Program Overview

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

The Public Health degree consists of two to three years of course work in Health Education and supporting areas. This includes required course work in both content and process-oriented Public Health courses, Social Sciences (Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology), Biological and Physical Sciences (Anatomy and Physiology, Exercise Physiology, and Chemistry) and other electives that complement a student’s interests and professional needs.

Why Consider a Public Health Major?
Public Health professionals engage in epidemiological analysis, assess population and community needs for health interventions; plan, implement and administer health education strategies, interventions and programs; conduct evaluation and research; serve as a health education resource; and communicate and advocate for the general health of the public. Effective Public Health is ecological in its approach. When planning the focus of interventions, public health professionals consider all factors that contribute to health and disease: individual behavior; group dynamics; environmental conditions; economics; politics, laws and policies; culture, ethnicity, and gender; and the availability, accessibility, and quality of health services.

Students who are accepted into the Public Health major explore the biological, social, environmental, and individual determinants of health. The curriculum is based on the skills and competencies identified by Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) and the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing, Inc. Eligible students are encouraged to take the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) exam after graduation. The program is rigorous and CEPH accredited. Faculty members emphasize diverse hands-on projects and community outreach. At the end of the program, a full-time internship (40 hours per week for 10 weeks) in a public health setting is required.

The Public Health major is appropriate for students who want to work in community, public, and global health; health communication; governmental and non-profit agencies and organizations; medical care settings; worksite wellness programs; and college and university student service health education programs. It can also serve as a preparatory program for graduate or post-baccalaureate study in Public Health and related areas.