Courses Relevant to Injury and Violence Prevention at the University of
Colorado Denver and the Colorado School of Public Health
Compiled by the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research (PIPER)
Program – a joint effort of the Colorado School of Public Health, University of
Colorado School of Medicine, and Children’s Hospital Colorado
To assist students in finding courses relevant to learning about injury and violence prevention, we have
begun to identify offerings at UCDenver, including both the downtown and Anschutz campuses. This list
includes courses that may be relevant. We compiled it by searching course catalogs and attempted to
contact instructors to learn more about the courses.
Interested students should contact the instructor regarding their eligibility for these courses and check
with their advisor to see whether or not a class is appropriate and/or approved for credit.
We are continuing to develop this resource. If you are aware of other courses that should be included,
please share them with Sara Brandspigel, PIPER Program Manager, at Sara.Brandspigel@ucdenver.edu.
College of Architecture and Planning
URPL 5460 - Introduction to Sustainable Urban Infrastructure
Focuses on developing uniform vocabulary on sustainable infrastructure across science & technology,
architecture & planning, public policy, and health & behavioral sciences. Students learn concepts,
principles/pathways and evaluation techniques for promoting the diffusion of sustainable urban
infrastructures. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
URPL 6641 - Social Planning
An increasingly important specialty in contemporary planning practice is social planning. This course
covers the process of formulating public policies and designing, implementing, and evaluating programs
in such areas as social services, housing, health care, employment and education. Attention is given to
the historical perspective and the present-day social and political context within which social policy
formation and social planning occurs. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
School of Education and Human Development
ELED 5540 - Foundations of School Health Education
This course is an overview of the principles of behavior theory as they relate to health education in both
theory and practice. The course will examine the characteristics of effective school-based health
education programs. Issues of ethnicity, culture, and race as they relate to health will be examined
throughout the course. Cross-listed with SECE 5540. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
College of Engineering
CVEN 5602 - Advanced Street & Highway Design
This course delves into the art and science of designing sustainable and context sensitive street and
highway facilities. Topics include road classification, transportation planning, road alignments, crosssection design, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, intersections, and street network design. Prereq:
Permission of Instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CVEN 5611 - Traffic and Safety Data Analysis
Covers statistical analysis methods for engineering studies in general, and for highway accident and
traffic flow data in particular. Topics include data needs, sampling designs, survey methods, hypothesis
testing, tests of proportions, non-parametric tests, analysis of variance, multivariate regression, and
other tests of fit. Introductory overview of state and federal accident databases. Comparisons of
accident rates by highway type, vehicle speeds, vehicle types, weather conditions and other factors also
presented. Prereq: Graduate standing or permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CVEN 5612 - Traffic Impact Assessment
Covers (1) procedures to satisfy state and local requirements for transportation impact studies, (2)
methods to perform trip generation, distribution, and traffic assignment for impact analyses, and (3)
analysis of transportation impacts on residential communities, mode choice, regional business
(downtown or suburban), peak and off-peak travel times, noise, safety, parking and pedestrians. A
course project requires students to develop an application of analysis software to a case study area.
Prereq: Graduate standing or permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CVEN 5662 - Transportation System Safety
Safety aspects of highway, railroad, and airway transportation systems. Accident analysis, accident
prevention, economic consequences of accidents. Prereq: CVEN 3602 and graduate standing or
permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
ANTH 2400 - Video and Social Change
Introduction to video production and analysis applied to social change. Focus on theories and practices
of non-fiction image-making and “doing visual ethnography” to examine a range of experience and
knowledge among different societies, communities, policy discourses and ourselves. Semester Hours: 3
to 3
ANTH 5200 Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective
A comparative analysis of gender-based status and social roles of women and men, with women's status
and roles emphasized due to their near-universal construction as the "other" sex. Examines, in crossand sub-cultural context, the relations among women's status and their subsistence and reproductive
activities; and the division of labor by sex, ideology and political economy. Prereq: Graduate standing
ANTH 5640 Darwinian Approach to Human Behavior
The evolution of human behaviors from a Darwinian perspective, focusing on the natural selection of
behaviors that maximize reproductive success. Includes topics such as male and female reproductive
strategies, female mate choice, male violence and resource acquisition and control. Prereq: ANTH 1303.
Cross-listed with ANTH 4640.
COMM 5040 Communication, Prisons, and Social Justice
Examines the U.S. prison-industrial complex and enables students to envision ways of reducing crime
and improving democracy by engaging in community service. Note: This course fulfills the
communication department's exit class requirement.
COMM 5265 - Gender and Communication
Explores the relationship between gender and communication, including how language treats women
and men differently and verbal and nonverbal differences in women's and men's communication.
Prereq: Undergraduates with senior standing may enroll with permission of instructor. Cross-listed with
COMM 4265.
ECON 5660 - Health Economics
Introduces students to analytical skills and economic methods, and demonstrates how these methods
can be applied to issues in health policy and management. Topics include: demand for health and
medical care; health care costs, health reform, medical technology; market for health insurance;
physicians, hospitals, and managed care; pharmaceuticals; regulations in the U.S. health care sector;
demand for addictive substances; infant and maternal health; international comparisons of health care
systems. Prereq: Permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
ETST 3002 - Ethnicity, Health and Social Justice
Surveys core issues contributing to racial or ethnic minority differences in health status. Historical and
contemporary U.S. health and social policy, including the areas of environmental health, sexual and
reproductive health, children and immigrants, are examined. Cross-listed with HBSC 3002 and PBHL
3002. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
ENVS 6200 - Risk Assessment
The process of determining the likelihood and extent of harm that may result from an activity or event.
Topics covered are: hazard identification, dose-response evaluation, exposure assessment, and risk
characterization. The subjects of risk management, risk perception, and risk communication are also
discussed. Prereq: Graduate standing or permission of instructor. Cross-listed with CVEN 5494, HBSC
7340. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
ENVS 6210 - Human Health and Environmental Pollution
Examines the roles of technology and society in the etiology and control/prevention of adverse health
outcomes associated with releases of toxic substances. Examples come from experience and the
literature on occupational cancer and reproductive hazards, occupational and environmental regulation
of hazardous wastes, air, and water pollution. Cross-listed with HBSC 7210. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
HBSC 4110 - Public Health Perspectives on Family Violence
Public health views family violence from a prevention perspective. Our exploration of child abuse,
intimate partner violence, and other forms of family violence will complement other disciplinary
approaches by focusing heavily on the community and social factors that contribute to abusive
relationships. Theories of power and coercion and approaches to researching these issues will be
analyzed and discussed through our exploration of the various forms of family violence. Prereq:
Advanced undergraduate standing. Cross-listed with HBSC 5110 and PBHL 4110. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
HBSC 7021 - Theory in Health and Behavioral Sciences
Covers theories utilized in development and assessment of public health programs with goals to improve
health. Students acquire skills in theory building and testing and how to best utilize theory to address
pressing health concerns. Prereq: HBSC 7011.
PSYC 3612 - Domestic Abuse
Examines the nature and extent of domestic violence. Personal characteristics and dynamics that
contribute to spouse abuse are reviewed. Theories and research in the general field of family violence,
victims’ and perpetrators’ treatment, and child abuse are discussed. Prereq: PSYC 1000, 1005 and 2090
or permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
PSYC 3610 - Psychological Trauma
Overview of psychological trauma, including: history, theoretical application, trauma models, diagnosis
and treatment implications. Topics include family violence, child abuse, sexual abuse, and the trauma of
war. Prereq: PSYC 1000, 1005 and 2090 or permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
PSYC 3262 - Health Psychology
An overview of the scientific study of attitudes, behaviors, and personality variables related to health
and illness. Emphasis is on the interaction of biological, psychological, and social factors that cause
illness and influence its treatment and prevention. Prereq: PSYC 1000, 2090 and 2220 or permission of
instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
PSYC 8262 - Health Psychology II
Part II of a 2-course sequence. Further aspects of health psychology and behavioral medicine, including
health service utilization, patient-provider relationships, social support, terminal illness and issues
related to chronic disease states. Prereq: Admission to the Clinical Health Psychology Ph.D. Program or
with permission of instructor and graduate program director. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
PSCI 5827 - Seminar: Political Psychology
Role of personality variables in political attitudes, behavior, and system maintenance and change;
human nature as a parameter; political relevance of psychoanalytic, behaviorist, humanistic and social
psychology; alienation, ethnocentrism, dogmatism, and aggression as political variables. Prereq: Political
science or psychology background.
SOCY 3040 - Drugs, Alcohol & Society
Explores our culture’s relationship with drugs and alcohol from a sociological perspective, investigating
all spheres of substance use: recreational, medicinal, instrumental & religious. Examines our long
turbulent history with these chemicals, and the ways in which they have shaped our society. Semester
Hours: 3 to 3
SOCY 3440 - Medical Sociology
This course covers key issues in population health and emphasizes how sociological perspectives both
challenge and augment biomedical perspectives on health and health care. We also discuss the social
causes and consequences of race/ethnic, sex, and socioeconomic disparities in health. Cross-listed with
PBHL 3440. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
SOCY 4340 - Juvenile Delinquency
Factors involved in delinquent behavior. Problems of adjustment of delinquents, and factors in
treatment and post-treatment adjustment. Prereq: 6 hours of sociology or criminal justice or permission
of the instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
SOCY 5220 Population Change and Analysis
Concepts of population change, methods of analysis, and applications to contemporary social issues.
Topics include age and sex distributions, fertility, mortality, and migration, and the social causes and
consequences of these phenomena.
SOCY 5660 Seminar: Social Psychology
Sociological approaches to the study of the self, role theory, persons in situations, identifications,
socialization, and other characteristics of persons in society.
SOCY 5750 - Seminar: Criminology
An intensive review and analysis of the literature and research dealing with sociology of crime in
modern society. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
SOCY 5780 - Violence in Relationships
Course focuses on the study of violence among individuals involved in intimate relationships; factors in
society such as norms, laws and institutions that are related to creating violence among intimates; and
social policies, prevention, intervention and treatment programs. Prereq: SOCY 1001, or a social science
course. Cross-listed with SOCY 4780. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
School of Public Affairs
CRJU 1001 - Introduction to Criminal Justice
This course is designed to provide an overview of the criminal justice process and the criminal justice
system in general. Concepts of crime, deviance and justice are discussed and general theories of crime
causality are examined. Special emphasis is placed on the components of the criminal justice system:
the police, the prosecutorial and defense functions, the judiciary and the field of corrections. Semester
Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 3150 - Statistics for Criminal Justice
This course serves as an introduction to descriptive and inferential statistics and the computer analysis
of criminology and criminal justice data. Course content includes basic procedures of hypothesis testing,
correlation and regression analysis and the analysis of continuous and binary dependent variables.
Emphasis is placed on the examination of research problems and issues in the field of criminology and
criminal justice. Prereq: CRJU 3100 or permission of instructor. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 3250 - Violence in Society
This course examines various aspects of violence including distribution over time and space, situations
and circumstances associated with violent victimization and offending and how social institutions,
community structure and cultural factors shape violent events. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 3252 - Violent Offenders
This course consists of a historical overview of violence in American society. Course content includes an
examination of violent crime rates over time, societal explanations for changes in rates and an
examination of the theoretical causes and preventative strategies for acts of violence. Semester Hours: 3
to 3
CRJU 3510 - Drugs, Alcohol and Crime
This course looks at the socially constructed nature of drugs and drug policy. The course explores the
connection between drugs and crime within the socio-historical context of contemporary U.S. drug
policy. Special emphasis is placed on the relationships between drugs and alcohol abuse and criminal
offending, including the historical and contemporary criminal justice system responses to illegal
substances. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 3520 - Juvenile Justice Administration
This course examines the development, change and operation of the American juvenile justice system
and the social factors that shape the identification and treatment of juvenile offenders. Special
emphasis is placed on the nature of juvenile law and methods of dealing with youthful offenders.
Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 3540 - Crime and Delinquency Prevention
This course provides students with an overview of issues related to crime and delinquency prevention,
both from criminological and criminal justice points of view. Crime prevention programs that encompass
both the individual and community levels are examined. Responses to juvenile offenders-ranging from
prevention and diversion to institutional corrections and after care are explored in context of youth
policy generally. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 4140 - Domestic Violence and Crime
This course examines the criminal justice systems response to intimate partner violence by focusing on
the interactions between victims, offenders and the individual components of the criminal justice
system. By exploring the dynamics of intimate partner violence this course addresses the theory,
history, research, legislation and policy implications related to the criminal justice system’s response to
violence against women. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
CRJU 5940 - Domestic Violence Social Change and Advocacy
This course provides students information on the theories and strategies behind contemporary social
change movements and the skills necessary to organize and implement actions to influence public
awareness and policy. The values of American society are complex and require advocates/activists to
develop a heighten sense of self, community and an ethical framework while confronting sexism, racism
and other forms of oppression. Cross-listed with CRJU 7940, PUAD 5940 and 7940. Semester Hours: 3 to
3
PUAD 5950 - Interpersonal Violence and Health
Interpersonal violence is a major health issue. Approximately 20% of emergency room visits by women
are attributable to interpersonal violence. This course will provide students with the foundational
knowledge and skills necessary for responding to the health care needs of patients experiencing
interpersonal violence. Semester Hours: 3 to 3
PUAD 5961 - Interpersonal Violence, Health Advocacy and Systems Change
This course will explore how healthcare professionals can develop successful public and institutional
discourses that transform healthcare policies and systems to address the health needs of patients
experiencing interpersonal violence. Students will learn methods of advocacy, activism and
organizational change that produce positive results including effective education techniques. Semester
Hours: 3 to 3
School of Pharmacy
PHSC 7613 Pharmaceutical and Drug Related Policy 4.0 cr.
Dr. K. Nair - (Fall).
Will examine payer, provider and consumer issues related to pharmaceutical use in the US. Using data
from the Medicare Expenditure Panel Survey students will model the impact of various pharmaceutical
based policies under healthcare reform.
School of Public Health
While most public health classes will contain methods or topics relevant to injury/violence prevention,
the following classes cover specific injury topics.
EPID 6637 Injury & Violence Epidemiology and Prevention 2.0 cr.
C. DiGuiseppi - (Fall) Prereq: EPID 6630 or permission of Instructor. Restrictions: Offered even years.
Students will learn the major causes of and risk factors for injuries and violence, identify and use key
data sources to characterize injury problems, develop and evaluate injury control and prevention
strategies, critically analyze literature and explore injury related research options.
CBHS 6626 Public Health and Aging 2.0 cr.
L. Bryant – (Spring) Restrictions: Offered even years.
Introduces students to 1) factors across the social-ecological spectrum that will affect population
patterns of health, disease, and risk factors in older adults; and 2) appropriate responses by public
health, aging services and the research community.
PSCY 7922 Prev of Occup Injury & Illness 3.0 cr. (CSU- Psychology)
Understanding of the basic public health approach to the prevention and control of occupational
illnesses and injuries.