Program Description
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.
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 professional health degrees (e.g., medical, dental, physical or occupational therapy) or graduate degrees in community health, epidemiology/biostatistics, health administration, health systems, and research.
An internship of at least 135 contact hours and study abroad are mandatory. Both the internship and study abroad must be conducted in a target-language setting and selected from a list of L&IH pre-approved programs. Students may petition for L&IH approval of an alternate program by application; these are considered on a case-by-case basis.
In addition to the curriculum requirements below, students are required, as a condition of graduation, to pass a noncredit language examination and submit a noncredit senior dossier to assess their language competence in various areas. Both assessments take place in the student’s last full semester at the University.
Students may apply to change majors into Language and International Health with decisions based on available space and approval by the L&IH Advisory Board, which includes faculty and staff from the departments of Languages and Public Health Sciences. Applications are accepted in the fall semester beginning on the first day of class with a deadline of the last day of classes. Accepted change-of-major students must be signed into the program by the academic advisor. Applicants must have a cumulative grade-point average of 2.5 with 49 or fewer earned credits or a 2.75 with 50 or more earned credits. For more detailed information, please contact the Department of Languages.
Footnotes
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 Students should consult their advisor. Select twelve credits from the following list. ACCT 2010 , AGRB 2020 , AGRB 3570 , AGRB 4110 , AGRB 4120 , BIOL 1040 /BIOL 1060 , BCHM 3050 , CH 2230 /CH 2270 , CH 2240 /CH 2280 , CHIN 3160 , CHIN 4110 , CHIN 4120 , CHIN 4160 , ECON 2110 , ECON 2120 , FIN 3060 , FR 3160 , FR 4160 , HLTH 3610 , HLTH 4400 , HLTH 4750 , HLTH 4790 , IE 4440 , LANG 3910 , LAW 3220 , MGT 2010 , MGT 2180 , MGT 4160 , MGT 4220 , MGT 4230 , MKT 3010 , PHYS 2070 /PHYS 2090 , PHYS 2080 /PHYS 2100 , RS 4010 , RS 4590 , SOC 4330 , SOC 4710 , SPAN 3160 , SPAN 4050 , SPAN 4160 , and SPAN 4170
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.
6 Select from any 3000-4000-level courses in HLTH.
7 See General Education Requirements .
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