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

The combined Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Public Health integrates study of the Spanish language with study of public health. Students hone their proficiency in the production and comprehension of the Spanish language and apply this knowledge to explore aspects of Hispanic culture, literature, and history. At the same time, students work to develop skills and apply theory to public health approaches for addressing poor health outcomes. Students practice the transcultural skills and linguistic competence to communicate and participate in public health initiatives and interventions in one of the world’s major languages and with a deep transnational understanding of practices across the two languages. Students in this major are not permitted to declare the Spanish minor.

Spanish Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Spanish Requirements
SPNS 2102	Intermediate Spanish 2	4
SPNS 3101	Advanced Spanish 1	4
SPNS 3102	Advanced Spanish 2	4
Culture, Literature & History Electives
Complete two of the following:		8
CLTR 3805	Culture, Politics, and Media in Spain
SPNS 1504	Cultural History of Spain
SPNS 1505	Latin American Culture, History, and Politics
SPNS 1973	Special Topics in Hispanic Culture
SPNS 3240	Social Justice in Latin American and Latinx Film
SPNS 3715	New Narratives: Latin America after 1989
SPNS 3720	Literature, Arts, and Poverty in Latin America
SPNS 4655	Latin American Literature
Language & Linguistics Electives
Complete two of the following:		8
SPNS 2900	Specialized Instruction in Spanish
SPNS 3403	Spanish for Global Professionals
SPNS 3502	Authentic Spanish Grammar
SPNS 3601	Exploring Spoken Spanish
SPNS 3602	Introduction to Spanish Linguistics
SPNS 3603	Special Topics in Spanish Linguistics
SPNS 3800	Special Topics in Spanish (Special topics courses may be repeated with different topics.)
SPNS 3900	Specialized Instruction in Spanish
SPNS 4944	Cultural Engagement: Dialogue of Civilizations
Experiential Learning
Complete one of the following options (courses used to satisfy this requirement will also typically satisfy another major requirement):		0-4
International co-op in a Spanish-speaking country
Study-abroad in a Spanish-speaking country
Dialogue of Civilizations in a Spanish-speaking country
SPNS 3601	Exploring Spoken Spanish

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
PHTH 4540	Health Education and Program Planning	4
Science Requirement
PSYC 1101	Foundations of Psychology	4
Biology
Complete one of the following options:		8-10
Option 1
BIOL 1141	Microbes and Society
or BIOL 1143	Biology 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 Social Science Requirement
Introductory Course
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
HUSV 1101	Social Change and Human Services
INTL 1101	Globalization and International Affairs
PHIL 1101	Introduction to Philosophy
POLS 1160	International Relations
SOCL 1101	Introduction to Sociology
Upper-Level Course
Complete one of the following:		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 and Management
ECON 3413	Health Economics and Healthcare Policy
ORGB 3201	Organizational Behavior
PHTH 4511	Healthcare Management
PHTH 5232	Evaluating Healthcare Quality
PHTH 5234	Economic Perspectives on Health Policy

Integrative Requirements

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Integrative Courses
SPNS 3401	Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 1	4
SPNS 3402	Spanish for Healthcare Professionals 2	4

Supporting Courses

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Introduction to College (Based on Home College)
Complete one of the following:		1
HSCI 1000	College: An Introduction
INSH 1000	Social Sciences and Humanities at Northeastern
Writing in the First Year
ENGW 1111	First-Year Writing	4
Co-op Preparation (Based on Home College)
Complete one of the following:		1
EESH 2000	Professional Development for Co-op
HSCI 2000	Professional Development for Bouvé Co-op
Advanced Writing in the Discipline
Complete one of the following:		4
ENGW 3306	Advanced Writing in the Health Professions
ENGW 3308	Advanced Writing in the Social Sciences
ENGW 3309	Advanced Writing in the Humanities
ENGW 3315	Interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines

Capstone

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following, based on home college:		4
Bouvé
HSCI 4720	Health Science Capstone—Service ¹
HSCI 4730	Health Science Capstone—Research ¹
CSSH
SPNS 4700	Capstone Seminar

¹: Must complete 0 semester hour Health Science Capstone Introduction (HSCI 4700) pre-requisite.

General Electives

Course List
Code	Title	Hours
Complete any remaining hours after major and NUpath courses to reach total program required hours.

Public Health Major Requirement

A grade of C or higher is required for the Public Health Core, Science Requirement, Public Health Social Science Requirement, and HSCI 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 total semester hours required

Sample Plans of Study

Bouvé Student Example: Four Years, Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer First Half

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
HSCI 1000	1	SPNS 3101	4	PHTH 2300	4	General Elective	4
PHTH 1260	4	PHTH 2350	4	General Elective	4	General Elective	4
SPNS 2102	4	BIOL 1141 or 1143	4
BIOL 1147	4	PSYC 1101	4
ENGW 1111	4
	17		16		8		8
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
HSCI 2000	1	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	PHTH 2515	4
PHTH 2210	4					General Elective	4
SPNS 3102	4
CLTR elective	4
PH Social science course—introductory	4
	17		0		0		8
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
SPNS 3401	4	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	PHTH 4120	4
SPNS elective	4					PHTH 4540	4
PH Social science course—upper	3-4
Advanced Writing in the Discipline NUPath course	4
	15-16		0		0		8
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
SPNS 3402	4	SPNS elective	4
PHTH 4202	4	CLTR elective	4
General Electives	8	General Elective	4
		Capstone course	4
	16		16
Total Hours: 129-130

CSSH Student Example: Four Years, Two Co-ops in Summer Second Half/Fall

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
INSH 1000	1	SPNS 3101	4	General Elective	4	General Elective	4
PHTH 1260	4	PHTH 2350	4	PHTH 2515	4	General Elective	4
SPNS 2102	4	BIOL 1141 or 1143	4
BIOL 1147	4	PSYC 1101	4
ENGW 1111	4
	17		16		8		8
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
SPNS 3102	4	EESH 2000	1	General Elective	4	Co-op	0
CLTR elective	4	SPNS 3401	4	PHTH 4202	4
PH Social science course—introductory	4	General Electives	8
PHTH 2300	4	PHTH 2210	4
	16		17		8		0
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
Co-op	0	SPNS elective	4	PHTH 4120	4	Co-op	0
		CLTR elective	4	PHTH 4540	4
		PH Social science course—upper	3-4
		Advanced Writing in the Discipline NUPath course	4
	0		15-16		8		0
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
Co-op	0	SPNS elective	4
		General Elective	4
		Capstone course	4
		SPNS 3402	4
	0		16
Total Hours: 129-130

Academic Catalog 2025-2026

Spanish and Public Health, BA (Boston)