CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi is offering students two new academic programs that will assist in their pursuit of a career in Public Health.
The university was given the green light from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Council on Education for Public Health to move forward with a Bachelor of Science and Master of Public Health degrees.
Dr. Hassan Aziz, the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences said the purpose of offering the two programs is to address the growing challenges in public health, specifically here in South Texas, while also emphasizing experiential learning and collaborations within the field.
“I’m expecting this program to be one of the most successful programs in this region," Aziz said.
While speaking with KRIS 6 News reporter Alexis Scott, Aziz emphasized the increase of more public health professionals. He added that the number of Bachelor’s degree completions in public health grew more than 45% in Texas between 2015 and 2019. That’s 13 times higher than the growth rate for all Bachelor’s degree graduates in the state.
"After several studies here in South Texas, we found out there is a huge demand and need for that degree in public health," Aziz said. "It’s a field that does not really deal with the individual, it deals with the community and that's what's most important when we thought about a new program that would be grounded in helping the people of the region."
At the Bachelor of Science level, students will focus on public health surveillance, health policy, and health management. All classes will be in-person so students will receive a hands-on, experiential learning opportunity.
Students are required to complete 120-credit hours towards the degree program, in addition to a 300-hour internship or clinical experience.
Within the Master of Science in Public Health program, the curriculum is slightly different. It consists of 45 credit hours and the university emphasized that this experience will expand student's existing knowledge in the industry and allow them to take leadership roles in public health organizations, governmental agencies and health care institutions. The Master's program will also be 100% online.
“For undergrad students, they're going to be focusing more on issues that we see here in the area like diabetes and other health disparities," Aziz said. "Master students will take a more dedicated route and narrow their focus towards epidemiology, research methods, and population health.”
Within the experiential learning aspect, students will be able to learn amongst some of the most experienced professionals within public health including collaborations with the Corpus Christi - Nueces County Public Health District.
“A degree in public health can open doors to a lot of positions," Dr. Fauzia Khan, Director of the Corpus Christi - Nueces County Public Health District said. "Currently, we have several programs here at the Health Department where students can benefit from. You can work at the hospital, you can be in public health nursing. The opportunities within this industry is endless."
Dr. Khan added that the new programs will help students prepare for the workforce while continuing to fill in the gaps of the constantly evolving industry.
“Just like any other profession, our workforce is going to retire," she said. "So we need the next generation of public health leaders to be ready to step in.”
So far, the university said they've had more than one hundred students interested in the program at the Bachelor's level and over a dozen students for the Master's level.
The programs begins this fall. Find out more information about the programs on the university's website or contact the Admissions Office at (361) 825 - 2624.
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