Health Promotion

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Purpose and Focus

The public health degree program provides academic and professional opportunities for students who wish to prepare themselves as professionals, resource persons, and teachers in the special subject matter areas included in the discipline of health promotion. Majors take a set of courses designed to promote an understanding of health enhancement, wellness, and disease prevention. They study a broad range of public health concerns from individual lifestyle disease prevention and harm reduction behaviors to development, implementation and evaluation of community-based health programs. The overall mission of the program is to improve the health and quality of life of people and communities and to eliminate health disparities. Faculty in the health promotion program prepares students to meet the demands of a multitude of health issues facing individuals of various ages. The program provides leadership training in health information, planning, assessment, and evaluation of programs, along with education and skill acquisition strategies for use in schools, voluntary and private health organizations, the corporate sector, medical, and governmental agency settings where public health majors may be employed.

Accreditation

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
American Association for Health Education

Undergraduate Major

Public Health

Two Public Health Tracts

Community Health

Prepares students to assume the role of a public health specialist in voluntary health agencies public health departments, private health organizations, corporate worksite and wellness settings, and medical or governmental environments.

School Health Licensure

Prepares students to gain Nevada state licensure to teach health education at the middle school, junior high, or senior high school levels.

Admission to the Major

All students must complete the University Core General Education Classes. The Public Health Major consists of courses taken in the core disciplines within the Health Promotion Program and School of Community Health Sciences and designated courses taken in other important areas outside the School of Community Health Sciences. The major requires a minimum of 124 total semester credits for graduation.

Requirements for full admission to the Public Health Major are:

Community Health
         Minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA
         Passing HED 165 with a “C” or better
         Passing EOH 200 with a “C” or better

School Health Licensure
         Minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA
         Passing HED 165 with a “C” or better
         Passing Praxis I (Pre-Professional Skills Test – PPST) scores
 

Program Policies

Students who do not attend class throughout the semester may be administratively dropped. Any substitute course(s) taken at another institution for a UNLV course requirement must be approved on a Substitution Form available from the Division of Health Sciences Advising Center.

 Advisement

Students are encouraged to seek advisement in the Advising Center regarding general education program and licensure requirements. Enrollment caps may apply. Program of study sheets are available in the College of Health Sciences Advising Center. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain current information relative to departmental policies, program of study, and licensure requirements.

Students interested in School Health Licensure must seek advisement through the College of Education Advising Center to ensure that specific program requirements are met.

Field Placements

Applications for internships or student teaching must be completed the semester proceeding the student teaching or internship semester. Approval for a field placement is contingent upon:

1.  Completion of all Program of Study course requirements with a grade point of 2.75 or higher.
2.  Completion of the last 30 hours in uninterrupted residence at UNLV.
3.  Filing a completed field placement application by the announced deadline. (see program website for dates)
  

Internships

The internship should be considered a full-time, full semester experience.
Applications for community health internships must be filled out the semester preceding the internship semester. Approval for an internship placement is contingent upon:
 

1.  Completion of all Program of Study course requirements with a grade point of 2.75 or higher.
2.  Completion of the last 30 hours in uninterrupted residence at UNLV.
3.  Completion of required Core Content Courses in Community Health.
4.  Filing a completed internship application by the announced deadline.
5.  Recommendation approved by the Health Promotion Internship Coordinator.
6.  Approval is required if students enroll in course work other than internship and seminar.
7.  Because the internship is a full-time responsibility, outside employment during that time is strongly
     discouraged. 
 

Student Teaching:

Student Teaching should be considered a full-time, full semester experience.
Applications for school health licensure student teaching must be filled out the semester preceding the student teaching semester. 

1. The Student Teaching experience involves a mandatory, on-campus orientation; observation and supervised  teaching during which the students gradually assume classroom teaching responsibilities; regularly scheduled observations and evaluations by the cooperating teacher and the assigned university supervisor; and weekly student teaching seminar sessions.
2. Department approval is required if students enroll in course work other than student teaching and the required seminar.
3. Because student teaching is a full-time responsibility, outside employment during that time is strongly discouraged.

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