Language and International Health, BS

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Science program in Language and International Health is jointly administered by the Department of Languages and the Department of Public Health Sciences in the College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences. This program pairs a modern language concentration (Chinese, French or Spanish) with coursework in public health theory and practice. The language component emphasizes linguistic and cultural proficiency in the target language by studying specific peoples, cultures, literatures, technical language, health environments, and multicultural issues. The public health component includes the history and philosophy of public health and medicine; the organization, management, and financing of health services; the social and behavioral aspects of health, epidemiology, health evaluation methods, and health communications. Students also choose an emphasis area in either Health Administration or Community Development.

Graduates are qualified to assume positions in a variety of settings, including integrated hospital systems, consulting firms, managed care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, as well as multicultural community centers. They can also pursue graduate degrees in community health, epidemiology/biostatistics, health administration, health systems, and research.

Study abroad of at least one semester in the target language setting is mandatory. Students in the Language and International Health program must complete an internship of at least 135 contact hours in a healthcare setting, also in the target language. Internships are subject to approval by the Language and International Health Director.

Students who have completed fewer than 50 credit hours may change majors into Language and International Health with a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.5. Students with 50 or more credit hours may apply for a change of major into Language and International Health, based on space availability, with a minimum cumulative grade-point average of 2.75.

Total Semester Hours: 121-122

¹ See General Education Requirements . For students not taking the CH 1050 /CH 1060  sequence, three of these credits must also satsify the Science and Technology in Society General Education Requirement.

² Select two courses (six credits) from two different fields: ANTH 2010 , GEOG 1030 , HIST 1720 , HIST 1730 , HIST 1930 , POSC 1020 , POSC 1040 , PSYC 2010 , SOC 2010     

³ Select one of the following emphasis areas:

Health Administration Emphasis Area-Select one course from four of the following groups

• Accounting-ACCT 2010  
• Anthropology-ANTH 3910  
• Economics-ECON 2110 , ECON 2120  
• Finance-FIN 3060  
• Health-AGRB 3610 , HLTH 4400 , HLTH 4750 , HLTH 4790  
• International Trade-CHIN 3160 , CHIN 4110 , CHIN 4120 , CHIN 4160 , FR 3160 , FR 4160 , SPAN 3160 , SPAN 4050 , SPAN 4160 , SPAN 4170  
• Law-LAW 3220  
• Management-IE 4440 , MGT 2010 , MGT 2180 , MGT 4160 , MGT 4220 , MGT 4230  
• Marketing- MKT 3010  

Community Development Emphasis Area-Select one course from four of the following groups

• Anthropology-ANTH 3910  
• Applied Economics-AGRB 2020  
• Community Development-AGRB 3570 , AGRB 4110 , AGRB 4120  
• Economics-ECON 2110 , ECON 2120  
• Health-AGRB 3610 , HLTH 3610 , HLTH 4400 , HLTH 4750 , HLTH 4790  
• International Trade-CHIN 3160 , CHIN 4110 , CHIN 4120 , CHIN 4160 , FR 3160 , FR 4160 , SPAN 3160 , SPAN 4050 , SPAN 4160 , SPAN 4170  
• Rural Sociology-RS 4010 , RS 4590 , SOC 4010 , SOC 4590 , SOC 4710  
• Sociology-SOC 4330  

⁴ Select from any 3000-4000-level courses in the target language, except FR 3100  and SPAN 3100  

⁵ Internship abroad and study abroad must be approved by the Language and International Health director. All students are required to study abroad for a full semester. In addition, an internship of 135 contact hours must be completed in a country where the target language is spoken. The study abroad coursework and internship may be completed concurrently or independently.

⁶ Select from any 3000-4000-level courses in HLTH.

⁷ See General Education Requirements .