COURSE CURRICULUM

The Public Health curriculum at University of Colorado Denver combines general education courses with specialized public health training to prepare students for diverse careers in healthcare, research, and community health. The CLAS Core consists of 15 credit hours designed to provide a well-rounded academic foundation through subjects such as writing and presenting, literature and culture, behavioral and social sciences, natural and physical sciences, and mathematics. Alongside this, all students complete a 23-credit Public Health Core curriculum that integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines including medicine, nursing, economics, epidemiology, law, chemistry, business, and statistics. Core courses cover topics such as Introduction to Public Health, Health Policy, Global Health Perspectives, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, and Biology, helping students understand both scientific and social dimensions of public health. Students can choose between a Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS) pathway depending on their interests and career goals. The BA requires 43 credit hours in Public Health and focuses more on social and community aspects of health through courses like Mental Illness and Society, Urban Health, Public Health and Aging, and specialized public health topics, while also allowing flexibility for electives and language arts studies. The BS requires 73 credit hours and provides a stronger scientific and analytical focus, meeting minimum medical school requirements through coursework in Biostatistics, Chemistry, Physics, Calculus, Population Analysis, Health Economics, Medical Anthropology, and Health Risk Communication. The BS pathway uses elective hours to deepen scientific understanding, whereas the BA offers greater flexibility in elective choices. Students may also need foreign language coursework through Modern Languages depending on previous experience or academic plans. Overall, the program offers a balanced combination of theory, science, research, and practical knowledge to prepare graduates for advanced education and professional careers in public health and healthcare-related fields.