
HHUM 051	Introduction to Health & Humanities
HIST 060	A History of Medicine
HIST 064	A History of Alcohol and Intoxicants
POLS 111	Introduction to Health Policy +
RELI 106	Illness and Healing in the Ancient World
RELI 145	Biomedical Ethics
or PHIL 145	Biomedical Ethics
SOCI 108	Food, Culture and Society
SOCI 111	Environment and Society
SOCI 125	Sociology of Health and Illness
SOCI 172	Diversity, Equity and Inequality
Natural Science Electives
Select three of the following, including at least one BIOL: *
BIOL 011	Human Anatomy and Physiology
BIOL 041	Introduction to Biology *
CHEM 023	Elements of Chemistry
COMP 053	Data Structures
COMP 061	Introduction to Programming for Data Science
COMP 162	Data Analytics Programming
Concentrations		16
Social Services
SOCI 081	Introduction to Social Services	4
Select three of the following:
SOCI 079	Self and Society
PSYC 015	Introduction to Cognitive Science
PSYC 017	Abnormal and Clinical Psychology
PSYC 029	Developmental Psychology
Health Leadership ***
SOCI 081	Introduction to Social Services	4
BUSI 109	Management and Organizational Behavior	4
BUSI 175	Leadership and Change	4
Select one of the following:
BUSI 134	Conflict Management
BUSI 174	Creating Effective Work Teams
COMM 043	Introduction to Interpersonal Communication
Health Policy **
Select one of the following:
ECON 051	Economic Principles and Problems
ECON 053	Introductory Microeconomics
ECON 055	Introductory Macroeconomics: Theory and Policy
Select three of the following:
POLS 041	U.S. Government and Politics
POLS 111	Introduction to Health Policy **
POLS 119	Government in Action: Public Policy Analysis
POLS 128	Introduction to Public Administration

*	Major-level science courses, including BIOL 51, 61, 170 (currently BIO 71), and 180 (currently BIO 81), can also be counted instead of BIO 11 and 41. Additional relevant science electives may be counted with the approval of your advisor.
**	If a class is taken for the Health Policy Concentration, it cannot also count as one of the health electives.
***	In order to be eligible for the minor in Business Administration concurrent with the Heath Studies degree, all BUSI courses must be taken at Pacific.

Critical Thinking, Major Field Competence, Intercultural/Global Perspectives

• Explain how functions and characteristics of laws, policies, systems, organizations, inter-personal relationships, and individual health behaviors affect the health of both individuals and communities
• Identify and address power dynamics related to culture, ethics, race, gender, and place that create health disparities

Ethical Reasoning, Major Field Competence

• Apply ethical frameworks associated with health and prevention

Information Literacy, Major Field Competence

• Use sources of health data to inform critical thinking and action

Written/Oral Communication, Major Field Competence

• Communicate effectively in a professional environment, using written and oral expression

Health Studies Faculty

Sarah M. Mathis, Program Director, 2008, BS, Principia College, 1997; MA, University of Notre Dame, 1999; PhD, Emory University, 2008.