The CHHS major provides you with the essential knowledge, skills and abilities needed to become a future leader in health and social service organizations. It also prepares you for entry into graduate programs in public health, social work, public administration, nonprofit management, and related allied health and social service professions.

You will master the theory and practice of inter-agency collaboration; acquire proficiency in the use of electronic technologies; and develop sound critical-thinking, communication and analytical skills. You will also build a foundation of values and ethics, and cultural competence needed for serving client populations and communities whose backgrounds differ from your own.

To learn more about the major, visit the Health, Human Services & Public Policy website.

Required courses

In order to graduate, you will also need to complete your general education and university requirements.

Complete all of the following core courses:

  • CHHS 300: Major ProSeminar
  • CHHS 302: Professional Communication for the Health & Human Services Professions
  • SW 310: Introduction to Social Work
  • PH 320: Intro to Community Health
  • CHHS 330: Collaborative Leadership & Community Building
  • CHHS 340: Collaborative Negotiation
  • CHHS 350: Ethics for Health & Human Services
  • CHHS 385: Applied Statistics/Research Methods
  • PANM 402: Intro to Nonprofit and Public Administration
  • CHHS 445: Principles of Grantsmanship
  • CHHS 450: Introduction to Policy Analysis

Complete all of the following field placement seminars:

Complete all of the following capstone seminars:

  • CHHS 400A: Senior Capstone-A (taken concurrently with CHHS 496A: Senior Field Practicum Seminar-A)
  • CHHS 400B: Senior Capstone-B (taken concurrently with CHHS 496B: Senior Field Practicum Seminar-B)

Complete one of the following Concentrations:

social work concentration

Complete all of the following courses:

  • SW 405: Social Work Practice
  • HDEV 351: Lifespan Development: Transition and Change

Complete one of the following courses:

  • SW 415: Social Work with Children, Youth and Families
  • SW 425: Social Welfare Policy
  • SW 455: Social Work with Older Adults

community health concentration

Complete all of the following courses:

  • PH 407: Multicultural Health Education
  • PH 417: Global Women's Health Issues

Complete one of the following courses:

  • PH 427: Topics in Health Education
  • PH 437: Topics in Health Policy
  • PH 447: Food Policy, Culture & Hlth
  • PH 457: Health Systems & Policy
  • PH 467: Social Entrepreneurship of Change
  • PH 477: Disease of Poverty & Wealth
  • PH 487: Sexual Health Education and Training

public administration concentration

Complete all of the following courses:

Complete one of the following courses:

  • BUS 330: Human Resources Management
  • BUS 433: Management of Nonprofit Organization
  • PANM 442: Community Economic Development
  • PANM 452: Technology in Nonprofit/Public Administration

Interdisciplinary Concentration

Students must complete all of the courses from two of the three following areas:

Area 1: Community Health

  • PH 407: Multicultural Health Education
  • PH 417: Global Women's Health Issues

Area 2: Public Administration / NonProfit Management

Area 3: Social Work

  • SW 405: Social Work Practice
  • HDEV 351: Lifespan Development: Transition and Change

learning outcomes

MLO 1 Collaboration (C)

Demonstrate the ability to work in teams in interprofessional settings across traditional lines of programs, agencies, disciplines and diverse communities to establish common missions and purposes, and to collaborate with others in decision making, learning, completing tasks and applying knowledge of group process and group interaction.

MLO 2 Conflict Resolution, Negotiation and Mediation (CR/N)

Demonstrate the ability to understand the dynamics of human negotiation among conflicting interest groups and how to achieve mutual agreement.

MLO 3 Cross-Cultural Competency (CCC)

Demonstrate the ability to be comfortable with differences between self and others, to engage in a process characterized by mutual respect and sensitivity, to assess the needs and capabilities of culturally diverse populations and to communicate effectively across cultural groups to deliver appropriate health and human services.

MLO 4 Financial Management (FM)

Demonstrate the ability to understand the budgeting process and the financial management of public agencies and nonprofit organizations.

MLO 5 Information Management (IM)

Demonstrate the ability to apply computer and Internet technology to health and human services practice and public policy development.

MLO 6 Knowledge of Health and Human Services (KHHS)

Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles and issues common to the major fields of health and human services including community health, social welfare and public policy; and demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities pertinent to the health and/or human service concentration area(s) selected.

MLO 7 Leadership (L)

Demonstrate an understanding of and begin to master the skills to motivate others by promoting a shared vision and setting clear direction for collaborative implementation of sustained change in inter-professional settings and diverse communities.

MLO 8 Professional Communication (PC)

Demonstrate the ability to initiate and maintain a flow of information between senders and receivers through the use of critical listening, and oral and written communication skills; communicate basic and complex ideas to a variety of groups; appreciate the organizational and cultural contexts within which communication occurs; and conduct professional quality oral and electronic presentations.

MLO 9 Professional Development (PD)

Demonstrate the ability to apply the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for growth and development as an entry-level professional by producing evidence of increasing self-awareness and self-correcting behavior.

MLO 10 Professional Ethics (PE)

Demonstrate the ability to articulate the values and ethics which are the foundation for health and human services practice, to recognize areas of conflict between the professional values and the student's own and to clarify conflicting values in the delivery of health and human services.

MLO 11 Public Policy Analysis (PPA)

Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze public policy issues and begin to master the skills necessary to identify and define public problems, analyze existing policies, develop alternatives to current policy and recommend alternatives.

MLO 12 Statistics and Research Methods (S/RM)

Demonstrate knowledge and application of basic research methodologies and statistical analysis in applied and community-based health, human services and public policy research.

MLO 13 Systems Management (SM)

Demonstrate an understanding of and begin to develop the skills necessary to manage complex systems of health and human service delivery.

course pathways