Undergraduate Studies

Mission

The Office of Undergraduate Studies (OUS) is committed to working synergistically with the University’s eight colleges and schools to ensure an integrated academic experience for all undergraduate students at Prairie View A&M University. Through working with the academic departments, the OUS encourages the use of innovative instructional methods for all disciplines with an emphasis on rigor, relevance, and responsiveness to the academic and professional needs of the PVAMU undergraduate. We provide opportunities for students to participate in experiential learning opportunities that are an essential component of the undergraduate learning experience, through High Impact Practices (HIPs), e.g., research, internships, and service-learning.

As a component of the Office of Academic Affairs, the OUS is committed to serving the University in achieving its mission by working to:

Assist students as they transition to PVAMU from high school or other educational institutions, identify a major, complete their Core Curriculum, participate in HIPs/Career Exploration and complete the requirements for the Bachelor’s Degree;
Ensure high-quality undergraduate degree and certification programs that are rigorous and current;
Establish new degree programs and reviewing existing programs for quality and coherence through the Undergraduate Council and in collaboration with colleges and departments; and
Provide administrative oversight and support for the Bachelor of General Studies Degree Program, the Core Curriculum, Assessment and Evaluation, Academic Advising, Undergraduate Policies and Procedures, the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), Open Educational Resources (OER) initiatives, Undergraduate Research and other HIPs initiatives.

The Office of Undergraduate Studies offers a BA and BS in General Studies.

Program Goals

The General Studies degree is a customized set of study that allows the student to pursue an academic program that fits their educational, professional, and career goals. Through individualized advising, the program helps students define their educational goals and design multidisciplinary curricula drawing on a variety of course offerings. The program goals are:

Provide flexibility to students with broad interests.
Offer an option to those with new interests or those changing their majors late in their academic careers.
Maximize opportunities for individuals to pursue graduate studies and advance their careers.

Instructional Organization

Instructional Organization
Program	Degree Offered
General Studies	BA, BS

College Academic Requirements

Students pursuing an undergraduate degree in Undergraduate Studies may satisfy the language requirement through course work or examination. Credit by examination may be by Advanced Placement (AP) or College Level Examination Program (CLEP).

Major and Minor Requirements

Students must earn a minimum grade of a “C” in all classes taken in their major disciplines and a minimum grade of a “C” in all classes taken in their minor disciplines (if applicable). A 2.00 grade point average is required before the student is approved for graduation. Transfer credits toward the major must be approved by the program coordinator and Dean of Undergraduate Studies.

Minimum Total Credit Hours for Graduation

Students must complete a minimum of 120 semester credit hours with at least a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 in the major field of study in order to earn a bachelor’s degree. Students must review the requirements for each degree program outlined in the catalog.

Departmental Certificates

Global Awareness and Leadership Certificate

The Global Awareness and Leadership Certificate was proposed as a part of our Quality Enhancement Plan and our reaffirmation of accreditation efforts. The development of global and intercultural competence was identified as a need in the 2016 strategic plan and through our ongoing assessment and quality improvement processes. Global
competence is also identified as a marketable skill by the Texas 60x30 Plan (Multicultural Fluency) and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (Equity and Inclusion).

Certificate Outcomes

A student completing the Global Awareness and Leadership Certificate will be able to:

Identify their own cultural rules and biases and begin to question those rules or biases based on a growing global understanding. (Self-Awareness)
Describe important issues that impact local and international communities and begin to connect his or her local actions to global contexts. (Global Awareness)
Demonstrate a comparative understanding of another culture’s history, values, politics, communication styles, economy, or beliefs and practices. (Cultural Knowledge)
Take informed and responsible action to address ethical, social, and environmental challenges in global systems by using interdisciplinary perspectives, knowledge, and skills. (Social Responsibility)

Students interested in the 9 SCH certificate must fill out an application form with the Office of Undergraduate Studies prior to their senior year. Applicants must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate degree program and in good academic standing. Students are encouraged to work with an advisor or B-GLOBAL Director to identify the courses that fit program requirements.

Students must consult with their academic advisor to ensure the courses for the certificate meet the requirements of the declared degree program. If the courses do not apply to the declared degree plan, the courses for the certificate will not qualify for federal aid under CPoS requirements.

Certificate Requirements

African American Designated Elective (Choose One) ¹		3
B-Global Restricted Elective (Choose Two) ¹		6
Six Globally Focused Events
Capstone Project
Total Hours		9

¹: Please see your academic advisor for a full list of approved electives.

General Studies Courses

GNST 2301 Coding and App Development (Basics): 3 semester hours.

Introduction to general programming language (including various data types, syntax, expression, assignment, branching, looping, function, etc.) Swift programming language. Xcode platform and coding playground and basic app development for smart devices. (IOS).
Prerequisites: MATH 1123 or MATH 1316.

GNST 3302 iOS App Development: 3 semester hours.

Swift programming language, Xcode app development platform, and basic data structure and algorithm concepts, and advanced iOS app development, including GPS and map app, single view app, multiple view app, text field, table view, list view, gesture recognizer, various sensors, and app publication in App Store.
Prerequisites: GNST 2103 or GNST 2301.

GNST 3310 Multidisciplinary Seminar: 3 semester hours.

This course is designed to encourage self-analysis of career interests and planning. Students will also (a) develop their skills in critical thinking, reading, writing, and speaking; (b) synthesize knowledge drawn from other courses; and (c) learn to collaborate with others in building knowledge and understanding. Required for all General Studies majors.
Prerequisites: (ENGL 2311 or ENGL 1143) or (ENGL 1302 or ENGL 1133) or (HUMA 1303 or HUMA 1301) or (PHIL 2023 or PHIL 2306) or PHIL 2303 or (ENGL 2153 or ENGL 2341) or (ENGL 2383 or ENGL 2331) or (HUMA 1403 or HUMA 1305).

GNST 4310 Diversity & Global Learning: 3 semester hours.

This high impact practice course will introduce students to obstacles that world populations face. The course will consist of field assignments that will help students explore cultures, life experiences, and worldviews different from their own. Experiential learning may be local, regional, or national. Required for all General Studies majors. This is a writing intensive course.
Prerequisites: GNST 3310 or GNST 3103.

GNST 4320 Multidisciplinary Capstone: 3 semester hours.

This course requires students to integrate and use fundamental concepts learned in previous courses within the students’ degree concentration. Students nearing the end of their college years will create a project of some sort that integrates and applies what they’ve learned. The project might be a research paper, a performance or an ePortfolio of their “best work”. Required for General Studies majors. This is a writing intensive course.
Prerequisites: (GNST 3310 or GNST 3101) and (GNST 4310 or GNST 4103).

Public Health Courses

PHLT 1306 Environmental Health: 3 semester hours.

This course is designed to introduce students to examine human-environment interactions in modern society, including: environmental problems related to life in technologically advanced societies, renewable resources, and the effects of various human activities and enterprises on environments.

PHLT 1310 Foundation to Public Health: 3 semester hours.

This course introduces the student to the health education profession. Roles and responsibilities of health educators in a variety of occupational settings are described.

PHLT 1320 Principles of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: 3 semester hours.

This course covers essential content in addressing social and behavioral science concepts for application across public health domains. Material will address theories and applications in public health. The course will focus on three major approaches to public health problems: Psychosocial. The psychosocial unit will include exposure to multiple behavioral theories and application of theory in understanding etiology and planning interventions. Community. The community unit will include a review of community change concepts and theories and exposure to community organizing techniques. Economics and Policy. The economics and policy unit will address such functions as supply and demand, opportunity costs, costs versus benefits, and intended vs. unintended consequences in examining the role of economics and policy change in decision-making about public health.

PHLT 2325 Biostatistics: 3 semester hours.

The purpose of the course is to teach fundamental concepts and techniques of descriptive and inferential statistics with applications in health care, medicine, public health, and epidemiology. Basic statistics, including probability, descriptive statistics, inference for means and proportions, and regression methods are presented. The analytic methods and applications will be linked to topics including health promotion, epidemiology, and program evaluation.

PHLT 2351 Advanced Health Promotion and Disease Prevention: 3 semester hours.

This course examines personal, social, and environmental factors that influence health-related behaviors as well as the role of individuals, groups, institutions, social structures, and policy in encouraging and discouraging healthy behaviors. The course focuses on behavior change theories and the application of these theories to health promotion.

PHLT 2383 Multicultural Health Issues: 3 semester hours.

The course is designed to address health issues and problems that various ethnic groups face in the United States. Cultural differences in health behaviors, health care access, and promotion and prevention programs are emphasized.

PHLT 3300 Spirituality and Health: 3 semester hours.

This course is to introduce students to the relationship between spirituality, religion, and health in children and adults. Family beliefs and values will be discussed, as well as their role in treatment and healing.

PHLT 3305 Public and Community Health: 3 semester hours.

This course focuses on the aspects of the community that relate to health, identification and analysis of community health programs, organizational patterns and functions of voluntary and governmental health agencies, organizing the community for health action, and coordination of school and community health programs.

PHLT 3306 Technology in Health Communication and Technology in Health: 3 semester hours.

The interdisciplinary course introduces students to current tools, technology and applications in the healthcare systems; it allows for critique and analyze of various management programs and technology systems currently available to health care professionals.

PHLT 3308 Women and Men Health: 3 semester hours.

This course will explore health issues affecting both males and females. It is designed to empower males and females to make informed decisions about their health and health care.

PHLT 3310 Scientific Writing: 3 semester hours.

This course aims to demystify the writing process and teach the fundamentals of effective scientific writing. Instruction will focus primarily on the process of writing and publishing scientific manuscripts but grant writing will also be addressed. The course will be presented in two segments: Part (1) teaches students how to write effectively, concisely, and clearly and part (2) takes them through the preparation of an actual scientific manuscript or grant.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310.

PHLT 3311 Seminar: 3 semester hours.

This course introduces a variety of topic, issues, and skills important to the profession of health. Students will be exposes to health certifications and professional organizations representing the field, and promotion resources.

PHLT 3312 Health Policy & Health Systems: 3 semester hours.

This course presents an introduction to health policy, i.e., the various ways in which the government plays a role in health and in the provision of health care. Health policies can have a profound effect on quality of life. Accessibility, cost, quality of health care; safety of food, water, and environment; the right to make decisions about our health; these issues are vitally tied to health policies.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310.

PHLT 3313 Public Health Administration: 3 semester hours.

This course is an overview of issues pertaining to local health administration. Emphasis is placed on public sector organizational structures and the challenges they face in changing local and national economies with broad political dimensions. This course will examine the organization and management within public health settings including system influences, leadership, communication, organization behavior, team development, organization design, evaluation, productivity, performance improvement. It will provide an introduction to policy issues in healthcare including state and federal roles in healthcare, the policy process and various healthcare policy and help you explore values and American political processes as they influence health policy.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310.

PHLT 3314 Public Health Budget & Personnel: 3 semester hours.

PHLT 3320 Determinants of Health and Health Disparities: 3 semester hours.

This course examines how social, economic, environmental, and cultural and lifestyle factors contribute to differences in morbidity and mortality among racial and ethnic minorities. Students will also examine social determinants of population health.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310.

PHLT 3324 Epidemiology: 3 semester hours.

This course provides an introduction to the fundamental definitions, terminology, concepts, methods, and critical thinking used in epidemiology. It will help student to identify and describe patterns of disease occurrence using scientific approach.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310 or MATH 1103 and (ENGL 1123 or ENGL 1301).

PHLT 3327 Human Behavior Theory and Practice: 3 semester hours.

The purpose of this course is to provide a thorough discussion of the determinants of health-related behavior, health behavior theory (HBT), and how theory can be utilized in health education and behavior research and practice. Emphasis will be placed on how various theories of health behavior are used to design, implement, and evaluate behavior change and health education interventions. This course focuses on the presentation and critical analysis of the role of theory in health promotion and eliciting behavior change, the description of different theories being utilized in behavior change interventions and the application and evaluation of these theories in practice. One course, however, cannot possibly cover all theories relevant to health behavior, health education, and health promotion. The intent of this course, therefore, is not to provide definitive coverage of theory, but rather to introduce and prepare health education and behavior graduate students for continued work using select health behavior theories throughout their professional careers.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1306.

PHLT 3341 Geography of Health/GIS Mapping: 3 semester hours.

This course offers a critical geographic perspective to human health issues, examining disease distributions, how changing relationships between people and their environments (natural, built, and social environments) influence health, and different approaches to the study of health in geography. It also examines how GIS is used throughout the health care industry and public health. Covers environmental health, disease surveillance, and health services research. Students critically review current literature and gain hands-on experience with GIS software.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1306 and PHLT 2325.

PHLT 3342 Nutrition and Disease: 3 semester hours.

This course covers issues in public health related to how nutrition is used for chronic disease prevention. The process of effectively and efficiently identifying, reading, and synthesizing existing sources of reliable information on particular diet disease associations will be covered extensively as will applying this knowledge in a public health context. We will focus on the relation of nutrition to obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension, cancer, addiction-related health problems, mental illness, food-borne and water-borne diseases, and selected additional health outcomes of public health significance in the U.S.
Prerequisites: PHLT 2351.

PHLT 4302 Global Health: 3 semester hours.

This course examines major global health challenges, program and policies. Students will be introduced to a diversity of health and disease. The course will explore global health priorities such as poverty, health inequality, health system reforms, major global initiatives for disease prevention and health promotion.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310.

PHLT 4307 Community Planning and Assessment: 3 semester hours.

This course examines the relationship of community health planning and assessment to health education in both urban and rural communities. Emphasizes theory processes and methods applicable to the health care services delivery system. (Student will plan and implement a community health program.)

PHLT 4308 Program and Evaluation and Problem Solving: 3 semester hours.

This course focuses on the evaluation of psycho-social-cultural health problems and influences on human behavior and health education strategies and outcome measurement.

PHLT 4313 Research Methodology: 3 semester hours.

This course provides students with fundamental principles of research methodologies relevant to public health research. We will review a range of methodologies, including randomized controlled trials, observational studies, and mixed-method approaches. We will develop enhanced capacity to understand and critically appraise data from scientific studies.

PHLT 4389 Internship Capstone: 3 semester hours.

An internship will consist of meaningful work experience in the public health field. This context of experiential learning is designed for professional development as course content is integrated into work experience. Students also significantly contribute to area organizations through an internship.
Prerequisites: PHLT 1310 and PHLT 3305.

Academic Catalog 2024-2025