College of Health
College Leadership:
Elizabeth A. Dolan, Dean
Erica Hoelscher, Associate Dean for Faculty and Staff
Won Choi, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
Michael Gusmano, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Contact information:
Health | Science | Technology Building
College of Health Administrative Suite #155
124 East Morton Street
610.758.1800 | incoh@lehigh.edu
website: health.lehigh.edu
social: @lehighcoh
Lehigh’s College of Health strives for a world where everyone can reach their highest level of health. We make unconventional connections across diverse fields of study, conduct research that prioritizes real-world impact, and provide education through experience.
Through the Department of Community & Population Health, we offer degree programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. Our faculty conduct research, often with students, and address health comprehensively, accounting for the unique factors that impact, or determine, health, including race, gender, food security, policy, and physical environment. Faculty and students partner with affected communities to create technology-forward, data-driven methods of improving health equity that are culturally appropriate, accessible, and truly useful to the communities they are made to empower.
We prepare students to advance health equity with experience that will make you stand out, whether you pursue higher education like medical school, or a career in healthcare, consulting, government, nonprofit, or any of the other many areas in the health economy.
Undergraduate
College of Health programs prepare students for a myriad of careers in health and healthcare. Students receive an applied education through a multi-disciplinary approach, emphasizing community partnership and the use of technology and data. We offer BA and BS degrees as well as minor programs that integrate ethics, cultural understanding, and social justice. Regardless of the degree program, real-world experience is central to a College of Health degree— 25% of our major course requirements are experiential. All students have the opportunity to engage in health-related research projects, field experiences, internships, study abroad programs, and more. With our hands-on, comprehensive approach to health, students learn how health and illness are just pieces of the larger puzzle of social, political, and environmental determinants, and strive to create a world where health equity is accessible for everyone.
Upon completing any bachelor’s degree in the College of Health, students will…
- Demonstrate mastery of the determinants of health from a holistic and interdisciplinary perspective.
- Demonstrate proficiency in health literacy.
- Analyze the ethical complexities of health research and health decision-making.
- Demonstrate proficiency in writing and critical reading skills.
- Demonstrate proficiency in the methods appropriate for their field of study.
- Apply course concepts to the real-world context to improve the health of communities and populations.
- Critically evaluate theoretical frameworks for understanding health issues through an interdisciplinary and equity-focused lens.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of sustainability as it relates to health.
To meet the above learning objectives, all students in the College of Health must fulfill the following college's distribution requirements. Students will complete 10 classes of distribution requirements totaling 32-37 credits. Many of these classes will be available through the individual majors in the college. Students can double count a writing-intensive distribution requirement with one additional distribution requirement; however, they cannot double count across other distribution categories (i.e., determinants, bioethics, etc.). Allowances for double counting distribution courses with major electives is determined by the selected major.
For additional information about any of our undergraduate programs, visit our website or email us at cohadvising@lehigh.edu.
| First Year Seminar | (1 class, 3-4 credits) | Varies by semester |
| Scientific Writing | (4 classes, 12-14 credits) | WRT 001 or 003 Academic and Analytical Writing, WRT 002 or 005 Research and Argument, (2) upper-level classes designated as health science writing listed below |
| Determinants of Health | (2 classes, 8 credits) | CGH 103 Biological & Environmental Determinants of Health, CGH 104 Sociocultural & Political Determinants of Health, CGH 105 Commercial Determinants of Health |
| Bioethics | (1 class, 3-4 credits) | POPH 003 Justice, Equity, and Ethics in Population Health or POPH 319 Population Health Bioethics |
| Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | (1 class, 3-4 credits) | chosen from a list of approved classes listed below |
| Sustainability | (1 class, 3-4 credits) | chosen from a list of approved classes listed below |
| Health Science Writing Courses | ||
| CGH 313 | Health Policy and Politics | 3 |
| CGH 314 | Advanced Commercial Determinants of Health | 3 |
| CGH 315 | Medical Mysteries | 3 |
| CGH 316 | Global Environmental Disasters & Policy | 3 |
| CGH 317 | Sex, Drugs, and Trauma | 3 |
| CGH 319 | Public Health Law | 3 |
| CGH 322 | Contemporary Indigenous Health | 3 |
| CGH 332 | Aging, Health, and Social Policy | 3 |
| Diveristy, Equity & Inclusion Courses | ||
| CGH 002 | Introduction to LGBTQ2+ Health | 3 |
| CGH 021 | Culture and Health | 3 |
| CGH 022 | Global Perspectives on Health | 3 |
| CGH 122 | Indigenous Healing Traditions | 3 |
| CGH 311 | Religion, Spirituality, and Health | 3 |
| CGH 312 | Curses, Possessions, and Supernatural Illnesses | 3 |
| CGH 318 | Sexuality Education | 3 |
| CGH 322 | Contemporary Indigenous Health | 3 |
| Sustainability Courses | ||
| CGH 102 | Community Health and Engineering | 3 |
| CGH 108 | Food Justice | 3 |
| POPH 106 | Global Environment and Human Welfare | 3 |
| CGH 316 | Global Environmental Disasters & Policy | 3 |
MAJOR AND MINORS
| MAJORS | MINORS |
| BS Biostatistics & Health Data Science | Biostatistics |
| BS Population Health | Community Health |
| BA Community & Global Health | Epidemiology |
| BA Health, Medicine, and Society | Global Health |
| Population Health | |
| Indigenous Peoples' Health | |
| Health Policy & Politics | |
| Maternal & Child Health |
Graduate PROGRAMS
College of Health graduate programs equip students to understand and appropriately improve the health and well-being of populations and communities locally, nationally, and globally. Students investigate and address the multiple determinants of health through technology- and data-driven research and community partnership in all College of Health graduate programs. We empower our graduate students to shape the future into one where health equity is accessible for all.
For more information, contact cohgrad@lehigh.edu.
| PhD Population Health | Master of Science in Population Health Management (MS) |
| Master of Public Health (MPH) | 4+1 Accelerated Master of Public Health (MPH) |
| MBA/MPH (with the College of Business) | 4+1 Accelerated Master of Science in Population Health Management(MS) |
| Graduate Certificate in Population Health | Graduate Certificate Global Health |
| 4+1 Master of Engineering in Healthcare Systems Engineering (with the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science) | Flex MBA with Healthcare Management Concentration (with the College of Business) |
A PATH TO MEDICAL, DENTAL, OR VETERINARY SCHOOL
Pre-health students are those students interested in pursuing graduate-level study in a health field such as allopathic (M.D.) or osteopathic (D.O.) medicine, dentistry, or veterinary medicine. Pre-health students at Lehigh have the flexibility to major in the field of their preference, since Lehigh does not offer defined “pre-med” or “pre-dental” tracks. Our programs allow students to follow their strengths and passions while also completing the prerequisite coursework needed for their intended medical, dental, or other professional programs, in addition to the suggested coursework for the MCAT exam.
CAREERS
Career pathways for students studying in the College of Health are abundant and wide-ranging. Students pursue employment directly in the steadily-growing healthcare sector at health systems and hospitals, in the private sector at consulting firms and pharmaceutical companies, in political and governmental fields at state, federal and international levels, as well as the nonprofit sector at NGOs and community-based organizations. We prepare students to advance health equity through a variety of avenues including epidemiology, medicine, data science, biostatistics, public health, community health, global health, health economics, health policy, health promotion, health research, and health technology and innovation. At the College of Health, students prepare for a flourishing career and a pathway dedicated to helping others.
RESEARCH Centers and Institutes
Lehigh’s College of Health is home to three interdisciplinary institutes that focus on investigative research on specific topics and areas of expertise. Lehigh and its partners invest in research institutes that excel at focused and multidisciplinary studies, working together to solve problems both locally and globally. We study, analyze, and develop knowledge in areas of health using collaboration and communication to help generate discoveries.
