Global Health Studies Major Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete a major in Global Health Studies are expected to be able to:
- Define the complex, interconnected approaches, policies, communities, and perspectives that impact the field of global health;
- Use a variety of frameworks and methods to define and engage with issues related to the field of global health;
- Understand and articulate the interrelated relationships between geographical and cultural spaces, populations, policies, and health;
- Understand disease causation and prevention and the relationship between health and the built and natural environments;
- Operate with a responsible and self-reflexive awareness of power, privilege, and ethics within a multiplicity of cultural contexts;
- Listen actively and communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences.
The Global Health Studies Major
The major leads to the Bachelor of Arts or the Bachelor of Science degree (students may elect to receive either degree) and requires the completion of a minimum of 54 credit hours. Global Health Studies majors must present a GPA of 2.0 in all Global Health Studies coursework at graduation. All courses submitted for the major, except for transfer credits, must be taken on a letter-grade basis. Normally no more than 16 transfer credits are accepted toward the major; none of these may substitute for the core Global Health Studies courses or for the junior seminar. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in EL seminars, semester away programs, and related research or internship opportunities. Where appropriate, the Global Health Studies Steering Committee will consider credits gained through such activities as a substitute for a course or courses listed below. Students who are considering such learning opportunities must consult ahead of time with their advisor and the Steering Committee members. All substitutions of alternative courses for required courses must be approved by the Global Health Studies program chair, and students are strongly encouraged to discuss any potential course substitutions with the chair prior to enrolling in the course.
Because this major is interdivisional, students may complete any minor to satisfy the college requirement that the major and minor be in different divisions.
Requirements:
Core Courses:
In Global Health Studies. Take all of the following:
GHS 130 - Introduction to Global Health
FSGHS 201 - Topics and Approaches in Global Health
Take Two of the Following Three Courses:
GHS 321 - Epidemiology
GHS 350 - Cultures and Health: Critical and Theoretical Approaches
GHS 352 - Ethnographic Methods in Health Research
Fundamental Science Courses:
Take one of the Following Fundamental Science Courses:
BIO 220 - Organismal Physiology and Ecology
BIO 221 - Genetics, Development and Evolution
ENVSC 110 - Introduction to Environmental Science
GEO 109 - Geologic Hazards
GEO 110 - Physical Geology
Dimensions of Global Health Courses:
In addition to the Core Courses and Fundamental Science Course, GHS majors must take a set of courses from each of four primary dimensions of global health: Science and the Environment; Ethics and Social Responsibility; Power and Economics; and Cultures and Society. The GHS program has identified electives from across the curriculum that can fulfill each dimension.
Science and the Environment:
Take one of the following courses:
BIO 300 - Bioinformatics OR
CMPSC 300 - Bioinformatics
BIO 310 - Microbiology
BIO 350 - Immunology
BIO 370 - Insect Ecology and the Environment OR
ENVSC 370 - Insect Ecology and the Environment
BIO 375 - Medical Entomology
ENVSC 305 - Environmental GIS I
ENVSC 321 - Ecosystems, Birds, and People
ENVSC 385 - Introduction to Sustainable Energy
GEO 400 - Hydrogeology
GHS 324 - Environmental Health
GHS 425 - Global Health Transitions
PSYCH 172 - Health Psychology
PSYCH 360 - Health and Psychophysiology (Please note that PSYCH has a required co-requisite of PSYCH 365 Health and Psychophysiology Lab, 2 cr, which does not count toward the GHS major or minor).
Ethics and Social Responsibility:
Take one of the following courses:
COMJ 160 - Foundations of Community & Justice Studies
COMRT 256 - Power, Politics, and Communication
COMRT 360 - Rhetoric and Civic Engagement
GHS 235 - Global Health Ethics
PHIL 140 - Ethics and Community
PHIL 310 - Global Justice
PHIL 385 - Medical Ethics
POLSC 140 - Political Philosophy
POLSC 248 - Human Rights
POLSC 280 - The Tragedy of Citizenship
POLSC 348 - Participatory Democracy and Community Organizing
WGSS 310 - Gendered Violence
Power and Economics:
Take one of the following courses:
ECON 231 - Environmental Economics and Policy
ECON 238 - Poverty, Inequality, and Efficiency
ECON 250 - Issues in Financing Health Care
ECON 251 - International Economics
ECON 256 - Economic Development
ENVSC 352 - Environmental Justice
GHS 345 - Economics of Food and Agriculture
GHS 440 - Global Health and Nutrition
POLSC 120 - Comparative Government and Politics
POLSC 130 - World Politics
POLSC 213 - Health Policy in the U.S.
POLSC 242 - Immigration and Citizenship
POLSC 245 - The Politics of Third World Development
WGSS 400 - Transnational Feminisms
WGSS 410 - Critical Perspectives in Global Women's Health
Cultures and Societies:
Take one of the following courses:
COMRT 331 - Bodies and Health in Public Communication
HIST 277 - An American History of the Body
HIST 280 - Bodies, Bloodletting, and Bile: Healers, Health, and Medicine from Antiquity through the Early Modern Period
HIST 380 - Disease and Medicine in Modern History
INTDS 530 - Internship in Community Health
INTST 110 - Introduction to International Studies
PHIL 205 - Literature, Film and Medicine: Ethical Perspectives
WGSS 100 - Introduction to Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WGSS 211 - Queer Lives
WGSS 275 - Bodies in American Culture
Advanced coursework requirement:
-
At least eight credits of work taken to satisfy the "Dimensions of Global Health" requirements above must be at the 300 or 400 level.
Elective:
-
Students also must take an additional four credits from the "Dimensions of Global Health" categories above: "Science and the Environment ," "Ethics and Social Responsibility," "Power and Economics," "Cultures and Societies."
Modern Language:
-
Students must successfully complete at least one modern language course numbered 120 or above.
Experiential Component
Students are strongly encouraged to complete at least one Global Health Studies-related learning experience (e.g. EL seminars, semester away programs, and research or internship opportunities) that goes beyond clinical observation or shadowing. They should consult with their advisor, a GHS steering committee member, or the program chair for guidance about suitable experiential learning opportunities.