Human Services and Public Health, BA (Boston) < Northeastern University Academic Catalog

The Bachelor of Arts in Human Services and Public Health is designed to prepare students to address health and social issues through an interdisciplinary approach grounded in prevention science. With a dual foundation in public health and human services, courses blend key theories, research, and skills from both fields to prepare graduates for fields in health education, advocacy, community well-being, case management, and social change. The curriculum provides students with data-driven strategies to understand and respond to social determinants of health in both community-based settings and in public policy. Throughout the courses, service-learning, and experiential opportunities, students have an opportunity to develop core competencies such as counseling, curricula development and facilitation, program planning and development, policy analysis, and research methods.

Overview and Co-op Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Overview
HUSV 1000	Human Services at Northeastern	1
or HSCI 1000	College: An Introduction
Professional Development for Co-op
EESH 2000	Professional Development for Co-op	1
or HSCI 2000	Professional Development for Bouvé Co-op

Human Services Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Human Services Required Courses
HUSV 1101	Social Change and Human Services	4
HUSV 2300	Counseling in Human Services	4
HUSV 2970	Research Methods for Human Services	4
or INSH 3101	Research Methods in the Social Sciences
HUSV 3570	The Nonprofit Sector, Philanthropy, and Social Change	4
HUSV 3900	Social Policy	4
Human Services Electives
Complete four of the following:		16-18
HUSV 2320	Techniques in Individual and Group Counseling
HUSV 2340	Mindfulness in Mental Health
HUSV 2355	Race, Identity, Social Change, and Empowerment
HUSV 2370	Restorative Justice: Transforming the System
HUSV 2401	Food Justice and Community Development
HUSV 2440	Expressive Therapy
HUSV 2500	Science of Play
HUSV 2800	Sexual Orientation and Gender Expression
HUSV 2960	Intercultural Studies through Human Services ^{DOC course}
HUSV 3520	Child Intervention and Treatment
HUSV 3540	Substance Use and Social Justice
HUSV 3580	Sexual Violence: Counseling, Programs, and Policy
HUSV 4994	Human Services Internship

Science Requirement

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Psychology
PSYC 1101	Foundations of Psychology	4
Biology
Complete one of the following options:		8-10
Option 1
BIOL 1143	Biology and Society
or BIOL 1141	Microbes and Society
BIOL 1147	The Human Organism
Option 2
BIOL 1111 and BIOL 1112	General Biology 1 and Lab for BIOL 1111
BIOL 1113 and BIOL 1114	General Biology 2 and Lab for BIOL 1113

Public Health Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Public Health Core
PHTH 1260	The American Healthcare System	4
or PHTH 1261	Comparative Healthcare Systems
PHTH 2210	Foundations of Biostatistics	4
PHTH 2300	Communication Skills for the Health Professions	4
or PHTH 2301	Communication Skills for the Health Professions—Global
PHTH 2350	Community and Public Health	4
or PHTH 2351	Community and Public Health - Global
PHTH 2515	Healthcare Policy and Administration	4
PHTH 4120	Global Perspectives on Discrimination and Health	4
PHTH 4202	Principles of Epidemiology in Medicine and Public Health	4
Public Health Social Science Requirement—Introductory
Complete one of the following:		4
ANTH 1101	Peoples and Cultures
COMM 1225	Communication Theory
ECON 1115 and ECON 1125	Principles of Macroeconomics and Recitation for ECON 1115
ECON 1116 and ECON 1126	Principles of Microeconomics and Recitation for ECON 1116
ENGL 1300	Introduction to Health and Humanities
INTL 1101	Globalization and International Affairs
PHIL 1101	Introduction to Philosophy
POLS 1160	International Relations
SOCL 1101	Introduction to Sociology
Public Health Social Science Requirement—Upper-Level
Complete one of the following (categories are provided for reference):		3-4
Society and Behavior
ANTH 3441	Medical Anthropology
COMM 3201	Health Communication
COMM 4102	Health Communication Campaigns
CRIM 3040	Psychology of Crime
HLTH 5280	The (in)Visibility of (dis)Ability in Society
PHTH 5222	Health Advocacy
PSYC 3402	Social Psychology
PSYC 3404	Developmental Psychology
PSYC 3450	Learning and Motivation
SOCL 3241	Violence and Society
SOCL 3441	Sociology of Health and Illness
SOCL 4520	Race, Class, and Gender
Globalization and Global Health
AFCS 3424	Epidemiology of Pandemic Diseases and Health Disparities in the African Diaspora
ECON 3404	International Food Policy
INTL 3200	Cities in a Global Context
or INTL 3201	Cities in a Global Context (Abroad)
INTL 3400	International Conflict and Negotiation
POLS 3487	Politics of Developing Nations
Environmental Health and Climate Change
COMM 3500	Environmental Issues, Communication, and the Media
ECON 3423	Environmental Economics
INTL 5100	Climate and Development
or PPUA 5100	Climate and Development
PPUA 5238	Climate Change and Global Urbanization
Law, Policy, and Human Rights
ECON 3424	Law and Economics
PHIL 5001	Global Justice
PHIL 5002	Ethics and Public Policy
POLS 3307	Public Policy and Administration
Healthcare Administration & Management
ECON 3413	Health Economics and Healthcare Policy
MGMT 3340	Healthcare Management, Innovation, and Design
ORGB 3201	Organizational Behavior
PHTH 4511	Healthcare Management
PHTH 5232	Evaluating Healthcare Quality
PHTH 5234	Economic Perspectives on Health Policy

Capstone

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following based on home college:		3-4
Bouvé
HINF 5301	Evaluating Health Technologies
HSCI 4720	Health Science Capstone—Service ¹
HSCI 4730	Health Science Capstone—Research ¹
HSCI 4740	Health Science Capstone Seminar
HSCI 4970 and HSCI 4971	Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 and Junior/Senior Honors Project 2 ²
PHTH 4515	Critical Issues in Health and Public Health Policy
PHTH 4602	Private Guns, Public Health
PHTH 4616	Addressing Rural Health Inequities
PHTH 4717	Advancing Health Justice Through the Law
PHTH 5214	Environmental Health
PHTH 5230	Global Health
PHTH 5236	Food, Nutrition, and Health
PHTH 5603	Qualitative Methods
College of Social Sciences and Humanities
HUSV 4700	Senior Seminar in Human Services

¹: Must complete 0-semester-hour Health Science Capstone Introduction (HSCI 4700) as prerequisite.
²: Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 (HSCI 4970)will count as 4-semester-hour general elective.

Supporting Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
First-Year Writing
ENGW 1111	First-Year Writing	4
Math
MATH 1213	Interactive Mathematics	4
or MATH 1215	Mathematical Thinking
Advanced Writing in the Disciplines
Complete one of the following:		4
ENGW 3306	Advanced Writing in the Health Professions
ENGW 3307	Advanced Writing in the Sciences
ENGW 3315	Interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines

Integrative Course

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
PHTH 4540	Health Education and Program Planning	4

General Electives

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Complete remaining credits for the required credits with electives (minimum of two courses).

NUpath Requirements Satisfied

Engaging with the Natural and Designed World
Exploring Creative Expression and Innovation
Ethical Reasoning
Interpreting Culture
Conducting Formal and Quantitative Reasoning
Understanding Societies and Institutions
Analyzing and Using Data
Engaging Differences and Diversity
Writing-Intensive in the Major
Demonstrating Thought and Action in a Capstone
Integrating Knowledge and Skills Through Experience

Optional Co-op

Students can choose to complete one or two six-month co-op experiences, or none at all, during their course of study. Students must consult with their advisor regarding the prerequisite course for co-op.

Public Health Grade Requirement

A grade of C or higher is required for the public health core, science requirement, public health social science requirement, and HSCI and PHTH capstone courses. Students who take College: An Introduction (HSCI 1000) and Professional Development for Bouvé Co-op (HSCI 2000) must achieve a C or higher.

Program Requirement

128 minimum semester hours required

Sample Plans of Study

Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer Second Half/Fall

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
HUSV 1000 or HSCI 1000	1	HUSV 2300	4	PHTH 2350	4	General elective	4
PHTH 1260	4	MATH 1213, 1215, or 1241	4	PHTH 2300	4	General elective	4
HUSV 1101	4	BIOL 1147	4
BIOL 1143	4	PSYC 1101	4
ENGW 1111	4
	17		16		8		8
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
HUSV elective 1	4	EESH 2000 or HSCI 2000	1	Advanced writing in the disciplines	4	Co-op
Language course	4	HUSV 2970 or INSH 3101	4	PHTH 2515	4
PH social science course—introductory	4	HUSV 3570	4
HUSV elective 2	4	PHTH 2210	4
		Language course	4
	16		17		8		0
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
Co-op		HUSV 3900	4	HUSV elective 4	4	Co-op
		HUSV elective 3	4	PHTH 4120	4
		PHTH 4540	4
		PHTH 4202	4
	0		16		8		0
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
Co-op		HUSV 2355	4
		Language course	4
		PH social science course—upper level	3-4
		Capstone course	3-4
	0		14-16
Total Hours: 128-130

Four Years, Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer First Half

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
HUSV 1000 or HSCI 1000	1	ENGW 1111	4	PHTH 2300	4	General elective	4
PHTH 1260	4	BIOL 1113 and BIOL 1114	5	PHTH 2350	4	General elective	4
BIOL 1111 and BIOL 1112	5	MATH 1213, 1215, or 1241	4
PSYC 1101	4	HUSV 2300	4
HUSV 1101	4
	18		17		8		8
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
EESH 2000 or HSCI 2000	1	Co-op		Co-op		PHTH 2515	4
PHTH 2210	4					HUSV elective 1	4
HUSV 2970 or INSH 3101	4
HUSV 3570	4
Language course	4
	17		0		0		8
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
HUSV elective 2	4	Co-op		Co-op		PHTH 4120	4
Language course	4					PHTH 4540	4
PHTH 4202	4
Advanced writing in the disciplines	4
	16		0		0		8
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
HUSV 3900	4	PH social science course—upper level	3-4
Language course	4	Capstone course	3-4
HUSV 2355	4	HUSV elective 3	4
PH social science course—introductory	4	HUSV elective 4	4
	16		14-16
Total Hours: 130-132

Academic Catalog 2025-2026

Human Services and Public Health, BA (Boston)