Community and Public Health

Community and Public Health
Offered as a major (B.S.) and a minor

If you enjoy science, working with people, and are interested in a health-related career, consider earning a degree in community and public health. Through courses and community engagement, you’ll learn the factors impacting health to prepare you for jobs and graduate studies in a range of fields from public health and health policy to law, social work, medicine, and allied health fields.

This major focuses on mitigating disease and confronting systemic, physical, and mental health challenges that impact local and global populations. By encouraging civic responsibility, you can personally contribute to creating healthier communities.

COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAM

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The Community and Public Health major brings together what is already distinctive about Saint Anselm College—the promotion of academic excellence through experiential and community-engaged learning with strong academic programs that provide students with interdisciplinary opportunities for learning across various areas of public health, including health promotion and disease, health policy, social determinants of health, and environmental health.

— Professor Elizabeth Rickenbach, Ph.D.

Featured Course

Environmental Health

In this course, you’ll learn how to define and recommend evidence-based interventions in public health. You’ll become an advocate of community health in its various forms and an informed citizen in public health. You’ll deepen your understanding of communicable and non-communicable diseases, behavioral, social, and environmental determinants of population health, disparities in population health, health communications, healthcare institutions, health policy, and ethical challenges.

Community and Public Health Internships

During spring of your senior year, you’ll participate in a two-course capstone requirement that includes a research project and practical internship experience. Community and Public Health majors can expect to engage with public and private organizations, research and policy centers, nonprofits, and healthcare institutions to gain real world public health experience. These courses can help launch you into the career of your choice. Recent internships include:

Benchmark Senior Living
Catholic Medical Center
HealthForce NH
St. Joseph Residence

Credit-bearing internships are managed by the Community and Public Health Program’s faculty internship coordinator. Community and Public Health majors who participate in an internship can receive academic credit for their department or major.

Student playing cards with an elderly woman

Working in the Community

As a Community and Public Health major, your coursework includes hands-on time spent in the local community. Students volunteer their time engaging with, learning from, and supporting community partners and their constituents. Organizations students have worked with include:

Easterseals
Girls Inc.
Hope for NH Recovery
The Harbor
The Moore Center

Learn more about community-engaged learning→

Topics You’ll Study

Throughout your coursework, you’ll explore the role of public health to better understand disease prevention, engage in policymaking, and improve the well-being and health of individuals and communities. You’ll learn the multiple perspectives of public health including:

Chronic diseases
Environmental disasters
Health equity
Infectious diseases
Pandemics
Water safety

Opportunities to Build Essential Skills

As a Saint Anselm student, you’ll find several opportunities available to support your aspirations and interests. Through experiences inside and outside the classroom, you’ll explore the various facets of community and public health. You’ll sharpen your purpose and potential to better the world and graduate ready to improve individual and community health.

RESEARCH

MEELIA CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

ACADEMIC PARTNERSHIPS

Master of Public Health (MPH) Pathway Program

If you’re interested in continuing your education after Saint Anselm, you may be interested in the Master of Public Health (MPH) Pathway Program with Tufts University. You may apply to this program early as your sophomore year and complete courses during your undergraduate experience, finishing your MPH in as quickly as one year.

MPH PATHWAY PROGRAM

Additional Community and Public Health Major and Minor Information

First Semester

EQ 100 - Enduring Questions - Part I
EN 105 – First Year Writing
Language
CPH 101 – Introduction to Public Health

Second Semester

EQ 200 - Enduring Questions - Part II
Language / Core Course
SO 101 – Introduction to Sociology
BI 110 – Anatomy & Physiology

See the detailed course sequence and all course requirements in the college catalogue.

Find your program

Related Majors and Minors

HEALTH SCIENCES

BIOLOGY

BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE

PSYCHOLOGY

NURSING

SPANISH FOR HEALTH SCIENCES

ALUMNI PROFILE: KATHLEEN CROWLEY ’26

When she switched majors as a junior, Kathleen Crowley ’26 felt supported and empowered by Saint Anselm faculty. She attributes their willingness to help with landing her undergraduate internship at Catholic Medical Center (CMC) and deeply admires the impactful relationships she built with both professors and students on campus.

Learn more about Kathleen Crowley→