Public Health

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health (BSPH) is a Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited program. Public health is the science of protecting, promoting and improving the health of populations. The major prepares graduates to work in the public health field in a number of entry-level positions, including, environmental health, public health education, and epidemiology. BSPH majors complete 42 credits of public health core courses designed to provide an educational experience focused on developing skills to address public health problems such as infectious diseases, chronic diseases, high risk lifestyles, health disparities, and many others. Included in the core courses is an emphasis on One Health, which is a framework that reinforces that human health issues and problems are strongly related to the health of animals and the quality of the environment. The 120 credit BSPH curriculum includes 33 credits of free electives. This provides students with opportunity to select an additional major or minor(s) that complements their academic and professional interests. In addition to the BSPH, an 18-credit minor in public health is available.

Please contact the Director of the Undergraduate Public Health Program, Dr. Kerry Redican or the Undergraduate Public Health Academic Advisor, Angela Mathias if you are interested in pursuing undergraduate public health studies at Virginia Tech.

Career Options

• Health Education in Health Departments, Hospital Systems, and Community Health Agencies
• Program Specialist
• Epidemiologist 
• Program and/or Project Coordinator
• Environmental Health Specialist
• Worksite Wellness Coordinator
• Community Education & Outreach Specialist
• Health Educator in state or local health department
• Health Educator in health system or hospital