This minor requires an off-campus semester with the Baltimore Urban Studies (BUS) program. While only 10 credits of BALT courses are required for the minor, students must take at least 13 credits to participate in the Baltimore Urban Studies program.
Students pursuing the minor are encouraged to consider taking ENVS 315 Environmental Ethics (3) and ENVS 216 Environmental Issue and Sustainable Solutions (3) as courses related to public health that fulfill the QuEST Ethics in the Modern World and Science, Technology, & the World requirements, respectively. Additionally, COMM 241 Small Group Communication (3) or COMM 342 Intercultural Communication is recommended but not required for the minor.
APHS 220 / 3 Credits
The course provides the student with the history and current practice of health promotion and fitness instruction that can be used in a variety of health and exercise settings (e.g., corporate fitness, schools, non-profit organizations, hospital based programs, or service programs). Students will survey current health promotion topics, how to implement the administrative structure to conduct the programs, and assessment tools to evaluate the programs.
BALT 101 / 3 Credits
This course is delivered through an intensive 3-week hybrid module combining classroom lectures, seminar discussions, and field learning experiences to facilitate an immersive introduction to public health and epidemiology. Students learn undergraduate principals of epidemiology through the lens of justice and reconciliation in the US urban context. This course allows students to learn the foundational concepts of social and behavioral health, environmental health, health systems and global health policy, and epidemiology and statistical reasoning.
BALT 401 / 4 Credits
Epidemiology is the study of the distribution of diseases and determinants of health and illness in human populations. Central to this course are the application of methods of understanding disease dynamics and improving health outcomes in diverse populations with global urban case studies. Use of professional biostatistics coding software (Stata) allows students to learn basic epidemiologic statistical analyses of disease frequency and the association between exposures or risk factors and health outcomes. Epidemiological study designs and sources of study error and bias; screening; outbreak investigation; and assessment of causality are explored and discussed.
STAT 269 / 3 Credits
An introductory course in statistics for students in the social and natural sciences. Students will build numeric and graphical summaries of data, apply sampling and basic probability terminology, identify features of the binomial distribution, use the normal distribution and the Central Limit Theorem to find probabilities, construct hypotheses for one-sample and two-sample settings and test them, discuss conditions and potential errors, and build confidence intervals. An introduction to computing software (Minitab) as a tool is included. A scientific calculator with STAT mode for data entry is required.
STAT 281 / 3 Credits
An introduction to statistics with focus on a variety of business applications. Students will build numeric and graphical summaries of data, apply sampling and basic probability terminology, identify features of the binomial distribution, use the normal distribution and the Central Limit Theorem to find probabilities, construct hypotheses and test them, discuss conditions and potential errors, build confidence intervals, and estimate parameters in simple linear regression and discuss their strength. An introduction to statistics in Excel is included as an aid. A scientific calculator with STAT mode for data entry is required
STAT 291 / 3 Credits
Students will learn foundational topics in the disciplines of probability and statistics. Students will learn to investigate a set of data graphically and numerically as well as to calculate the probability of various outcomes using a probability concepts and discrete and continuous probability distribution functions. Finally, these topics are combined to give an introduction to inference where students learn to make conclusions about populations based on data. Minitab is introduced as a means to conduct basic analysis. A scientific calculator with STAT mode is required.
BALT 450 / 3-4 Credits
This course provides academic scaffolding, guided reflection, seminar-based learning, and assessment for multi-disciplinary internships in the urban context. There are two options for a 120-hour internship (3 credits) or a 160-hour internship (4 credits). Internships include mentorship from multicultural community leaders and learning experiences in private, government, non-profit, and religious agencies of Baltimore, MD, and Washington DC. Students will gain an introduction to the foundational principles of vocational praxis and engage in constructivist learning through three months of applied internship learning experiences. Experiential learning is supported by academic readings, seminary discussions, and reflective writing assignments.
BALT 451 / 3-4 Credits
This course provides academic scaffolding, guided reflection, seminar-based learning, and assessment for urban public health internships. There are two options for a 120-hour internship (3 credits) or a 160-hour internship (4 credits). Internships include mentorship from multicultural Christian clinicians and learning experiences in human protection, health improvement, and health services in urban clinics and public health agencies of Baltimore, MD, and Washington DC. Students will gain an introduction to the foundational principles of public health and engage in constructivist learning from three months of urban public health learning experiences supported by academic readings, seminary discussions, and reflective writing assignments.
ATHT 203 / 2 Credits
The study and application of medical terminology, documentation and specific medical topics/conditions associated with physically active individuals.
BALT 303 / 3 Credits
The disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS in global cities coupled with a decrease in HIV mortality and morbidity provide an opportunity to apply principles of community psychology to guide student understanding of the complex interplay of environmental and individual-level drivers that influence HIV prevention, treatment, and care. This course offers a unique perspective on how social structures, neighborhoods, and individuals shape HIV prevention and care delivery particularly for communities living in urban poverty. Specific theories of participatory-action research, multi-level community interventions, structural dimensions of HIV stigma, and public health policy implications will be critically examined and discussed.
BALT 403 / 4 Credits
This course challenges students to learn the foundational principles of human nutrition across the lifespan. Students learn physiology and functional science of nutrition from all 24 chapters of Discovering Nutrition (Insel et al.). Additionally, the course includes 10 public health nutrition laboratory experiences. Nutrition laboratory includes analysis of the factors, systems, and structures that impact dietary patterns, dietary behaviors, food assistance, and safety net programs in the US. Students explore the policies, history, and complexities of urban access to healthy food and gain an introduction to the physiological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors that affect eating behaviors.
BIOL 301 / 3 Credits
By living and studying in rural Zambia while observing the operation of an established mission hospital and the surrounding community, students develop an informed knowledge of healthcare available in other parts of the world. Students gain an understanding of disease patterns, the importance of community-based public health measures and political, cultural, and infrastructural factors that limit access to health care for people living in the developing world.
BIOL 317 / 3 Credits
This course emphasizes a Christian perspective on ethical issues related to the biology of living organisms. Focuses on concerns related to the development and use of biotechnology for both individual persons and for society at large.
NUTR 222 / 3 Credits
Introduction to nutrition science for allied health majors. Includes nutrient sources and functions, nutrient metabolism and basic dietary assessment.
BIOL 265 / 4 Credits
A study of microorganisms, including diversity of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes; viruses; morphology, classification, growth, metabolism, nutrition, and environment; microbial genetics; ecology and symbiosis; infection, colonization, and pathogenicity; detection and control of microbial growth; microbial infections/diseases and major body systems; epidemiology; and applied microbiology. Laboratory emphasizes techniques such as microscopy, aseptic technique, microbial quantification and identification, bacteriophage infection, molecular analysis, and antibody-based tests. Designed for students majoring in natural or health sciences.
BALT 402 / 4 Credits
This course covers general aspects of undergraduate microbiology with emphasis on endemic microorganisms and human interaction. Topics include introduction to microbiology, microbial taxonomy, methods of microbial identification, immunology and infection. This course includes microscopy, staining, and microbiology laboratory applications with over 40 laboratory hours at the Baltimore Underground Science Station.