Students who demonstrate a strong commitment to public health through both their academic work and their community engagement are eligible to graduate with an Honors designation in Public Health.
To be eligible for Honors in Public Health, you must:
- Be a rising junior or senior with at least 12 credit hours of completed undergraduate PUH coursework.
- Complete an application. For this application, students must identify a faculty mentor and propose an Honors Project to be completed under this faculty mentor. The application must be approved by the faculty mentor, the student’s Undergraduate Academic Advisor, and the Undergraduate Program Director.
- Maintain a minimum institutional GPA of 3.0 and minimum Public Health major GPA of 3.5.
- Complete 100-150 hours of service to the community, tracked in BlazerPulse (note: this total does not include hours completed in fulfillment of any required PUH course, e.g., PUH 305 or PUH 495). The number of hours required will depend on when you declare the Public Health major, with approximately 50 hours required per year in the major. These hours can take the form of a formal internship or field placement, volunteer hours at one or more community sites, participation in community-based research, etc. You will be assisted in finding community partners but will be responsible for logging your own hours in BlazerPulse.
- Attend at least 4 professional development opportunities offered within the School of Public Health and provide a brief reflection on each opportunity attended.
- Enroll in PUH 491: Directed Study in Public Health OR PUH 498: Undergraduate Research in Public Health for at least 1 credit hour for at least 1 semester during which the student will work on their Honors Project. Either course may be enrolled in over multiple semesters, for up to a total of 6 credit hours.
- Participate in a culminating experience during which you reflect on your engagement with the community. The form of this experience is not specified but could include: a presentation at a public forum (such as the UAB Undergraduate Research Expo), participation on a student panel, production of a podcast about your service, development of an experiential essay, etc.