Curriculum
To earn the certificate, students must complete five (5) courses, five (5) workshops, and four (4) hours of shadowing a professional. In addition, students will complete an exit interview to evaluate their knowledge on the subject of college health, wellness and mental wellness.
Part 1: Core Courses
Complete five (5) from the following list:
PH 1
Principles of Public Health
4 UNITS
Discover key principles of public health and health determinants in communities. Explores the ecological model, analyzing interconnections among natural and social determinants influencing health outcomes. Topics include epidemiology, environmental health, and health policy.
PH 2
Case Studies of Public Health Practice
4 UNITS
Presents case studies in various themes of public health practice to demonstrate how the principles of public health were established and continue to evolve.
PH 10
Stress Management Essentials
2 UNITS
Learn how stress management contributes to health and assess your own stress level then utilize this information to design, implement and evaluate an appropriate stress management program for life on campus and beyond. This course balances concepts and theories about public health and stress with real-life applications and exercises, allowing you to integrate theory and practice in personal stress management.
PH 80
AIDs Fundamentals (Also BioSci 45)
4 UNITS
Considers the biological and sociological bases of the AIDS epidemic. Topics include the history of AIDS, current medical knowledge, transmission, risk reduction, and how the community can respond.
PH 120
Nutrition & Global Health
4 UNITS
Global issues related to nutrition and public health. Evaluation of nutritional risk factors associated with the development of chronic diseases and the role of nutritional medicine in prevention. Topics include food safety, communicable diseases, supplements, and regulatory issues.
PH 125
Foundations of Community Health
4 UNITS
A social ecological framework for understanding community health is presented. Measures of individual and community health are compared, and the influence of personal and environmental factors on individual, group, and population health is examined. Community health promotion strategies are discussed.
PH 141
Clinical Health Psychology
4 UNITS
Behavioral role in etiology, treatment, and prevention of certain diseases. Behavioral intervention including biofeedback, stress-, pain-management, health habit counseling, and other skills to assist patients make cognitive, emotional, and behavioral changes needed to cope with disease or achieve better health.
PH 144
Health Behavior Theory
4 UNITS
Introduction to foundational theories for health behavior change. Explores individual, interpersonal, and community-level theories applied to health interventions. Understand societal challenges and preventable behavioral causes of diseases.
PH 146
Health Promotion Programs
4 UNITS
Examines ecological perspectives of health promotion programs and risk factors related to mortality/morbidity. Analyzes effectiveness of health promotion strategies and issues in the existing healthcare systems in light of sociocultural beliefs and economical/political conditions.
PH 147
Drug Abuse and Prevention
4 UNITS
Theoretical and practical underpinnings of drug abuse and its prevention at the individual and population levels. Students practice developing drug abuse prevention schemes for specific populations. Recent developments in pharmacological and biobehavioral theories of drug dependence are explored.
PH 148
Public Health and Communication
4 UNITS
Theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of communication sciences in public health practice. Techniques of effective communication, including fear appeal and deterrence; social marketing; public-private partnerships; health service delivery; and outreach in rural and urban settings, and for international health strategies.
PH 158
Sociology of Mental Health (also Sociology 158)
4 UNITS
Examines the social causes, consequences, and patterns of mental health and illness. Students learn a sociological perspective on mental health, mental illness or disorder, and medicine/health care, ranging from social definitions, roles, and interactions to societal stratification and international patterns.
PH 159
Special Topics
4 UNITS
Studies in selected areas of social and behavioral health sciences. Topics addressed vary each quarter.
PSCI 103H
Health Psychology
4 UNITS
Theory and research are considered as they contribute to an understanding of the role of psychological processes in health and illness. The distinction between prevention and treatment of illness is established, and a variety of psychosocial interventions are elaborated.
PSCI 118D
Human Sexuality
4 UNITS
A broad survey of human sexuality encompassing genetic factors, physiological and anatomical development, customary and atypical forms of behavior, reproductive processes, and cultural determinants.
PSCI 137H
Human Stress
4 UNITS
Stress as a multidisciplinary topic. Biological, psychological, and sociological approaches to adaptation-related disorders. Effects of acute and chronic stress on emotions, physiology, and behavior. Methods of stress assessment, stress reduction, and intervention.
PSCI 143H
The Science and Practice of Wellness and Resilience
4 UNITS
Wellness is a common, but elusive goal. Covers the history, theory, psychology, and behavioral science behind skills for wellness and resilience. Provides opportunities to practice the strategies to help further understanding of the behavioral nature of each of the areas.
PSCI 164C
Addiction
4 UNITS
Designed for those with an interest in the nature and treatment of addiction. Focuses on the etiology and treatment of addiction, but does not prepare students to treat substance abuse disorders.
PSCI 177S
Psychology and Emotion
UNITS
PSCI 184S
Positive Psychology
4 UNITS
The field of positive psychology focuses on what is right and positive about people and institutions. Introduces findings associated with human strengths and positive emotions, and provides clinical and personal applications and implications.
PSCI 189S
The Science & Practice of Compassion
4 UNITS
Explores the latest scientific research on compassion and its correlates, and considers practical strategies for increasing compassion in everyday life. Students discover how cutting-edge research is yielding insights into kindness, empathy, altruism, and compassion.
SOCIOL 64
Sociology of Sexuality
4 UNITS
Provides an introduction to and overview of the sociology of sex and sexuality. Considers the social meanings of sex and sexuality, the social contexts of sex and sexuality, and the social regulations of sex and sexuality.
SOCIOL 143
Social Networks and Social Support
4 UNITS
Examines the manner in which behaviors/attitudes of individuals are affected by their network ties to others. How are peoples’ opportunities and well-being increased/decreased by their social networks? May include studies in mental/physical health, job seeking, separation and loss, and aging.
SOCIOL 151
Social Inequality & Health
4 UNITS
Introduces ways in which social inequalities produce health disparities. Begins with general perspectives on social causation of health, and then considers how particular individual attributes (e.g., gender, SES, race/ethnicity, nativity) and social contexts (e.g., neighborhoods) can get “under the skin.”
BIOSCI 48
Neuroscience of Wellbeing
4 UNITS
Explores research that provides insight into how exercise, diet, sleep, contemplative practices such as mindfulness and meditation, and contemporary psychological therapeutic approaches alter brain function in beneficial ways to promote positive mental health well-being.
Dance 3
Scientific Concepts of Health
4 UNITS
Introduction to the scientific foundations of health, emphasizing those pertaining to success in college and lifetime wellness. Includes principles of cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, flexibility, and nutritional fitness. A variety of learning experiences are offered to apply science to real life.
Part 2: Mandatory Workshops
Behind Happy Faces
UNITS
2 Hours
Step-up Bystander
UNITS
2 Hours
Part 3: Additional Workshops
Choose an additional 3 workshops from the following list:
Mental Health
UNITS
1 Hour
Stress Management/Self Care
UNITS
1 Hour
Introduction to Mindfulness
UNITS
1 Hour
Resiliency
UNITS
1 Hour
Time Management
UNITS
1 Hour
Sexual Health
UNITS
1 Hour
Healthy Relationships
UNITS
1 Hour
HIV/AIDS 101
UNITS
1 Hour
Sex & Communication 101
UNITS
1 Hour
Love Jeopardy
UNITS
1 Hour
General Nutrition
UNITS
1 Hour
Healthy Eating on a Budget
UNITS
1 Hour
Eating for Energy
UNITS
1 Hour
Prescription Drugs 101
UNITS
1 Hour
Cannabis 101
UNITS
1 Hour
Alcohol/Cannabis Awareness
UNITS
1 Hour
Alcohol Awareness
UNITS
1 Hour
Body Image
UNITS
1 Hour
Evaluation and Award
In order to receive a certification of completion for the College Population Health & Wellness program, the participant must submit a file with the following information completed:
- Form with classes completed – information from transcripts (unofficial)
- Form with workshops completed, including signatures of workshops instructors
- Form with shadowing completed, including signature of the instructor
- Electronic files can be submitted anytime on or before May 15th (location for file submission will be announced)
- Exit interview must be completed before certification is awarded
- The certificate will be awarded prior to graduation at the Undergraduate Honors Program
Certificate of Completion of the “College Population Health Promotion and Wellness” programs is offered through a collaboration of the Department of Population Health and Disease Prevention at the UC Irvine Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health and the UCI Center for Student Wellness and Health Promotion.
