Public Health
What is Public Health?
Public Health relies on interdisciplinary efforts to address emergent issues including:
- control and prevent communicable diseases (influenza, pneumonia, childhood and emergent diseases, etc.)
- control and prevent chronic diseases (diabetes, cardiovascular, etc.)
- promote healthful lifestyles (reduce obesity, tobacco use, injuries/accidents, etc.)
- educate at-risk populations to reduce STDs, teen pregnancy and infant mortality
- ensure safety of drinking and recreational waters regulate and control air and land pollution, including hazardous wastes
- work with communities on issues such as mental health, substance abuse and social violence
- address bioterrorism, transportation security, food safety, disaster preparedness (for human-generated and natural disasters), and other community-based health and safety concerns emerging after 9/11/01.
What can I do with a Minor in Public Health?
Undergraduates can expect Public Health jobs such as:
Health Counselor, Health Educator Therapeutic Activities Director, Child Life Specialist Consultant, Community Health Educator, Community Relations Coordinator, Coordinator of Substance Abuse, Coordinator of AIDS Education, Curriculum Coordinator, Director of In-Service Training, Educational Specialist, Public Health Writer, Health Services Director, Teacher and Health Education Specialist.
Certification: With careful selection of courses from the Public Health
Minor (including internship experiences) and college electives, students
could be eligible to take selected credentialing exams.
Consumer Knowledge & Awareness: A minor in public health can broaden
a student’s knowledge base, with heightened awareness of public
health issues and greater knowledge to better evaluate health claims
in news media and everyday life, including those with and without scientific
merit (examples of the latter include public health hoaxes and scams).
Graduate Education: There are 34 accredited U.S. graduate schools of public health (March 2005), and 8 associate member schools.
For more information, contact Dr. Linda Dorsten, Coordinator, W393 Thompson Hall or dorsten@fredonia.edu.
Multi-ethnic Studies is a 21-credit interdisciplinary minor
program that provides an opportunity to study the histories and cultures
of ethnic minority groups in North America and their relationships to
each other as well as to the dominant culture. Because of its focus on
several ethnic groups, the Multi-ethnic Studies minor would be compatible
with many majors such as English, History, Communications, Political
Science, Sociology, and Visual Arts and New Media. However, it may be
particularly important for Education majors who wish to have a deeper
understanding of the people and cultures they may encounter as teachers,
or for Business Administration majors who will be participating in what
is increasingly becoming a world economy. This minor, with its wide scope,
will appeal to students interested in learning more about the expressions
and perspectives of North American minority groups and how the inter-relationships
of race, ethnicity, gender, and class define our society. For more information,
contact Dr. Saundra Liggins, 264 Fenton Hall, 673-3858, Multiethnic.Studies@fredonia.edu
Geographic Information Systems
You like the major you’ve chosen, but you’re concerned about your prospects after graduation. Rather than change your major, add a minor in GIS (Geographic Information Systems). GIS helps you to look for geographic patterns and relationships within many different datasets, such as watershed boundaries, elevation, fire stations, ATMs, income, disease, and countless others. It is much more than a map on a computer; it’s an environment for exploring the world. Students from virtually all majors – history, geology, economics, environmental sciences, business, sociology, biology, etc. – have minored in GIS. These students have gone on to jobs and graduate schools in their respective disciplines with an advantage – a geographic perspective and hands-on experience with a specialized computer technology and analytic method. As one of graduates put it, “No matter what field you’re in, GIS is a valuable technology. Every field has an application that can make good use of it.” For more information, look for GIS at www.fredonia.edu/gis/.
The Journalism minor prepares students for careers in journalism and provides a solid background for related positions in the private sector and public affairs. The minor program features a strong core in news gathering, research, writing, and critical analysis while also providing multidisciplinary perspectives on the political, ethical and legal implications of media in society. Students will gain valuable hands-on experience putting their course work into practice by becoming active members of the campus print and broadcast media (through the required work in JOUR 470 or 471) and by pursuing internships with professional media (through the required JOUR 465). Students are strongly encouraged to select their College Core Curriculum (CCC) courses in interdisciplinary areas such as American, ethnic and women’s studies as well as international and intercultural communication; complementary electives in United States history, politics, economics and culture are further encouraged. Advising sheets are available from the Department of English main office, 277 Fenton Hall.
Students are required to take 21 hours consisting of the following courses (all courses are three-credit hours; internships may vary from 1-3 credit hours; students work 40 hours per credit hour for internship credit):
Journalism Core (15 credit hours): Journalism Practice (6 credit hours):
JOUR 366 Opinion in Journalism JOUR 470 Campus Media Practicum
OR
JOUR 370 Reporting and Newswriting I JOUR 471 Leader Editors Seminar
JOUR 371 Reporting and Newswriting II
POLI 326 Media and Politics JOUR 465 Internship
COMM 420 Media Law and Ethics
Students may count no more than 3 credit hours from their
major program toward the minor in Journalism. Students may transfer up
to 6 credit hours from another institution toward the minor in Journalism
at Fredonia. Students may use past courses retroactively after approval
by the coordinator. Learning Contracts must be completed for all internships
and signed by the Journalism coordinator. Coordinator: Jeanette McVicker
Office: 277 Fenton Hall (673.3125)
Email: mcvicker@fredonia.edu
