Public Health and Policy Minor
Minor in Public Health and Policy (16 points)
A joint program by
the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development,
the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and
the College of Arts and Science
PROGRAM SUMMARY
The minor in Public Health and Policy provides students from across the university with an introduction to the vital principles of public health. Through two required courses in public health and epidemiology students explore the ways social, political and economic forces influence the health of populations and learn about the causes and control of disease, including epidemics and pandemics, like the HIV virus. Elective courses allow students either to continue to focus on public health, through courses on global public health and public health nutrition, or to explore public health policy through courses that introduce students to democratic public policymaking, ethics, and health care.
This minor is appropriate for students considering careers and/or further study in the health professions, particularly in medicine, community or global public health, public health and public health policy, health management, social work, nursing, medical journalism, and other fields.
The minor in Public Health and Policy is offered and administered by the Community Public Health Program in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health in the Steinhardt School in collaboration with the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and the College of Arts and Science.
How to Enroll in the Public Health & Policy Minor
- Log in to NYU Home.
- Under "Academics", click the "Student Login" link.
- This will bring you to a page which has an "Announcement" section noting that you can now apply for a cross-school minor via Albert. Click this link.
- Read the instructions and fill out your student ID number, choose your home school (where you are currently studying) and the host school (Steinhardt).
- Click submit.
- You will then receive an email from Lisa Kroin, asking you to fill out another form, which includes information regarding which track you would like to enroll in.
- Email the form back to her and you will receive a confirmation notice from her.
1. Required Courses
E33.0070 Health and Society: Introduction to Public Health (Steinhardt), 4 points
E33.1306 Introduction to Epidemiology (Steinhardt), 4 points
2. Elective Options
Choose either A or B.
A. General Public Health
E33.1315 Introduction to Public Health Nutrition (Steinhardt), 4 points
E33.1310 Introduction to Global Public Health (Steinhardt), 4 points
B. Public Health Policy
Choose one course from:
P11.0020 Introduction to Public Service (Wagner), 4 points
P11.0022 The Politics of Public Policy: City, Nation, Globe (Wagner), 4 points
Choose one course from:
P11.0030 Medical Care and Health: Comparative Perspectives (Wagner), 4 points
P11.0036 Topics in Health, Politics and Power (Wagner), 4 points
V14.0035 Medical Anthropology (CAS), 4 points
V83.0050 Medical Ethics (CAS), 4 points
COURSES
E33.0070 Health and Society: Introduction to Public Health (Steinhardt), 4 points
This course examines the various dimensions of the field of public health & how the public's health is protected. Students will explore the ways social, economic, & political forces influence the health of populations. Additionally, this course will focus upon some of the current ethical public health dilemmas where the rights of the individual versus the rights of society come into conflict.
E33.1306 Introduction to Epidemiology (Steinhardt), 4 points
Introduction to the field of public health epidemiology, emphasizing methods for assessing factors associated with the distribution & etiology of health & disease, including social factors such as race & gender & global differences in disease distribution & control.
E33.1315 Introduction to Public Health Nutrition (Steinhardt), 4 points
Introduction to the concepts, principles, & scope of public health nutrition. Discussion of major factors that distinguish public health nutrition from clinical nutrition with a focus on populations rather than individuals. Integrate basic information about food & nutrition into discussions of policies & programs designed to improve the dietary intake, physical activity level, & health status of populations, in addition to addressing barriers to implementation of important public health policies & programs.
E33.1310 Introduction to Global Public Health (Steinhardt), 4 points
Introduction to public health issues from a global perspective. Examination of social environment influences & their impact on populations throughout the world. The threat of global epidemics will be examined as well as strategies to control the spread of disease. Current ethical public health dilemmas where the rights of individuals can conflict with national or international public safety are discussed.
P11.0020 Introduction to Public Service (Wagner), 4 points
September 11 brought a dramatic surge in what Americans expected of themselves and their civic institutions. Americans reported increased interest in all aspects of public life, including voting, volunteering, and careers in government. Three years later, however, the interest has yet to produce a parallel increase in civic activity. This course will provide undergraduate students an opportunity to examine the promise of public service embedded in American history and contemporary events, while exploring the perils of participation that may explain the public's reluctance to actually engage. The course will also explore competing definitions of public service, as well as proposals for increasing civic engagement through various forms of national service, including the draft. The course will feature occasional guest lectures by leading public servants in New York City, as well as student research on just what public service means today.
P11.0022 The Politics of Public Policy: City, Nation, Globe (Wagner), 4 points
The critical issues facing public policymakers (and concerned citizens) inevitably involve political and moral choices. In this course those choices--and the core values of public service and good governance informing them--are confronted directly. Our attention to the values and choices central in democratic policymaking will proceed in four stages. The initial weeks comprise an overview of public policy in a constitutional democracy--primarily as practiced in the contemporary U.S., but with reference to other places and times. The second segment takes up national political institutions and policymaking, addressing how complex systems of governance actually function. Third, we'll explore specifically New York City policy concerns. The course's final weeks place these themes and processes in broader contexts, including ethical and global, in order to trace some of the principal tensions in democratic public policymaking.
P11.0030 Health Policy: City & Globe (Wagner), 4 points
This course introduces undergraduates to the complex interplay of social factors that affect population health in any society. It focuses on the social determinants and distribution of health and disease, the organization and financing of the health care system, and the relationship of one to the other.
The first part of the class reviews divergent perspectives for thinking about health and society. We begin by comparing clinical and public health perspectives on health and illness, reviewing alternative definitions of these concepts, tools for their assessment, and the contributions of social and economic theory, as well as health services research, to the study of health and society. For example, we will we examine key studies on health and health care among geographic areas and socio-economic groups in society. We will also consider how these perspectives were influenced by the evolution of public health, medicine and the health care system over the course of the past century.
The second part of the class draws on these perspectives to study the health care system in the United States, how it compares to that of other nations and how population aging, urbanization and globalization are raising new challenges for health and society, worldwide. We begin by studying alternative approaches to health care financing and organization and analyzing the U.S. health care system in this context. Next, we consider how increases in human longevity and population aging will affect the organization and financing of health and social services. Also, we consider two emerging areas of study related to health and society: "urban health" and "global health." Finally, we consider issues of health care reform in the United States in light of the experience of other wealthy nations abroad, which have developed systems of universal health care coverage.
P11.0036 Topics in Health: Policy, Politics and Power (Wagner), 4 points
Health care now constitutes almost 15% of the U.S. economy. The broad range of issues involving health care and health care delivery are at the center of national and local policy debates: Disparities in access and outcomes for vulnerable populations; right to control decisions about treatment and about dying; medical malpractice; the adequacy of the evidence base underlying medical decisions; the pharmaceutical industry and its role in health care and politics; the impact of an aging population; and coping with accelerating health cost.
This course is an introduction for undergraduate students to the major policy issues affecting health care and examines the role of government in the health care system. An important focus of the course is an assessment of the role of policy analysis in the formation and implementation of national and local health policy. Because much of government health policy relates to or is implemented through payment systems, several sessions involve some discussion of the policy implications of how government pays for care. The role of the legal system with respect to adverse medical outcomes, economic rights, and individual rights is also discussed. Proposals for health policy reform at the national and local level are examined throughout the course, with an emphasis on Medicare and Medicaid reforms currently being implemented or considered.
V14.0035 Medical Anthropology (CAS), 4 points
Prerequisite: V14.000, Human Society and Culture, or permission of the instructor.
Analyzes medical beliefs and practices in African, Asian, and Latin American societies. Studies the coexistence of different kinds of medical specialists (e.g., shamans, herbalists, bonesetters, midwives, physicians trained in indigenous and cosmopolitan medicine), with particular reference to the structures of health resources available to laymen and problems of improving health care.
V83.0050 Medical Ethics (CAS), 4 points
Given every year.
Examines moral issues in medical practice and research. Topics include euthanasia and quality of life; deception, hope, and paternalism; malpractice and unpredictability; patient rights, virtues, and vices; animal, fetal, and clinical research; criteria for rationing medical care; ethical principles, professional codes, and case analysis (e.g., Quinlan, Willowbrook, Baby Jane Doe).