News
June 22, 2016The Sage Colleges to offer Public Health Major in Fall 2016
The Sage Colleges will begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Public Health in fall of 2016. The program is designed for students who are looking to use their education to improve population health and the environment in which we live. The major builds upon Sage’s existing public health minor and capitalizes on the breadth of offerings at The Sage Colleges.
The Bachelor of Science in public health exposes students to the multitude of factors that influence health and health behaviors. The interactions between humans and between humans and the environment are explored and ways to improve health discussed. Students will use critical thinking and analytical skills integrating their learning over the course of their academic program. Based upon their interests and future goals, students will select an emphasis within the public major. The major tracks align with the core disciplines of public health. Students will also have the option of a focus in nutrition. Course work and internships will help students focus their interests and make career choices more evident.
“As someone who has been a global and public health advocate for most of my life, I recognize the importance of making public health education available to our students who are looking to make a difference locally and globally as a public health professional,” said Susan Scrimshaw, President of The Sage Colleges. “The Association of Schools of Public Health estimates that by 2020 there will be a need for 250,000 additional public health workers and The Sage Colleges is proud to help educate and train students to help fill this gap. Also, the trend is for all health professionals to become more interdisciplinary and this program will help prepare students who expect to enter health professions in addition to public health, such as medicine, nursing and nutrition.”
The delivery of the core public health courses at The Sage Colleges will incorporate experiential assignments and activities to facilitate development of core public health knowledge, interdisciplinary public health knowledge, professional skills, and ethics.
“As public health is an interdisciplinary field it aligns nicely with the Sage Vision to require and reward collaboration across majors and professions,” explained Dayna Maniccia, assistant professor and coordinator of Public Health at Sage. “With its strong programs in nursing and biology, as well as a solid foundation in the liberal arts, Sage is well positioned to implement an undergraduate public health program. This program will help to meet the growing need for public health professionals as our students will be trained and ready to work upon graduation or well prepared to pursue a Master of Public Health degree.”
