Keck School of Medicine
Department-Specific Programs
Department of Preventive Medicine
Undergraduate Degrees
Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies
3375 S. Hoover Street
University Village, Suite E 210
Los Angeles, CA 90089-7798
Director: Elahe Nezami, Ph.D.
(213) 740-1060
FAX: (213) 821-1733
Email: bhealthy@usc.edu
usc.edu/medicine/hp
University Village, Suite E 210
Los Angeles, CA 90089-7798
Director: Elahe Nezami, Ph.D.
(213) 740-1060
FAX: (213) 821-1733
Email: bhealthy@usc.edu
usc.edu/medicine/hp
The undergraduate program in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies (HP) provides a well-rounded, professionally focused education leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The program is concerned with the sociocultural, behavioral, psychological, and biological factors contributing to wellness and disease. It is an ideal major for students interested in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, epidemiology, health psychology and health behavior research. Areas of study include: global health; cultural diversity in medicine; substance abuse prevention and program planning; nutrition and fitness; health promotion of minority and underserved populations; and general public health issues (e.g., HIV/AIDS, violence, health promotion in the workplace and behavioral medicine).
Program Requirements
The Bachelor of Science degree is awarded after students successfully complete 128 units, consisting of 66 units for the major and fulfillment of USC general education requirements including third semester equivalency in a foreign language.
General Education Requirements
The university’s general education program requires six courses plus writing and diversity requirements, which provide a coherent, integrated introduction to the liberal arts and sciences. See The USC Core and the General Education Program for more information.
Requirements for the Major (66 units)
The program is divided into core and elective components.
The following core component (42 units) is required of all students.
| Non-hp courses (20 units) | units | |
|---|---|---|
| BISC 120L | General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution, or | |
| BISC 121L | Advanced General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution | 4 |
| BISC 220L | General Biology: Cell Biology and Physiology, or | |
| BISC 221L | Advanced General Biology: Cell Biology and Physiology | 4 |
| CHEM 105aL | General Chemistry, or | |
| CHEM 115aL | Advanced General Chemistry | 4 |
| MATH 116 | Mathematics for the Social Sciences, or | |
| MATH 125* | Calculus I | 4 |
| PSYC 100 | Introduction to Psychology | 4 |
| HP Courses (22 units) | units | |
|---|---|---|
| HP 200 | Introduction to Health Promotion and Disease Prevention | 4 |
| HP 300 | Theoretical Principles of Health Behavior | 4 |
| HP 320 | Biological and Behavioral Basis of Disease | 4 |
| HP 340L | Health Behavior Statistical Methods | 4 |
| HP 350L | Health Behavior Research Methods | 4 |
| HP 480 | Internship in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, or | 2-4 |
| HP 490x | Directed Research | 2-8 |
Advanced HP and Health Profession Preparatory Courses
A total of 24 units of electives are required of all students (at least 12 of the 24 must be HP courses).
| electives (24 units) | units | |
|---|---|---|
| BISC 320L | Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BISC 330L | Biochemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 105bL | General Chemistry, or | |
| CHEM 115bL | Advanced General Chemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 322abL | Organic Chemistry | 4-4 |
| EXSC 300L | Physiology of Exercise | 4 |
| EXSC 301L | Human Anatomy | 4 |
| EXSC 407aL | Advanced Exercise Physiology | 4 |
| HP 400 | Culture, Lifestyle, and Health | 4 |
| HP 401 | Cultural Competence in Medicine | 4 |
| HP 402 | Maternal and Child Health | 4 |
| HP 403 | Behavioral Medicine | 4 |
| HP 404 | Religion and Health | 4 |
| HP 405 | Sexually Transmitted Disease: A Global Public Health Priority | 4 |
| HP 408 | Environmental Health in the Community | 4 |
| HP 410 | Issues in Prevention and Cessation of Drug Abuse | 4 |
| HP 411 | Drug Intervention Program Design and Evaluation | 4 |
| HP 412 | Health Promotion and Prevention Policy | 4 |
| HP 420 | Gender and Minority Health Issues | 4 |
| HP 421 | Violence as a Public Health Issue | 4 |
| HP 422 | AIDS in Society | 4 |
| HP 430 | Obesity and Health | 4 |
| HP 431 | Behavior and Education Strategies for Nutrition and Fitness | 4 |
| HP 432 | Clinical Nutrition | 4 |
| HP 433 | Advanced Topics in Nutrition | 4 |
| HP 434 | Physical Activity and Health | 4 |
| HP 441 | Health Promotion in the Workplace | 4 |
| HP 442 | Chronic Disease Epidemiology | 4 |
| HP 450 | Traditional Eastern Medicine and Modern Health | 4 |
| HP 460 | Adolescent Health | 4 |
| HP 465 | Health Status of Indigenous Peoples of America | 4 |
| HP 485 | Global Health: Obesity and Nutrition | 4 |
| PHYS 135abL | Physics for the Life Sciences, or | 4-4 |
| PHYS 151L | Fundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics, and | 4 |
| PHYS 152L | Fundamentals of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| PPD 325 | Fundamentals of Health Policy and Management | 4 |
| PPD 330 | Introduction to Health Care Systems | 4 |
| PSYC 336L | Developmental Psychology | 4 |
| PSYC 355 | Social Psychology | 4 |
| PSYC 437 | Adolescent Development | 4 |
| SOCI 350 | Social Exclusion, Social Power, and Deviance | 4 |
| SOCI 475 | Medical Sociology | 4 |
Bachelor of Science in Global Health Studies
University Village, Suite E 210
Los Angeles, CA 90089-7798
Director: Elahe Nezami, Ph.D.
(213) 740-1060
FAX: (213) 821-1733
Email: bhealthy@usc.edu
usc.edu/globalhealthprogram
The Bachelor of Science in Global Health is a multidisciplinary degree of the Keck School of Medicine’s Department of Preventive Medicine. This undergraduate program offers an examination of public health and policy issues in the context of global affairs. Students complete course work from Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies and International Relations in addition to requirements from other schools of the university. The program provides students with a strong background in understanding and evaluating global health issues and prepares students to become health professionals with international competencies. This program is an ideal major for students interested in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, international relations, public health, epidemiology, health psychology and health behavior research.
Program Requirements
The Bachelor of Science degree is awarded after students successfully complete 128 units, consisting of 66 units for the major and fulfillment of USC general education requirements including third semester equivalency in a foreign language.
General Education Requirements
The university’s general education program requires six courses plus writing and diversity requirements, which provide a coherent, integrated introduction to the liberal arts and sciences. See The USC Core and the General Education Program for more information.
Requirements for the Major (66 units)
The program is divided into core and elective components. As part of the core research requirements, students must complete a directed research requirement, HP 490x, with a specific international research focus.
The core component (42–46 units) is required for all students.
| CORE COURSES (32 units) | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| BISC 220L | General Biology: Cell Biology and Physiology, or | |
| BISC 221L | Advanced General Biology: Cell Biology and Physiology | 4 |
| CHEM 105aL | General Chemistry, or | |
| CHEM 115aL | Advanced General Chemistry | 4 |
| ECON 203 | Principles of Microeconomics | 4 |
| HP 270 | Introduction to Global Health | 4 |
| HP 320 | Biological and Behavioral Basis of Disease | 4 |
| HP 470 | Case Studies in Global Health | 4 |
| IR 308 | Globalization: Issues and Controversies | 4 |
| MATH 125 | Calculus I | 4 |
| CORE RESEARCH COURSES (10–16 units) | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| HP 340L | Health Behavior Statistical Methods | 4 |
| HP 350L | Health Behavior Research Methods | 4 |
| HP 490x | Directed Research | 1-8, max 12 |
Students must choose 24 units of elective course work from the following lists. At least 8 units must be from HP and at least 8 units must be from IR.
| HP ELECTIVES (Minimum 8 units) | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| HP 300 | Theoretical Principles of Health Behavior | 4 |
| HP 400 | Culture, Lifestyle, and Health | 4 |
| HP 401 | Cultural Competence in Medicine: Promoting Health in Diverse Communities | 4 |
| HP 402 | Maternal and Child Health | 4 |
| HP 403 | Behavioral Medicine | 4 |
| HP 404 | Religion and Health | 4 |
| HP 405 | Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A Global Public Health Priority | 4 |
| HP 420 | Gender and Minority Health Issues | 4 |
| HP 422 | AIDS in Society | 4 |
| HP 450 | Traditional Eastern Medicine and Modern Health | 4 |
| IR ELECTIVES (Minimum 8 units) | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| IR 305 | Managing New Global Challenges | 4 |
| IR 306 | International Organizations | 4 |
| IR 307 | Contemporary International Politics | 4 |
| IR 308 | Globalization: Issues and Controversies | 4 |
| IR 315 | Ethnicity and Nationalism in World Politics | 4 |
| IR 323 | Politics of Global Environment | 4 |
| IR 325 | Rich and Poor States in the World Political Economy | 4 |
| IR 371 | Global Civil Society: Non-State Actors in World Politics | 4 |
| IR 424 | Citizenship and Migration in International Politics | 4 |
| IR 444 | Issues and Theories in Global Society | 4 |
| OTHER ELECTIVES (Maximum 8 units) | UNITS | |
|---|---|---|
| BISC 120Lx | General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution, or | |
| BISC 121L | Advanced General Biology: Organismal Biology and Evolution | 4 |
| BISC 320L | Molecular Biology | 4 |
| BISC 330L | Biochemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 105bL | General Chemistry, or | |
| CHEM 115bL | Advanced General Chemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 322aL | Organic Chemistry | 4 |
| CHEM 322bL | Organic Chemistry | 4 |
| GERO 483 | Global Health and Aging | 4 |
| PHYS 135aL | Physics for the Life Sciences, or | |
| PHYS 151L | Fundamentals of Physics I: Mechanics and Thermodynamics | 4 |
| PHYS 135bL | Physics for the Life Sciences, or | |
| PHYS 152L | Fundamentals of Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| POSC 442 | The Politics of Human Differences: Diversity and Discrimination | 4 |
| POSC 451 | Politics of Resources and Development | 4 |
| POSC 456 | Women in International Development | 4 |
| PPD 250 | Third World Cities | 4 |
| PPD 382 | International Development | 4 |
| SOCI 432 | Racial and Ethnic Relations in a Global Society | 4 |
| SOCI 460 | Key Issues in Contemporary International Migration | 4 |
| SOCI 470 | Development and Social Change in the Third World | 4 |
Progressive Degree Programs in Preventive Medicine
The Master of Public Health, the Master of Science in Biostatistics and the Master of Science in Molecular Epidemiology programs admit a limited number of undergraduate students to a progressive degree program, which allows them to pursue a master’s level degree while completing the bachelor’s degree. Applicants to the program must have completed 64 units of course work and must submit their applications prior to the completion of 96 units of course work. Applicants need not submit GRE scores, but are expected to have a minimum GPA of 3.0 at the time of application. The application for admission to a progressive degree program must be accompanied by an approved course plan proposal and two letters of recommendation. The requirements for both the B.S. and the master’s degrees must be satisfied, including a minimum of 128 undergraduate units. For further details on progressive degree programs, see the Requirements for Graduation page.