- Social Work

The CHHS & ESTP minor degree program in Environmental Health Policy (EHP) provides students with an opportunity to develop sufficient depth of knowledge and professional skills to pursue successful careers and graduate degree programs in their respective fields.

The EHP minor provides students with a curriculum that addresses their interests in environmental health policy issues on a local, state, or national level. The curriculum includes learning experiences in the areas of environmental health, community health, policy analysis, health assessment and health education. Students interested in working with local and state environmental health agencies, and community-based environmental health advocacy groups working to improve environmental conditions and community health through program development, policy change, and advocacy, will find this minor degree program to be an asset to their major course of study at CSUMB.

Learning Outcomes (LOs) for the Environmental Health Policy Minor

The following Learning Outcomes, drawn from the CHHS and ESTP major learning outcomes, represent the knowledge, skills and abilities students are expected to master to successfully complete the minor and demonstrate their competence.

Collaborative Health & Human Services LOs:

CHHS MLO 6 Knowledge of Health and Human Services
Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles and issues common to the major fields of health and human services including community health, social welfare and public policy, and demonstrate competence in the selected areas of concentration.

CHHS MLO 11 Public Policy Analysis
Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze public policy issues and begin to master the skills necessary to identify and define public problems, analyze existing policies, develop alternatives to current policy and recommend alternatives.

Environmental Science, Technology & Policy LOs

ESTP MLO 4: Policy Competency
Students must be able to examine the linkages between economics and environmental goods and services to analyze problems of resource allocation, and to apply the basic principles of environmental ethics to the analysis of environmental issues. Critically evaluate alternative policies in terms of the economic, political, ethical, historical, and or/cultural factors that influence environmental decision making.

ESTP MLO 6: Systems Approach To Environmental Decision Making
Students must be able to apply general systems theory, systems modeling, stakeholder analysis, cost/benefit analysis or otherinterdisciplinary analysis tools to evaluate the equitability and the effectiveness of alternative environmental decisions, policies, or actions.

Courses and pathways for meeting the requirements of the minor

Requirements for this minor provide students with significant breadth and appropriate depth of knowledge and skills in environmental politics and economics, environmental health issues, public health assessment and education, and policy analysis. The curriculum includes CHHS and ENVS courses and a field placement requirement. There are three distinct pathways for students, depending upon their Major.

Pathway # 1: ESTP Majors (Total units required = 15)

Collaborative Health & Human Services (CHHS) Courses:

• PH 320 Introduction to Community Health, 4 units
  
  
• CHHS 396S Field Practice Seminar - Service Learning, 3 units
  
  
• PH 420 Advanced Community Health, 4 units
  
  
• CHHS 450 Health & Social Policy Analysis, 4 units

Pathway #2: CHHS Majors (Total unit required = 13)

Environmental Science, Technology & Policy (ESTP) Courses:

• ENVS 384S Environmental Justice & Environmental Policy - Service Learning, 5 units
• ENVS 309 Science and Policy of Global Change, 4 units
• ENVS 387 Water Resources Assessment, Law, & Policy, 4 units

Pathway # 3: All other majors (Total units required = 20)

Environmental Science, Technology & Policy (ESTP) and Collaborative Health & Human Services (CHHS) Courses:

• PH 320 Introduction to Community Health, 4 units
  
• CHHS 396S Field Practice Seminar - Service Learning, 3 units
  
• CHHS 450 Health & Social Policy Analysis, 4 units
• ENVS 384S Environmental Justice & Environmental Policy - Service Learning, 5 units
• and one of the following:
• ENVS 309 Science and Policy of Global Change, 4 units
• ENVS 387 Water Resources Assessment, Law, & Policy, 4 units

Field Practice Requirement
Students will complete field work hours during the program- see an advisor to determine the exact number of field hours required. Agencies are approved by the students’ CHHS and ESTP faculty advisors, based on (1) the opportunities available for students to work on issues of importance in the area of environmental health policy, and (2) the agency’s ability to meet the minimum requirements for providing mentoring and organizational support for the student. The CHHS Field Practice Program policies and documentation may be used, as appropriate, for assisting students and field mentors in organizing and assessing students’ learning opportunities and accomplishments in the field.

Faculty advisors

CHHS Faculty: Kim Judson, Joy Rubey

ESTP Faculty: Daniel Fernandez, Sharon Anderson