Public health professionals

B.S. in Public Health Online

Understand how to promote and protect health using data-driven solutions to improve public health outcomes at the individual, community, and population levels. Gain expertise in each of the public health core disciplines.

Next Apply Date: 8/5/26
Next Class Start Date: 8/19/26
Apply Now
Next Apply Date: 8/5/26
Next Class Start Date: 8/19/26

Program Overview

Promote and protect health with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health

Learn how to promote and protect health with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from A-State. This online program is ideal for those seeking to understand the factors that create health inequity and find data-driven solutions to improve public health outcomes.

The B.S. in Public Health degree offers education and training in the five core public health disciplines: Biostatistics; Environmental Health Sciences; Epidemiology; Health Policy; Management; and Social and Behavioral Sciences. The curriculum focuses on population health, health equity, global health, epidemiology, biostatistics, and research methods.

Gain hands-on experience that will help you stand out to employers. Prepare for a career in healthcare management, epidemiology, community health, health data science or health education in a flexible, affordable format created for working adults.

In this program you will:

  • Gain exposure to multiple areas within public health (epidemiology, biostats, etc.)
  • Understand the unique challenges of public health in rural communities
  • Learn data-driven methods to improve the health of individuals, communities and populations
  • Develop behavior change interventions to improve public health outcomes
  • Understand the factors, barriers and obstacles that create health inequity
In this program you will:+
  • Gain exposure to multiple areas within public health (epidemiology, biostats, etc.)
  • Understand the unique challenges of public health in rural communities
  • Learn data-driven methods to improve the health of individuals, communities and populations
  • Develop behavior change interventions to improve public health outcomes
  • Understand the factors, barriers and obstacles that create health inequity

Prepare for a broad range of public health roles, including:

  • Public Health Programs Manager
  • Epidemiologist
  • Community Health Worker
  • Public Health Research Associate
  • Research Program Manager
Prepare for a broad range of public health roles, including:+
  • Public Health Programs Manager
  • Epidemiologist
  • Community Health Worker
  • Public Health Research Associate
  • Research Program Manager

Gain the knowledge and industry-relevant skills employers seek:

  • Analysis and interpretation
  • Communication
  • Management
  • Problem solving
Gain the knowledge and industry-relevant skills employers seek:+
  • Analysis and interpretation
  • Communication
  • Management
  • Problem solving

Also available:

A-State offers a variety of undergraduate programs in a convenient online format. Explore our full range of online undergraduate programs.

Per Credit Tuition: $302
Transfer Credits: Up to 90 hours
Credit Hours 120
Apply Now

Need More Information?

Call 866-621-8096

Call 866-621-8096

Tuition

See if you qualify for financial aid

A-State's online programs are affordable and convenient. You may also qualify for financial aid. Learn more.

The Bachelor of Science in Public Health online program offers the same low, pay-by-the-course tuition to all U.S. residents. All fees are included. Tuition may be subject to change on a yearly basis.

Tuition breakdown:

Per Credit Hour: $302
Per Course: $906

Transfer your credits for lower tuition

Use our Tuition Estimator to see how affordable your degree could be. Slide the notch to the number of credits you've already earned—which may qualify for transfer credit—to get an estimate of what your degree might cost.

0
90
Transfer Credits: 0
Your Estimated Tuition: $Your Estimated Tuition:
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Transcripts sent from other colleges and universities will be evaluated, and accepted credits will be added to the student's A-State record. The Tuition Estimator is not a guarantee or predictor of the number of credit hours that will be accepted.

You may be closer to Graduation than you think!

A-State-approved credit for prior learning recognizes your previous accomplishments, reducing your tuition costs and time to graduation.

Calendar

Mark these important dates and deadlines

Our B.S. in Public Health online program is flexible and convenient—featuring accelerated coursework and multiple start dates per year.

Please note Summer 1 and Summer 2 terms are 5 weeks in duration for this program.

View full calendar +

TermProgram Start DateApplication DeadlineDocument DeadlineRegistration DeadlinePayment DueLast Class Day
Summer 26/29/266/15/266/15/266/25/266/26/267/31/26
Fall 18/19/268/5/268/5/268/13/268/14/2610/2/26
Fall 210/12/269/28/269/28/2610/8/2610/9/2612/4/26

Now enrolling:

Next Apply Date 8/5/26
Start Class 8/19/26

Have questions or need more information about A‑State online programs?

Ready to take the next step toward earning your degree online from A-State?

Apply Now

Admissions

Check the admission requirements for this B.S. in Public Health

Review the admission requirements for the online B.S. in Public Health program and take the next step toward earning your degree.

Applying to A-State Online is simple. Our streamlined process and dedicated enrollment specialists are here to help you complete your application quickly and confidently.

Admission Requirements:

  • Online application
  • Official transcripts
  • 2.75 GPA for transferring credits
View all admission requirements +

Admissions Requirements Details

Arkansas State University offers multiple admission pathways for undergraduate students, based on your academic background and prior college experience.

Transfer Students (13+ College Credits)

You may be admitted as a transfer student if you:

  • Have 13 or more transferable college credit hours
  • Earned a 2.0 cumulative GPA or higher on all transferable coursework

First‑Time Freshmen (0–12 College Credits)

All freshman applicants are required to submit official ACT or SAT scores.

Recent High School Graduates (within the last 5 years)

You may be automatically admitted if you meet one of the following criteria:

  • 3.0 cumulative high school GPA (or equivalent GED score), or
  • ACT 19+ (super score) or SAT 990+, or
  • Top 20% of your high school graduating class

Applicants who do not meet automatic admission criteria may still be considered through an admissions appeal process.

Non-Traditional Students (Out of High School 5+ Years)

If you have been out of high school five years or more and have completed 12 or fewer college credit hours, you may be admitted if you:

  • Hold a high school diploma or state‑approved equivalent
  • Submit official Accuplacer, ACT or SAT scores
  • Have not previously enrolled at Arkansas State University

High school GPA is not considered for this admission pathway. Applicants are admitted based on diploma status and test scores.

Note: Regardless of admission type, if you have 0-12 transferable college hours, test scores will still need to be submitted for reporting purposes to the Arkansas Department of Higher Education (ADHE). Although test scores are not needed for an admission decision, they are needed to register for your first course. Accuplacer test scores are an acceptable alternative to ACT/SAT scores and must be dated within the past five years.

Application Submission Requirements

Submitting your application takes three easy steps: filling out the application, submitting your documents and paying the application fee.

  1. When completing the online application, select 100% online student and then complete all the steps on the online application.
  2. Pay $30.00 non-refundable application fee.
  3. Submit all official college transcripts.
  4. Submit official high school transcripts (if applicable).
  5. Submit official ACT/ SAT test scores (if applicable).

If you have any questions along the way, call us at 866-621-8096 and we’ll be happy to help answer questions.

Document Submission Address

Submit all documents to:

A-State Online
P.O. Box 2520
State University, AR 72467

Fax: 870-972-3548
Email: [email protected]

For non-US postal mail overnight delivery only:

A-State Online
c/o Central Receiving
2713 Pawnee St.
Jonesboro, AR 72401

Courses

Find out more about what you will learn in this online program

To earn your B.S. in Public Health, you need to complete 120 credit hours of coursework. The program includes 50 credit hours of Public Health major courses, 35 credit hours of general education courses and 35 credit hours of electives. Students can finish faster by transferring previously earned credit hours. Freshmen students are required to take a 3-hour Making Connections course. Transfer credit hours will be evaluated during the admission process.

You can view your schedule of courses for this degree through the Course Smartsheet:

View the AOS Course Smartsheet

How to Use the Course Smartsheet

Expand All

Students must take all of the following courses.

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Study of the major cultural, interpersonal, and public communication issues affecting health communication.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Fundamental structures and operations of the United States health care system and its differences from other established health care models across the world. Provides an overview of health care services, delivery, financing, trends and consequences. Fall, Spring.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Teaching and “coaching” patients toward managing, mitigating, and/or preventing health dysfunctions encountered by citizens of the Delta region. Examines the impact health promotion and preventive practices have on the quality of life across the life span. Fall. Requires admission to the BSHS program or Departmental Approval. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in HP 2112.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Overview of the unique features of public health in the rapidly changing US and global health care delivery system from a population, global health perspective. Fall. Requires admission to the BSHS program or Departmental Approval. Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in HP 2112. Dual Listed/Cross Listed: PHLT 3353.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Overview of traditional, emerging, and controversial issues associated with environmental health.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Overview of foundational public health knowledge including key terms and concepts, the 10 Essential Public Health Services, and the five core disciplines (epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and management, environmental health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences).
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Important health challenges facing the world including the environmental, social, political, and economic factors that shape patterns and experiences of illness and healthcare across societies, cultures, and countries.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Principles of biostatistics and application of statistical methods used in public health and medical research. Concepts include descriptive data, probability distributions, hypothesis testing, group comparisons, measures of association, and regression; focus is on interpretation, rather than calculation.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Overview of public health institutions and systems, health policy and the policymaking process; application of policy analysis to population health, private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid at the local, state, and federal levels.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The concept of health equity and a broad overview of health disparities in the United States; examination of relevant historical issues and case studies, emphasizing critical analysis and application.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The process of developing, implementing, and assessing public health interventions, incorporating health behavior change theories and concepts, case studies, and application.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The biological, genetic, behavioral, social, physical, and structural determinants of health, and how these factors impact individuals, communities, and populations.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Review of the history of infectious diseases, principles of infectious disease transmission, relevant study design and analysis techniques, clinical epidemiology, and chronic disease epidemiology.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Public health program planning, implementation, and evaluation; emphasis on application and development of public health programs.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Fundamental principles of public health research design and methodology used for surveillance, monitoring, data collection, assessment, and reporting.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Concepts of public health leadership and management including public health organizations, strategic planning, organizational change, staffing, human resource management, budgeting, and performance management. Prerequisites: PHLT 1013
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
For students in a variety of disciplines including the sciences, allied health fields, and education. Descriptive statistics for quantitative and qualitative data, normal distributions, correlation, linear regression, sample surveys, randomized com­parative experiments, sampling distributions, estimation and hypothesis testing for means and proportions.

You must complete 35 credit hours of electives to satisfy the 120 credit hours required for this program. Courses may be chosen with the assistance of an advisor and per your degree plan. Electives can come from any courses offered as long as prerequisites are met and at least 3 hours are from 3000 or 4000 level courses.

You must take the following courses.

First-Year Course (3 hours)
UNIV11033

Communication Requirement (6 hours)
ENGL10103
ENGL10203

Mathematics Requirement (3 hours)
Students must take one of the following or any MATH course that requires MATH11003 as prerequisite.

Arts and Humanities Requirement (6 hours)
At least one course must be selected from MUSC10003, ARHS10003 or THTR10003, and at least one course must be selected from ENGL21103, ENGL21203 or PHIL11003.

Social Sciences Requirement (9 hours)
Students must complete 9 credit hours of Social Sciences courses. At least one course must be selected from PLSC20003, HIST21103 or HIST21203 Additional options are SOCI10103 and PSYC11003.

Life Science Requirement (4 hours)
Students must complete BIOL24003 with BIOL24001 lab (4 hours total)

Physical Sciences Requirement (4 hours)
Students must complete CHEM12103 with CHEM12101 lab.

Departmental (3 hours)
SPCH10003

Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
FINE ARTS. Introduction to major artists, media, styles and works of art within their cultural and historical contexts for the non-art major. Note, this course does not meet general education requirements for any degree in art.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1
The behavior of matter with respect to life processes, cells, tissues, functional anatomy of integumentary, skeletal, muscular and nervous systems, cat anatomy, nerve and muscle preparations and recordings. Two hours per week. Special course fees may apply. (ACTS#: BIOL 2404)
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to the biology of atoms, mol­ecules, organelles and cellular functions, tissues, functional anatomy of integumentary, skeletal, muscular and central nervous systems, interaction with external environment. Three hours per week. Special course fees may apply. (ACTS#: BIOL 2404
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 1
Special course fees ap­ply. Corequisites: CHEM 1043.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
A one semester chemistry survey course introducing selected fundamental concepts including dimensional analysis, mole concept, atomic and molecular structure, nomenclature, chemical reactions, thermochemistry, intermolecular interactions, gases, mixtures, kinetics, equilibrium and acid base chemistry. Prerequisites: completion of MATH 1023, MATH 1043, or a MATH course for which these are a prerequisite. Corequisites: CHEM 1041.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The theory and practice of communication in interpersonal, small groups, and public speaking contexts, emphasizing proficiency in message organization, delivery, and critical thinking.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Study and practice of fundamentals of written communication in­cluding principles of grammar, punctuation, spelling, organization, and careful analytical reading. Fall, Spring. (ACTS#: ENGL 1013) Prerequisites: with grade of C or better, for ENG 1013.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Continues the practice of ENG 1003, to develop further the skills learned in that course. Based on reading and discussion of various types of writing, the students’ essays will provide practice in different kinds of rhetorical development including re­search and documentation. Fall, Spring. (ACTS#: ENGL 1023) Prerequisites: must complete ENG 1003 with grade of C or better for degree.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to the analysis and interpretation of literary works from several historical periods ranging from early civilizations through the Renaissance.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to the analysis and interpretation of literary works from several historical periods ranging from the Renaissance to the present.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
UNITED STATES HISTORY. Social, economic, and political developments from Columbus to the end of Reconstruction. Fall, Spring, Summer. (ACTS#: HIST 2113)
Duration: Varies Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
UNITED STATES HISTORY. Social, eco­nomic, and political developments from Reconstruction to the present. Fall, Spring, Summer. (ACTS#: HIST 2123)
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Equations and inequalities, functions and graphs, polynomial and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, systems of equations and inequalities, matrices, and miscellaneous topics. No credit given if taken following MATH 1054.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
FINE ARTS. An introduction to music for the listener who has had no formal musical training or experience. A study of musical styles and composers and their cultural and historical contexts. Fall, Spring, Summer. (ACTS#: MUSC 1003)
Duration: Varies Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Basic problems of philosophy based upon readings in the works of selected leading philosophers. A prerequisite for upper level philosophy.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
AMERICAN POLITICS. The con­stitution, government, and politics of the United States.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Study of the important scientific, principles of individual human behavior from biological, cognitive, social, and behavioral perspectives.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
The scientific study of society: Social institutions, social interactions, social inequality, social organizations, and social change.
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Introduction to aesthetic and critical appreciation of the art of theatre through lecture, live and video performance, and discussion. Fall, Spring, Summer. Special course fees may apply. (ACTS#: DRAM 1003)
Duration: 7 Weeks weeks
Credit Hours: 3
Required course for all first semester freshmen. Course content is centered around the skills and knowledge needed to be a successful ASU student, including academic performance, problem solving, critical thinking, self management and group building skills, university policies and other relevant issues.

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