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This 120 credit program is designed to be completed in four years.
Open to all undergraduate students at the University of Nevada, Reno. Learn more about admissions and applying.
If you are thinking of a career in any aspect of health, you should be thinking of community health sciences. You'll study varied but inter-related subjects so you learn how to understand explore health from multiple perspectives: emotional, social, spiritual, intellectual, environmental as well as physical.
The essence of public health is prevention and includes organized interdisciplinary efforts that concentrate on the physical, mental, social and environmental health concerns of communities and populations.
In the community health sciences major, you'll study topics such as:
Your degree program culminates in an internship experience during your senior year. You'll find an internship with a local community organization, allowing you to put what you've learned during your degree program into practice. Internships are also a great way to build your professional network and get ready for your career after graduation.
The School of Public Health is for anyone who is passionate about pursuing a career in the health industry. Learn more about the faculty who will be teaching your classes, our research and how you can get involved.
A minor in community health sciences can add breadth to your resume, with courses that focus on technical writing, health and wellness and a range of elective options. A public health minor can benefit you in employment or graduate school opportunities in fields ranging from medicine to journalism to business and more.
The kinesiology specialization prepares you for careers in physical education or to go on to graduate school in fields like kinesiology, physical therapy or medical school. You can focus your coursework in either of those areas to help you prepare for your career after graduation.
The public health specialization offers a comprehensive view of community health, with opportunities for you to take electives in topics that interest you most, from epidemiology to health policy to environmental health. This specialization prepares you for careers in both health care environments and in policy and governmental organizations.
The community health sciences major with a public health specialization offers an integrated program of study in the multidimensional aspects of population health, health promotion, and disease/disability prevention. It is suited for students who are interested in epidemiology, social & behavioral health, environmental health, health administration, health policy, and/or biostatistics. A degree in public health is appropriate for students who are interested in working in a wide range of settings including universities, government agencies, non-profit organizations and health care settings.
If you are interested in pursuing a nursing degree, apply to the University of Nevada, Reno by selecting pre-nursing, which is a set of required classes that you must complete in order to apply to the nursing program. In addition, pre-nursing students must submit a formal application to the Orvis School of Nursing in order to be admitted to the nursing major.
Community health sciences is the recommended primary and parallel degree for students interested in pre-nursing. You can apply the credits you to take to fulfill pre-nursing requirements to the community health sciences degree with no credits wasted. This allows students who are not admitted into the nursing major to graduate with a community health sciences degree in four years.
To learn more about the path to a nursing major, high school students and incoming freshmen should attend Nevada Bound. Current University students or transfer students declaring pre-nursing should visit the Health Sciences Advising website to enroll in a NURS 101 workshop.
You can apply to this program during your junior year at the University. It allows you to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in public health in a shorter amount of time. While earning your MPH, you’ll choose an emphasis in epidemiology, health administration and policy, or social and behavioral health. Learn more about the accelerated B.S./MPH program in community health sciences.
Students who complete the Nevada Teach Secondary Education and Community Health Sciences program will earn a dual degree: the bachelor of science in education/secondary education and the bachelor of science with a major in community health sciences. This program provides students with a strong background in community health sciences and includes all of the coursework required to apply for certification to teach health at the secondary level (grades 7 -12) in the state of Nevada.
Graduates of this program will be prepared to:
Community health science majors are prepared to work in a variety of public and private positions from hospital administration to community health education to fitness training. In addition, the broad perspective on health that our students develop is a distinct advantage for graduate programs, including medicine, physical therapy, business and public health among many others.
Some possible careers for graduates with a degree in community health sciences include:
46% of undergraduate students receive financial aid
Almost everyone is eligible to receive financial aid. If you think your family’s income is too high to qualify for financial aid, you might be surprised.
50%+ of all students graduate with no debt
That's right. More than half of our students leave the University of Nevada, Reno with no student debt.
At the University of Nevada, Reno Honors College, our students maximize their unique gifts and passions through a series of personalized experiences that deepen their capacity for transformative societal impact.
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