COVID-19 UPDATE: In line with CU Boulder policy due to the COVID-19 pandemic response, any public health class listed below with a Pass/Fail grading option during spring 2020 semester will count towards certificate completion.
Public health spans multiple disciplines and fields of study. Therefore, the structure of the undergraduate certificate in Public Health is designed to be flexible to accommodate diverse student interests.
General Requirements
The certificate requires a minimum of 18 credit hours for completion of the program of which 9 credits must be upper division. Students are responsible for identifying and completing course prerequisites prior to enrolling in certificate courses. A grade of C- or better is required for all courses applied towards the certificate. Degree seeking students must also complete all requirements for their respective majors as well as their College core curriculum. Up to 3 credits obtained through Education Abroad Programs approved by CU Boulder may count towards the certificate elective requirements.
Biological Sciences: (Lower division) - 3 credits
Students participating in the certificate program must have a foundation of biological knowledge in order to understand and appreciate the concepts of health and disease. Students must take at least one of the following biological sciences courses:
- EBIO 1100 (3) Biology and Society
- EBIO 1210 (3) General Biology 1
- MCDB 1030 (3) Introduction to Molecular Biology
- MCDB 1150 (3) Intro to Cellular and Molecular Biology
- CHEN 2810 (3) Biology for Engineers
Statistics: (Lower/upper division) - 3 credits
To participate in the certificate program, students must possess basic skills in quantitative reasoning to critically evaluate primary literature and understand how data are used to measure population health and disease burden, monitor intervention and screening programs and inform policy decisions. Students must take at least one of the following courses in statistics:
- ANTH 4000 (4) Quantitative Methods in Anthropology
- BCOR 1025 (3) Statistical Analysis in Business
- CHEN 3010 (3) Applied Data Analysis
- CVEN 3227 (3) Probability, Statistics and Decision
- EBIO 1010 (4) Intro to Quantitative Thinking for Biologists
- EBIO 4410 (4) Biological Statistics
- ECON 3818 (4) Intro to Statistics with Computer Applications
- GEOG 3023 (4) Statistics for Geography
- IPHY 3280 (4) Intro to Data Science and Biostatistics
- MATH 2510 (3) Intro to Statistics
- PSCI 2075 (3) Quantitative Research Methods
- PSYC 2111 (4) Psychological Science I: Statistics
- SOCY 2061 (3) Intro to Social Statistics
- STAT 2600 (3) Intro to Data Science
Introduction to Public Health (Lower division) - 3 credits
We are introducing the Foundations in Public Health course in the 2022/2023 academic year, a new introductory course in public health that will form one of the core courses of the undergraduate certificate in Public Health. This is not required for students who will graduate between Fall 2022 and Summer 2024, but will be required for the certificate for students graduating in Fall 2024 and beyond. For students graduating before Fall 2024 who would like to have this course count towards their certificate, it only counts for a lower division elective not an upper division elective. This course is required for students graduating in Fall 2024 or later.
- GEOG 2692/IPHY 2692 (3): Foundations in Public Health
Core Courses (Upper division) - 7 credits
Collectively, the core courses of the undergraduate certificate in Public Health will provide a foundational knowledge on the burden and distribution of disease and mortality around the world, the determinants of global health disparities, the development of global health policies, and the outcomes of global health interventions. Additionally, students will examine the history and uses of epidemiology, measures of disease frequency and occurrence, association and causality, analytic epidemiology, evidence-based screening and infectious disease outbreak investigations. Students must take both of the following courses:
- GEOG 3692 (4) Introduction to Global Public Health
- IPHY 3490 (3) Introduction to Epidemiology
Elective Courses - 6 credits (at least 3 credits must be upper division)
Students are required to take at least one public health elective course outside of their major department. For double majors, it is only required that you take elective courses offered through two different departments (i.e. courses are not required to be outside both majors). Up to 3 credits obtained through Education Abroad Programs approved by CU Boulder may count towards the certificate elective requirements. NOTE: This list will continue to expand as new courses become available.
Biomedicine and Health
- EBIO 3400 (4) Microbiology
- EBIO 3630 (4) Parasitology
- IPHY 2420 (3) Introduction to Nutrition*
- IPHY 3440 (3) Clinical Nutrition
- IPHY 3590 (3) Health and Function over the Adult Lifespan
- IPHY 4420 (3) Nutrition and Human Performance
- IPHY/MCDB/EBIO 4900 (1-3): Public Health Practicum (Contact Tracing)
- MCDB 3160 (3) Infectious Disease
- MCDB 4201 (3) Bench to Bedside: The Role of Science in Medicine
Global, Population and Environmental Health
- ECON 4646 (3) Topics in Health Economics
- ENVS 3525 (3) Health and the Built Environment
- ENVS 4800 (3) Critical Thinking: Resilience and Healthy Cities
- GEOG 3682 (3) Geography of International Development
- GEOG 4002 and 4120 (3) ST: Climate Change and Health
- GEOG 4732 (3) Population Geography
- GEOG 4852 (3) Medical Geography
- PSCI 4012 (3) Global Development
- SLHS 1010 (3) Disabilities in Contemporary American Society*
- SOCY 4007 (3) Global Human Ecology
Medical Humanities
- HIST 2830 (3) Disease & Public Health in Global History
- HIST 4326 (3) Epidemic Disease in U.S. History
- IPHY 4040 (3) Global Seminar: History of Medicine (London, England)
- MUEL 3862 (3) Music and Global Health
- PHIL 1160 (3) Introduction to Medical Ethics*
- PHIL 3160 (3) Bioethics
- SPAN 3080 (3) Spanish for Health Professions
- WGST 3510 (3) Gender, Sexuality and Global Health
Social, Cultural and Behavioral Health
- ANTH 4060 (3) Nutrition and Anthropology
- ANTH 4610 (3) Medical Anthropology
- PSYC 3102 (3) Behavioral Genetics
- PSYC 4606 (3) Social Psychology of Health Promotion
- PSYC 4443 (3) Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
- PSYC 4263 (3) Evidence-Based Practice in Mental Health: Science and Skills
- SOCY 1022 (3) Social and Ethical Issues in U.S. Health and Medicine*
- SOCY 3032 (3) Social Epidemiology
- SOCY 3042 (3) Topics in Population and Health
- SOCY 3045 (3) Sociology of Death and Dying
- SOCY 3052 (3) Medical Sociology
- SOCY 4052 (3) Social Inequalities in Health
- SOCY 4062 (3) Suffering and Care in Society
* Courses marked with an asterisk above are lower division. At least one elective taken for the certificate must be upper division.
Course Planning: Certificate electives and core courses
(does not include Statistics or Biology requirements)
Subject to change by department. If a course is not marked to be taught by Spring of 2024, it is possible that it will still be offered at a later date.
| Course | Spring 2023 | Summer 2023 | Fall 2023 | Spring 2024 |
| ANTH 4060 (3) Nutrition and Anthropology | No | No | No | |
| ANTH 4610 (3) Medical Anthropology | Yes | Yes | No | |
| EBIO 1100 (3) Biology and Society | Yes | No | Yes | |
| EBIO 3400 (4) Microbiology | Yes | Yes | No | |
| EBIO 3630 (4) Parasitology | No | No | No | |
| ECON 4646 (3) Topics in Health Economics | No | No | No | |
| ENVS 3525 (3) Intermediate Environmental Problem Analysis: Topical Cornerstones - Health and the Built Environment | No | No | No | |
| ENVS 4800 (3) Capstone: Critical Thinking in Environmental Studies - Resilience and Healthy Cities | No | No | No | |
| GEOG/IPHY 2692 (3) Foundations in Public Health | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| GEOG 3682 (3) Geography of International Development | Yes (CE only) | Yes (CE only) | Yes | No |
| GEOG 3692 (4) Introduction to Global Public Health (required) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GEOG 4002 or 4120 (3) Special Topics - Climate Change and Health | No | No | No | No |
| GEOG 4732 (3) Population Geography | No | No | No | |
| GEOG 4852 (3) Medical Geography | No | No | No | |
| HIST 4326 (3) Epidemic Disease in U.S. History | No | No | No | |
| IAFS 3000 (3) Special Topics - Global Health, Inequality & International Affairs | No | No | No | |
| IAFS 4500 (3) Senior Seminar - Global Health | No | No | Yes (section -002) | |
| IPHY 2420 (3) Nutrition for Health and Performance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IPHY 3440 (3) Clinical Nutrition | No | No | Yes | No |
| IPHY 3490 (3) Introduction to Epidemiology (required) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| IPHY 4780 (3) Sleep, Circadian Rhythms and Health (formerly 3580) | Yes | No | No | |
| MCDB 3160 (3) Infectious Disease | No | No | Yes | |
| MCDB 4201 (3) Bench to Bedside: The Role of Science in Medicine | No | No | No | |
| MUEL 3862 (3) Music and Global Health | Yes | No | No | |
| PHIL 1160 (3) Intro to Medical Ethics | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| PHIL 3160 (3) Bioethics | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| PSCI 4012 (3) Global Development | Yes | No | Yes | |
| PSYC 3102 (3) Behavioral Genetics | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| PSYC 4263 (3) Psychological Treatment: Evidence-Based Approach | No | No | Yes | |
| PSYC 4443 (3) Research Methods in Clinical Psychology | Yes | No | Yes | |
| PSYC 4606 (3) Social Psychology of Health Promotion | Yes | No | No | |
| SLHS 1010 (3) Disabilities in Contemporary American Society | Yes | No | Yes | |
| SOCY 1022 (3) Social and Ethical Issues in U.S. Health and Medicine | Yes | No | No | |
| SOCY 3032 (3) Social Epidemiology | No | No | No | |
| SOCY 3042 (3) Topics in Population and Health | No | No | No | |
| SOCY 3045 (3) Sociology of Death and Dying | Yes | Yes | No | |
| SOCY 3052 (3) Medical Sociology | Yes | No | No | |
| SOCY 4007 (3) Global Human Ecology | Yes | No | Yes | |
| SOCY 4052 (3) Social Inequalities in Health | No | Yes | Yes | |
| SOCY 4062 (3) Suffering and Care in Society | No | No | No | |
| SPAN 3080 (3) Spanish for Health Professions | No | No | Yes |
Courses that are no longer offered will still be considered an allowable course for progress towards the certificate:
Courses no longer offered
- ARSC 1220 (3) Global Health Issues for the Health Professions
- CHEM 4131 (3) The Chemistry of Global Health
- EBIO 1030 (3) Biology: A Human Approach 1
- EBIO 4800 (3) CT: Conservation Medicine
- EBIO 4800 (3) CT: Ecol. and Evol. of Disease
- IAFS 3000 (3) Special Topics: Global Health Issues
- IPHY 2500 (1) Perspectives in Health and Medicine
- IPHY 2800 (4): Introduction to Statistics
- IPHY 3400 (3) Nutrition for IPHY majors
- IPHY 3500 (2) Applied Clinical Research
- IPHY 3580 (3) Sleep, Circadian Rhythms and Health
- IPHY 4010 (3) Seminar: Public Health Practice
- IPHY 4890 (3) Community Health Care (Global Seminar, summer, Costa Rica)
- PSYC 4541 (3) ST: Clinical Intervention
- SLHS 3014 (3) Hearing Loss Epidemiology
- SOCY 3015 (3) Social Demography of Race and Ethnicity
- WRTG 3020 (3) Biomedical Ethics, A Pragmatic Approach
Experiential Education and Study Abroad Opportunities
While not required for the undergraduate certificate in Public Health, gaining educational experiences outside of the classroom is a valuable asset to any undergraduate curriculum, especially in the field of public health. Students interested in public health are strongly encouraged to explore opportunities for learning through CU Education Abroad Programs, CU in D.C., and internships offered through public health agencies and organizations. Up to 3 credits obtained through Education Abroad Programs approved by CU Boulder may count towards the certificate elective requirements.
If you would like to know whether a particular course abroad will count toward the public health certificate, you'll fill out the Major/minor course planning and evaluation form on the Education Abroad website. In part 2 you'll list the course information. In the column How you hope the course will count, enter "as elective for public health certificate". Indicate that you want the document to be routed to the Director of the Public Health Certificate.
More information on opportunities beyond the classroom.