Why global health?

Sustained importance of an emerging discipline.

Global health majors are uniquely positioned to evaluate the patterns and societal issues associated with understanding and responding to diseases. They will have the ability to understand, evaluate, and critically assess health from a global and comprehensive perspective and can contribute to multiple sectors of society.

The global health major is geared to provide critical exposure to applied and experiential-based learning to understand health from a local yet global context. Interdisciplinarity is at the core of the discipline of global health. Students will examine critical problems and methodologies that are specific to global health as well as draw upon skills and knowledge from other disciplines.

To fulfill the global health major, students are immersed in the field through a core set of four global health courses, three global health elective courses, three thematic electives, and an experiential learning component. To complete a minor in global health, students must take three core global health classes, two global health electives, and one thematic elective.

Central to the Global Health Program is a critical examination of health disparities, the interaction between health and the environment, and the burden of disease and mortality. Global health students will analyze quantitative and qualitative data in order to inform policy and programmatic change. Students also apply ethical approaches in global health research and practice, and display critical self-reflection, cultural humility, and ongoing learning in global health. Upon completion of the program, students will be competent in addressing global health issues with a critical lens and from a culturally relevant perspective.