University of Texas at Dallas Introduces New Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health Starting This Fall
The University of Texas at Dallas has launched a new Bachelor of Arts in public health to meet the needs of students who want to study the social components of health.
Public health majors in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences will study the human social factors of disease and health, said Dr. Richard Scotch, professor and head of sociology, which will now include the BA in public health.
“The study of public health offers students a dimension beyond traditional science classes,” said Scotch, who is also a professor of public policy and political economy. “Our Bachelor of Arts degree is intended for students who seek a broad preparation for careers in the health care sector that is informed by an understanding of the social aspects of health and illness, rather than students who seek skill-based pre-professional training.”
The UT System approved the new degree last fall, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board gave it a final stamp of approval in March.
A public health minor has been offered at UT Dallas since 2014, and the classes have been very popular, Scotch said, so he anticipates a lot of interest in the new program. A full-time tenure-track professor and part-time instructors will join the faculty, and class offerings will be expanded in spring 2024.
Topics for the new classes will, in part, be student-driven, Scotch said.
“What we emphasize in the program will be influenced by the market,” he said. “If we have people who are really interested in health-related disparities or women’s health or epidemiology, we can offer that.”
Galen Dickey, assistant professor of instruction in sociology and public health, said there are numerous career opportunities for those with a bachelor’s degree in public health.
Hospital systems and other health care organizations routinely employ health educators who work in the community, she said. Other career paths include emergency-response planners, disease-prevention specialists and public health advocates at nonprofits and at local, state and federal levels.
“If you want to work for a health insurance company, for example, having a degree in public health could be a real asset,” Scotch said. “And you would be well qualified to work in the nonprofit industry.”
There are plenty of other opportunities, he said, especially considering that health care makes up about one-sixth of the U.S. economy. It is also a good basis for students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in health care.
“Students who seek careers as public health professionals will need to go on to graduate study in any case, typically for a master’s of public health,” he said. “This bachelor’s degree provides the breadth and flexibility that prepares students for careers in community health promotion and education, as well as to work in a wide variety of clinical, administrative and policy positions in the health care sector.”
One UTD student who plans to add a major in public health is current neuroscience senior Matthew Lin.
With an eye toward becoming a doctor, the National Merit Scholar enrolled in a public health and society class during his first year at UTD.
“What we emphasize in the program will be influenced by the market. If we have people who are really interested in health-related disparities or women’s health or epidemiology, we can offer that.”
Dr. Richard Scotch, professor and head of sociology in the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences
He realized right away that studying public health offered a way to combine his natural affinity for connecting with people with the science of being a doctor.
“There’s a very social component to helping people as a physician,” he said. “Everything we interact with eventually influences the condition of our health.”
Hoping to one day become a primary care physician, Lin spent this past summer as a fellow in the Innovation in Cancer Prevention Research Experience for Undergraduates, a UT Health Science Center at Houston and Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas partnership. He conducted a literature review on usability testing to implement innovative surveying and data collection methodologies for health care workers’ application of a primary breast and cervical cancer prevention intervention.
UTD Partners with Taiwan School for Dual Data Science Program
The University of Texas at Dallas will begin offering dual Master of Science degrees for aspiring data scientists with National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taiwan this fall.
When students have completed the program’s requirements, they will be awarded a Master of Science in social data analytics and research from the School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) and either a Master of Science in statistics or a Master of Science in data science and informational computing from NCHU.
The degrees will require 18 credit hours — half of the 36-hour degree program — to be earned at each institution. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges approved the dual-award agreement in July.
“Taiwan is well renowned for its semiconductor, artificial intelligence and high-tech industries,” said Dr. Karl Ho, associate professor of instruction in political science in EPPS.
“Students studying abroad in Taichung City will be exposed to scientists, engineers and data science experts in both Taiwan and the United States and will have access to research and job opportunities in both markets,” said Ho, who is also coordinator of the social data analytics and research master’s program, which provides data science training to students from various disciplines.
This is the second dual-degree graduate program in EPPS. Since 2016, the school has offered dual master’s degrees in international political economy with Philipps University of Marburg in Germany.