Health Science and Communication Studies, BS (Boston)

The combined Bachelor of Science degree program in health science and communication studies offers an interdisciplinary approach to public health communication. Students combine courses from health sciences and communication studies to learn about health and illness and the important role of communication in shaping the public’s understanding of health issues. The interdisciplinary curriculum is enhanced by experiential learning opportunities and is designed to prepare students for challenging careers that involve crafting messages about health, developing strategies for promoting healthcare services, and specific applications such as disease awareness and prevention.

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.

Universitywide Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.

NUpath Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.

Communication Studies Major Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
COMM 1101	Introduction to Communication Studies	4
COMM 1112	Public Speaking	4
or COMM 2301	Communication Research Methods

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Foundation Course
Complete one of the following:		4
COMM 1210	Persuasion and Rhetoric
COMM 1225	Communication Theory
COMM 1231	Principles of Organizational Communication
COMM 1255	Communication in a Digital Age
Cluster Course
Complete one of the following:		4
COMM 1131	Sex, Relationships, and Communication
COMM 2303	Global and Intercultural Communication
COMM 2304	Communication and Gender
COMM 2501	Communication Law
COMM 2551	Free Speech in Cyberspace
Writing-Intensive
Complete two of the following:		8
COMM 3200	Mobile Communication
COMM 3201	Health Communication
COMM 3230	Interpersonal Communication
COMM 3304	Communication and Inclusion
COMM 3320	Political Communication
COMM 3415	Communication Criticism
COMM 3445	Public Relations Principles
COMM 3500	Environmental Issues, Communication, and the Media
COMM 3501	Free Speech: Law and Practice
COMM 3530	Communication and Sexualities
COMM 3532	Theories of Conflict and Negotiation
COMM 4535	Nonverbal Social Interaction
COMM 4605	Youth and Communication Technology
COMM 4631	Crisis Communication and Image Management
Communication Studies Electives
Complete three additional COMM courses.		12

Health Science 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
BIOL 1111 and BIOL 1112	General Biology 1 and Lab for BIOL 1111	5
BIOL 1113 and BIOL 1114	General Biology 2 and Lab for BIOL 1113	5
CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163	General Chemistry for Science Majors and Lab for CHEM 1161 and Recitation for CHEM 1161	5
MATH 1241	Calculus 1	4
PSYC 1101	Foundations of Psychology	4

Other Requirements

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Intro to College
HSCI 1000	College: An Introduction	1
or COMM 1000	Communication Studies at Northeastern
Professional Development
HSCI 2000	Professional Development for Bouvé Co-op	1
or EEAM 2000	Professional Development for Co-op
Writing
ENGW 1111	First-Year Writing	4
ENGW 3306	Advanced Writing in the Health Professions (or other Advanced Writing course)	4
Electives
Complete 28 semester hours of electives.		28

Capstone and Integrative Course

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Complete one of the following:		3-4
COMM 4102	Health Communication Campaigns
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

¹

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

²

Junior/Senior Honors Project 1 (HSCI 4970) will count as 4 semester hours general elective.

Health Sciences Major Requirement

A grade of C or higher is required for the Public Health Core, 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.

Communication Studies Major Requirement

No more than two grades below a C in COMM courses may be used to fulfill degree requirements.

Program Requirement

131 total semester hours required

Sample Plans of Study

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

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
BIOL 1111	4	BIOL 1113	4	PHTH core	4	Vacation	0
BIOL 1112	1	BIOL 1114	1	General Elective	4
HSCI 1000 or COMM 1000	1	CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163	5
MATH 1241	4	ENGW 1111	4
PHTH 1260	4	General Elective	4
PSYC 1101	4
	18		18		8		0
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
COMM 1101	4	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	ENGW 3306	4
COMM 1112 or 2301	4	General Elective	4			General Elective	4
HSCI 2000 or EEAM 2000	1
PHTH 2210	4
COMM elective	4
	17		4		0		8
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
Cluster course	4	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	PHTH core	4
Foundation course	4	General Elective	4			PHTH core	4
PHTH core	4
PHTH core	4
	16		4		0		8
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
COMM WI course	4	COMM WI course	4
PHTH core	4	COMM elective	4
COMM elective	4	General Electives	8
Capstone course	3-4
	15-16		16
Total Hours: 132-133

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

Year 1
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
BIOL 1111	4	BIOL 1113	4	Vacation	0	Vacation	0
BIOL 1112	1	BIOL 1114	1
HSCI 1000 or COMM 1000	1	CHEM 1161 and CHEM 1162 and CHEM 1163	5
MATH 1241	4	ENGW 1111	4
PHTH 1260	4	General Elective	4
PSYC 1101	4
	18		18		0		0
Year 2
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
COMM 1101	4	HSCI 2000 or EEAM 2000	1	Vacation	0	Co-op	0
COMM 1112 or 2301	4	Cluster course	4
PHTH core	4	Foundation course	4
PHTH core	4	General Elective	4
		PHTH 2210	4
	16		17		0		0
Year 3
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
Co-op	0	ENGW 3306	4	Vacation	0	Vacation	0
		PHTH core	4
		COMM electives	8
	0		16		0		0
Year 4
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours	Summer 1	Hours	Summer 2	Hours
COMM WI course	4	Co-op	0	Co-op	0	Vacation	0
PHTH core courses	8
COMM elective	4
	16		0		0		0
Year 5
Fall	Hours	Spring	Hours
COMM WI course	4	General Electives	12
General Electives	8	Capstone course	3-4
PHTH core	4
	16		15-16
Total Hours: 132-133