Public Health Degree Programs at California State University, San Bernardino
California State University, San Bernadino appears in our ranking of the 10 Most Affordable MPH Online Degrees in California.
California State University, San Bernardino offers multiple public health degree programs through the Department of Health Science and Human Ecology. One option is a Bachelor of Science in Health Science (BSHS) that includes up to 183 units of courses. Students will take 25 units of required classes, including Principles of Environmental Health, Statistics for the Health Sciences, Health and Society: An Ecological Approach and Principles of Epidemiology. They will also take a minimum of 79 units in one of several concentration areas that include health care management and public health education.
The university designed the public health education track to help students find work in community health organizations and health agencies. It features classes that are worth four to five units each, including Foundations of Public Health Education, Global Health, Health Policy and Law, Health Services Administration and Drug and Alcohol Use and Abuse. Some of the classes in the health care management concentration include Software Applications in the Health Sciences, Introduction to Public Health, Human Resource Management in Health Care and Health and Wellness of Older Adults. All BSHS students can take a field experience class and do an internship too.
Graduate students can choose between a Master of Science in Health Services Administration (MSHSA) or a Master of Public Health (MPH). The MSHSA program requires that students take a minimum of 57 credits and maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher to graduate. Those who fall below this GPA in the first year risk losing their place in the program’s second year. Students have the option of doing an extensive thesis, an administrative residency and a shorter thesis or taking a comprehensive exam and doing an internship. The third option allows students to do a final project rather than an internship. MSHSA students take courses such as Management, Organization and Planning, Administration of Health Care Programs, Health Law and Medical Ethics and Health Economics and Financial Systems.
The university’s MPH program includes evening classes and classes that meet on-campus on Saturdays as well as online courses. Majors take 56 units of classes that include 20 units in the public health core. Environmental and Occupational Health, Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Influences on Public Health and Public Health System Organization and Delivery are classes in that core. MPH students also need to do a field experience and take electives/other courses such as Grant Writing for Health Sciences, Health Research Methods, Advanced Topics in Health Science and Human Ecology and Principles of Health Behavior.
About California State University, San Bernardino
California State University, San Bernardino is a public university known as both CSUSB and Cal State San Bernardino. The state established the university in 1960 as San Bernardino Riverside State College. Just three years later, the campus became the California State College at San Bernardino. As a college, it offered bachelor’s degree programs in different fields and also had transfer opportunities for students who wanted to attend another state school. The college became CSUSB in 1984 when it earned university status from the state. It now has a large campus in San Bernardino with more than 440 acres available for students and an entrance off the nearby highway. The Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art is on the university’s campus and is one of just a few accredited art museums in the country. More than 84,000 students graduated from Cal State San Bernardino, which has an enrollment of more than 18,000 students since it opened.
California State University, San Bernardino Accreditation Details
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) gave CSBSB the regional accreditation needed to use government funds when the university designs financial aid packages for its students. Those packages go to students who have a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file with the university. The public health and health administration programs also have accreditation through that organization.
California State University, San Bernardino Application Requirements
Incoming freshmen must meet the admissions requirements of CSU. This includes taking one to four units of English, math, science, social studies and foreign language classes as well as electives. They need to score a C or higher in each class too. CSUSB asks for an ACT or SAT score too. California residents need a minimum grade point average of 2.0 to apply to the university. Nonresidents need a minimum GPA of 2.45. Some of the university’s programs will only accept residents and non-residents with a GPA of between 3.0 and 3.61. Prospective freshmen can submit their test scores and transcripts once they complete the CSUSB application.
CSUSB graduate students need a minimum GPA of 3.0 in any graduate classes they took and in the last 90 units of undergraduate classes taken. They should submit transcripts that show they took social and natural science classes, a resume, a statement of purpose of at least two pages, a 1,000-word writing sample and three letters of recommendation. Those applying to the MSHSA need to submit a resume, writing sample, two-page statement of purpose and three letters of recommendation. To remain in either program, students need to meet basic requirements and obtain a letter of recommendation from a faculty member.
Tuition and Financial Aid
California residents enrolled in an undergraduate program pay $2,313.92 per semester, which includes their fees. Undergrads not from California pay $2,631.91 to take a full course load every semester. The university charges MSHSA and MPH students $2.803.77 per semester if they are California residents and adds a nonresident rate onto that charge for students who come from other states. Nonresidents pay $264 per unit. CSBSB also offers a discount for undergrads who live in a western state, which allows them to pay 150 percent of the university’s resident rate.
To get financial aid, CSUSB students simply need to file the FAFSA. Employment opportunities are available in the form of assistantships for graduate students who want to research or teach and undergrads who want to work on the San Bernardino campus through the federal work-study program. Students can get scholarships at all levels and qualify for both Pell grants and loans from the federal government. California State University, San Bernardino recommends that students who want to enroll in a public health degree program submit the FAFSA as soon as they can.