Bachelor of Public Health (Dean's Scholar)

The Bachelor of Public Health (Dean’s Scholar) is an ideal first degree for high-achieving students interested in a career that enhances the health and quality of life of a population and the environments they live in.

Globally, the most common health issues and their causes are largely preventable, and Public Health as a discipline has huge potential to address these problems.

Public health professionals do this through building population skills and knowledge, creating supportive environments and policies, delivering health programs and services, and undertaking research on patterns of disease and best-practice interventions.

Students will explore health issues from multiple perspectives including social, environmental, physical, cultural and political.

A range of professional skills will be developed in obtaining, reviewing and analysing health information;

persuasively communicating health information and challenges;

planning and managing a health program or project;

working with and strengthening communities;

and advocating to improve the health of populations.Dean’s Scholar students will have the opportunity for casual employment in the Faculty of Social Sciences, community research, or projects supervised by leading practitioners or scholars for 15 hours per year.

Other benefits include invitations to attend School workshops and seminars and networking events.

The Bachelor of Public Health (Dean's Scholar) requires the successful completion of 144 credit points of subjects, including:

1. 78 credit points of core subjects;
2. 48 credit points from one of the Public Health majors;
3. 18 credit points of elective subjects selected from the General Schedule. No more than 12 credit points of elective subjects shall be completed at 100 level.

Students must select a major at the end of the first session of full-time study.

Students may only count 60 credit points of 100-level subjects towards the degree.

Students must maintain a minimum weighted average mark (WAM) of 80 in each year of enrolment, from and including Year 2, to remain enrolled in the Dean's Scholar Program.

Year 1

Autumn session

Spring session

* Only for students undertaking the Social Epidemiology major. All other students should complete HAS 251 in Year 2 Spring session.

Year 2

Autumn session

Spring session

** Only for students undertaking Food and Society, or Health Promotion as a major.

Year 3

Autumn session

Spring session

*** High achieving students interested in undertaking a limited international work placement of three to four weeks in a public health related field during either the Summer or Winter recess periods have the option to complete HAS 380 in place of HAS 347. To be eligible to undertake HAS 380 students must have a minimum credit grade in all 200 level subjects required for the core and major. Students who wish to be eligible to apply for an OS-Help loan should undertake HAS 380 in Autumn session of the final year of the degree.

For information regarding timetables, tutorials, and classes please the visit the Timetables and Classes page.

Majors are available in the following areas:

• Social Epidemiology
• Health Promotion
• Food and Society

Students are required to complete 24 credit points of electives from the General Schedule. Subjects from the Sciences or Social Sciences are recommended for this degree. No more than 12 credit points of elective subjects shall be completed at 100 level.

Honours

Course Learning Outcomes are statements of learning achievement that are expressed in terms of what the learner is expected to know, understand and be able to do upon completion of a course. Students graduating from this course will be able to:

CLO Description 1 Identify and explain the broad determinants of illness, health and wellbeing, and apply principles of social equity ad fairness in all aspects of public health practice. 2 Understand the primacy of conducting high quality research and the process for undertaking scientific enquiry. 3 Access, critically appraise and apply the best available evidence to address public health issues, and distinguish the costs and benefits of public health interventions. 4 Integrate knowledge of relevant public policy and health care systems into practice. 5 Engage in the political processes to advocate for health, social justice and equity. 6 Demonstrate professional skills, including problem-solving, effective communication, team work, reflective practice and a commitment to ongoing learning and professional development. 7 Intellectually debate the role of food as a social influence on health outcomes and competently assess the quality of food systems and environments. 8 Confidently obtain, analyse, interpret and communicate population data from health surveillance systems and screening programs. 9 Develop, implement and evaluate public health programs to detect, prevent and control communicable and non-communicable diseases among populations. 10 Identify and develop leadership potential for tackling population health problems.