Exploring the Public Health Minor at UCLA: Requirements and Opportunities
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) offers a diverse range of academic programs, and information about these programs can be found in the UCLA General Catalog, published annually in PDF and HTML formats. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, all courses, course descriptions, instructor designations, curricular degree requirements, and fees are subject to change or deletion without notice. Students should always consult the Catalog for the most current, officially approved courses and curricula. Additional information about UCLA's various schools, including Arts and Architecture; Dentistry; Education and Information Studies; Engineering and Applied Science; Law; Management; Medicine; Music; Nursing; Public Affairs; Public Health; and Theater, Film, and Television, can be found in their respective materials.
Given the ever-evolving landscape of public health, it's essential for aspiring professionals to gain a comprehensive understanding of critical issues like tobacco use, a leading preventable cause of death. While the UCLA School of Public Health (SPH) has historically had limited emphasis on tobacco in its curriculum, concerted efforts have been made to strengthen this focus, offering students valuable opportunities to engage with this pressing concern.
Strengthening the Tobacco Focus in Public Health Education at UCLA
Recognizing the importance of addressing tobacco use as a significant public health challenge, UCLA SPH undertook a multi-faceted program to enhance its curriculum, supported by grants from the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH)/American Legacy Foundation's Scholarship, Training, and Education Program for Tobacco Use Prevention (STEP UP) project. This initiative aimed to integrate tobacco-related content into required and elective courses, offer specialized courses on tobacco, implement a pre-doctoral scholarship program, and establish a tobacco-focused workshop series.
Integrating Tobacco Content into Existing Courses
The initial approach involved incorporating a module on tobacco into the required courses of each department. However, this plan was met with resistance, as some faculty members believed that tobacco was already sufficiently covered in their courses. Consequently, a more individualized approach was adopted, working directly with course instructors to identify feasible and acceptable strategies for increasing the focus on tobacco. Some faculty members independently expanded the emphasis on tobacco, requesting assistance with materials and information, such as literature references and tobacco-related data sets. Additionally, program faculty members and other speakers were invited to participate as guest lecturers in required introductory courses and elective courses, such as “Women, Health and Aging: Policy Issues,” “Politics of Health Policy,” “Women and Health Care in the United States,” and “Ethical Issues in Public Health.”
New and Enhanced Course Offerings
Significant strides were made in expanding course offerings related to tobacco. The UCLA Louise M. Darling Biomedical Library began subscribing to Tobacco Control, a valuable resource for students. The school's existing tobacco course, “Tobacco: Prevention, Use and Public Policy,” was cross-listed in two departments (Health Services and Community Health Sciences), leading to increased undergraduate and graduate student enrollment. Furthermore, a new seminar course, “The Tobacco Epidemic and Public Policy: A Seminar,” was approved and offered by program faculty, a community activist, and guest lecturers through the Department of Health Services and the Department of Community Health Sciences. This course covered the tobacco epidemic, tobacco control strategies, youth smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
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Pre-Doctoral Scholarship Program
To stimulate interest in tobacco-related research and advocacy, a faculty-mentored scholarship program was established for pre-doctoral students in all SPH departments. In the second year, eligibility was expanded to include master's-level students. Scholarship recipients were required to complete two tobacco-related courses, including one of the two tobacco-focused courses, as well as “Health Related Lifestyles: Theories and Applications in Health Psychology,” a course offered through the Psychology Department. They were also required to attend a national meeting with a focus on tobacco, make a presentation describing their experience, attend the tobacco-related workshop, and complete 100 hours of volunteer work related to tobacco control.
Examples of student involvement included:
- Participating in an American Cancer Society (ACS) survey of Asian college students, making presentations on tobacco in the Asian community and on college campuses, and developing a targeted tobacco-prevention intervention for college students.
- Evaluating an American Lung Association Los Angeles media advocacy intervention focused on reducing the depiction of smoking in Hollywood films, attending the Tobacco, Ethics and Society Writers Forum hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at the American Film Institute, and participating in the ACS media campaign to reduce tobacco use among UCLA students.
- Participating in health promotion and tobacco control education activities in conjunction with the Mexican Consulate, working with the Los Angeles County Health Department and Health Consumer Center, and with The Village, a social action group in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, supporting a smoke-free outdoor ordinance in West Hollywood, California.
- Working through the UCLA Public Health Student Association in the University of California Total Divestment from Tobacco Campaign, holding meetings with and making presentations to various stakeholders.
- Conducting doctoral dissertation research with the African American population at King Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles.
Tobacco-Focused Workshop Series
A tobacco-focused workshop series was established to provide students and faculty with exposure to the tobacco problem. Presentations were integrated into existing lecture series in the SPH and the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research/SPH/Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Lessons Learned and Challenges Faced
The STEP UP program achieved several goals, including infusing a tobacco focus into required and elective courses, establishing a new course on tobacco policy, increasing enrollment in the school's existing tobacco-related course, increasing exposure to tobacco-related issues through a workshop series, and providing financial support for students interested in tobacco as an area of study.
However, the program also faced challenges:
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- The public health curriculum is extremely full, and important health issues often compete for placement in courses.
- Faculty members were generally supportive of the program's goals but not always willing to alter the content of their own courses.
- Gaining approval for a new course is a multi-step, slow process.
- The program raised difficult issues regarding acceptance of tobacco industry funding and academic freedom.
Despite these challenges, the program brought together a group of interested faculty who had previously been working independently on the tobacco problem, fostering a shared commitment to strengthening tobacco education in the SPH.
Navigating the UCLA General Catalog
The UCLA General Catalog serves as the primary resource for understanding the requirements for the Public Health minor and other academic programs. It's crucial to remember that the information within the catalog is subject to change, so regular consultation is essential. The catalog provides details on:
- Course Descriptions: A comprehensive overview of each course offered, including content, prerequisites, and learning outcomes.
- Curricular Degree Requirements: The specific courses and units needed to complete the Public Health minor.
- Instructor Designations: Information about the faculty members teaching the courses.
- Fees: Details regarding tuition and other associated costs.
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