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Interdisciplinary Public Health

Public health can be defined as an approach to promote health, prevent disease, prolong life and improve quality of life through organized efforts of society. Focusing on the health and wellbeing of populations, public health complements medicine’s concern for individuals with diseases. Through activities ranging from basic research, to frontline efforts such as vaccination programs, promotion of healthy lifestyles and environments, disease control, and leadership on health policy formation, public health issues and outcomes touch the lives of people throughout the world. Public health is an interdisciplinary field drawing on the natural and social sciences as well as the humanities. One of the most important themes in public health is the disparities in health observed in different groups, for example related to economic resources and race/ethnicity, which is a focus in this curriculum.

For additional information on the Public Health minor at UC Merced, please visit the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts main website, or the Public Health website.

For Interdisciplinary Public Health minor requirements, please consult your catalog. 

Courses Addressing Topics in Health, Disease, & Disparities

  • ANTH 005: Introduction to Biological Anthropology
  • ANTH 120: Introduction to Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH 121: Ethnomedicine
  • ANTH 150: Race and Human Variation
  • ANTH 142: Archaeology of Colonialism
  • ANTH 155: Paleodemography
  • BIO 001: Contemporary Biology
  • BIO 010: Genetics, Stem Cells and Development
  • BIO 050: Human Development
  • BIO 051: Cancer and Aging
  • BIO 060: Nutrition
  • BIO 125: Public Health Threats
  • BIO 140: Genetics
  • BIO 185: Biomedical Ethics
  • COGS 130: Cognitive Neuroscience
  • COGS 153: Judgment and Decision Making
  • ECON 142: The Economics of Gender and Poverty
  • ECON 145: Health Economics
  • ESS 040: Air Quality, Air Resources and Environmental Health
  • HIST 119: Topics in the History of Migration and Immigration
  • MGMT 153: Judgment and Decision Making
  • PH 005: Global and International Public Health
  • PH 102: Health Promotion
  • PH 103: Health Communication
  • PH 104: Health and the Media
  • PH 105: Introduction to US Health Care System
  • PH 110: Environmental Health
  • PH 115: Research Methods for Public Health: GIS Mapping
  • PH 125: Emerging Health Threats
  • PH 185: Health and Bio Ethics
  • PH 190: Topics in Public Health
  • POLI 127: Race, Gender, and Politics
  • POLI 106: Urban Politics
  • PSY 123: Alcohol, Drugs, and Behavior
  • PSY 140: Clinical Psychology
  • PSY 142: Abnormal Psychology
  • PSY 143: Abnormal Child Psychology
  • PSY 144: Clinical Neuropsychology
  • PSY 145: Human Sexuality
  • PSY 147: Health Psychology
  • PSY 150: Psychological Perspective on Culture, Racial, and Ethnic Diversity
  • PSY 151: The Psychology of Stereotyping and Prejudice
  • SOC 030: Social Inequality
  • SOC 130: Advanced Social Stratification
  • SOC 131: Urban Inequality
  • SOC 160: Sociology of Gender
  • SOC 161: Sociology of Sexuality
  • SOC 180: Advanced Issues in Race and Ethnicity