Global Health

专业介绍

Global health is about improving health for everyone while considering the connections among people, animals, plants, and the planet. Students explore how human health intersects with economic development, healthcare access, food systems, environmental health, and climate change in order to address the root causes of disease around the world. The program helps students develop broad public health and planetary-scale perspectives that can be applied to community, state, national, and international health challenges.

Students in the Global Health Major study human health and well-being with an emphasis on empathy, cultural awareness, and collaborative approaches. The major combines bioscience and social science to provide students with foundational knowledge in disease biology, epidemiology, food systems, environmental health, and public health. Majors are encouraged to pursue their own areas of interest through coursework and by participating in field experiences, laboratory research, internships, and volunteer work.

The Global Health Major prepares students for a wide variety of careers. Students can become healthcare professionals well-informed about the systems that impact patient health. They can become epidemiologists or research scientists in academia or with government agencies, or community health professionals working on policy, education, or communication for governmental agencies or non-governmental organizations anywhere in the world. The program supports students who intend to go directly into the workforce after graduation, as well as those who plan to further their education through graduate or professional programs.

Learn through hands-on, real-world experiences

Students can apply their course learning to real life by participating in global health field experiences, which provide opportunities to study and help mitigate real-world health challenges. Additionally, students gain experience through laboratory courses and through independent study in research labs that focus on health-related issues such as infectious diseases, environmental health, sustainable agriculture, and community engagement. Campus internship programs through the Wisconsin Area Health Education Centers, Center for Patient Partnerships, and Study Abroad are also options for global health majors.

Build community and networks

Many advanced courses enroll 15-50 students allowing students to get to know faculty and instructors personally. Students also have opportunities to connect with other global health major and certificate students through classes, events, field experiences, and student organizations.

Customize a path of study

In addition to a set of core courses, students are encouraged to take classes to explore and identify their particular areas of interest within the broader field of global health. Students also tailor their major and Wisconsin Experience through global health field programs, laboratory research, capstone courses, internships, and volunteer work.

Make a strong start

A number of first-year seminar courses are available to help new students understand academic programs, access student services, and develop time management and study skills.

Gain global perspective

Global health students learn to take a broad, planetary-scale perspective, and apply it to challenges at community, state, national, and international levels. This big-picture perspective is interwoven through nearly all aspects of the Global Health Major, including classes, capstone experiences, lab opportunities, and internships. Global health field experiences, which range from one week to a full semester, expose students first-hand to complex global health challenges in diverse settings and give them the opportunity to learn from community members and practitioners who are working to address these issues. Students can explore studying abroad as a Global Health major by utilizing the Global Health Major Advising Page. Students work with their advisor and the CALS Study Abroad Office to identify appropriate programs.