office-of-ug-studies

The global health major introduces students to global health as an area of study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. A synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level clinical care, global health aims to reduce health disparities through attention to modifiable determinants of health and provision of sustainable health services and human development. As a field of study, global health has emerged from tropical medicine, public health, and international health to encompass the complex transactions between societies that are a defining feature of globalization. Because many global health problems stem from economic, social, environmental, political, and healthcare inequalities, defining these problems and designing solutions is highly interdisciplinary and involves fields that span across health sciences, medicine, and public health, but also that bridge to a broad range of academic fields, including biology, agriculture, anthropology, business, computer science, engineering, environmental sciences, economics, history, law, psychology, public policy, and sociology, among others. To introduce students to this interdisciplinary field, the global health major integrates courses in the natural and social sciences and encourages students to take relevant electives in the humanities.

Back to majors list

Health issues do not know borders. The advances in transportation and the increasing amount of human travel propels nations to address health issues in a timely manner and more deeply than ever before. Given the size of China’s population and its geographic location, there is no better place for students to immerse themselves in the study of global health. Every nation has faced challenges related to global health: from HIV/AIDS to Ebola, COVID-19, and SARS, as well as health issues that arise from poverty, famine and natural disasters. The opportunity for students to study these issues in China will not just provide a generation of global health experts for China itself, but also for the entire world.

The Biology track within the Global Health major is designed for students interested in a biological perspective on global health, in particular cell and molecular biology, infectious diseases, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology. The track is designed to encourage breadth in the life sciences but also allows students to acquire depth in a chosen area of scientific concentration through the choice of electives, as is encouraged for students who desire to pursue graduate studies or intend to pursue a career in research. The Public Policy track is designed for students most interested in the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of global health. The track provides a healthy balance between basic sciences and public policy aspects to prepare graduates for translating this knowledge into meaningful action and innovative policy solutions.

Major Requirements

(Not every course listed is offered every term, and the course list will be updated periodically. Please refer to the online Course Catalog for Courses offered in 2021-2022.)

Global Health / Biology

Divisional Foundation Courses

Choose one from the following two Math courses

MATH 101
4.00
This course offers an introduction to Calculus, a subject that is the foundation for a large part of modern mathematics and has countless applications across the sciences and beyond. The course covers the fundamental Calculus concepts (limits, continuity, differentiation, integration) and explores related applications. The treatment of these concepts assumes no prior knowledge of Calculus. Recommended for students who have not had a previous (high-school level) Calculus course. Students who have had such a Calculus course are recommended to take MATH 105 instead.
MATH 105
4.00
Calculus is the foundation for a large part of modern mathematics and has countless applications across the sciences and beyond. This course covers the fundamental Calculus concepts (limits, continuity, differentiation, integration) and explores related applications. The treatment of these topics is rigorous and it involves basic principles of mathematical logic and epsilon-delta language. Recommended for students who have had a previous (high-school level) Calculus course. Not open to students who have credit for MATH 101.

And complete the following courses

PHYS 121
4.00
This course is about how to view the world from the perspective of classical mechanics, based on an understanding of the core concepts and theoretical laws. As a science foundation course, it helps students appreciate the elegant simplicity of the universal laws governing the complex systems surrounding us, and it teaches an important approach to identifying, formulating, and solving problems encountered in the physical world. The course begins with the core concepts of classical mechanics _ time, space, mass, force, work, energy, momentum _ and the physical laws that link them with each other. Students first learn NewtonÕs laws and the universal law of gravitation as they apply to point mass systems. Subsequently, basic concepts of oscillation and waves, rigid body motion, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics are introduced, illustrated with real-life examples (e.g., physics of cooking, biosphere as a thermal engine) to help students integrate different science foundation courses by themselves. While no previous knowledge of Physics is required, some background is advantageous.
CHEM 110
4.00
With an integrated approach, this course examines basic concepts and fundamental principles in chemistry based on the laws of physics. The course starts with an introduction to the static structures of atoms, molecules and matter including life itself, followed by an exploration of the dynamical and collective processes during chemical reactions. It explains how atoms, the basic building blocks of matter, interact with each other and construct the world around us, how subatomic electrons modulate the chemical properties of elements, and how the rearrangement of atoms during chemical reactions gives rise to astonishing phenomena in nature. Centered on topics in chemistry, this course not only prepares students for upper-level disciplinary courses, but also helps students develop an interdisciplinary molecular perspective, which allows them to tackle problems in various fields such as condensed matter physics, molecular biology, medicine, materials science and environmental science. While no previous knowledge is required, some background is advantageous. Not open to students who have credits for both INTGSCI 101 and 102 or CHEM 120
BIOL 110
4.00
Integrated Science-Biology employs five themes that describe properties of life and will be reiterated over again in Integrated Science-Biology: Organization (Structure and Function), Cycling of Energy and Matter, Information (Genetic Variation), Homeostasis (Interactions), and Evolution. These themes will be unified under the organizational principles of the Scientific Methods, formulating hypothesis and testing hypothesis with experiments. Students in Integrated Science-Biology will develop the understanding of key concepts in the context of cross-talks with chemistry and physics. While no previous knowledge is required, some background is advantageous.

Interdisciplinary Courses

GLHLTH 101
4.00
This course introduces students to the essential features of global health from the varying perspectives of natural science, social science, and the humanities, drawing from a variety of conceptual frameworks at different scales (individual, community, country, and global). This course examines the global burden of diseases, how this burden is measured, and debate the utility of interventions used for disease mitigation and prevention. This course also introduces the state of the worldÕs global health infrastructure and explores how that infrastructure might or should adapt to the future world.
GLHLTH 201
4.00
This course introduces students to ethical theories and frameworks in the context of historical and current issues in global health. As part of this context students learn about best practices and standards of care in clinical settings, so that they can make cross-cultural and transnational comparisons and use these to set up difficult ethical questions about health disparities. The course emphasizes self-reflection, cultural sensitivity, and flexibility in thinking about ethical issues in a globalized world. In the context of historical and current issues, students analyze and critique the choices of multinational, national, and local policymakers; clinicians; and researchers, with an eye to the impact these choices have on individuals, families, and communities. Students also explore ethical issues of conducting research on or working with marginalized/stigmatized populations, using case studies and the theoretical frameworks introduced in the course. Students are encouraged to think creatively about the relationship between ethics and health and to explore solutions to what appear to be ethical dilemmas in a variety of contexts. Topics include: human rights and development; the ethics of aid; differential standards of care; protection of human subjects; access to essential medicines; genetic information and confidentiality; pharmaceutical development; health information technology; placebo controlled trials; best outcomes vs. distributive justice.
GLHLTH 302
4.00
This course introduces students to the major social factors that affect public health at both the global and national level. Globally, students study a wide range of topics from the health impact of global income inequality, gender, and access to education, to the role of specific work place policies, among other topics. Lectures introduce a social variable (such as race or gender), discuss its theoretical underpinnings, and then link it to the current empirical evidence to health outcomes. Students learn to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the empirical evidence. The course considers the implications for intervention strategies and policy, with a focus on applicability to lower and middle-income country settings. Students also study how social factors influence health and well being, with a particular focus on national context in specific countries. Topics could include obesity, aging, socioeconomic disadvantage, access to health insurance, public health systems, the role of the media, and racial/ethnic and gender inequalities. The course provides descriptive assessments of health inequalities and analytic examinations of the mechanisms through which social factors affect health.

And choose one from the following three courses

GLHLTH 203
4.00
This course presents the history, social and political context, organization, technical content, funding and evaluation of current, major, global initiatives for disease control. This course emphasizes programs focused on health problems of the developing world and includes, initiatives for vaccines and immunization, non-communicable diseases, safe motherhood and reproductive health, malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases, HIV, emerging infectious diseases, TB, tobacco control, nutritional interventions and injury control. This course also examines the process of policy formulation and resource allocation to international health and disease control.
GLHLTH 303
4.00
This course introduces students to the components of health systems (populations, financing, payment, workforce, service delivery, information, medicines and technologies, governance) as they appear in various health system frameworks, and to the ways in which these components and their combinations vary from country to country around the world. The course focuses on comparisons across countries at the same economic level (high-, middle-, and low-income), as well as on comparisons across levels. The course also considers how to assess health system performance, with attention to how measures of performance are invariably tied to often implicit and varying conceptions of health from country to country and culture to culture. Students will learn about the most significant challenges facing health systems within each economic level and about successes and failures in meeting these challenges with health system reforms. The latter part of the course introduces students to the role of politics and policy in strengthening health systems. Throughout the course, students learn not only about health systems but also about what systems (physical, biological, social) are, how they function, and about how systems thinking can be applied fruitfully to the study of health systems.
GLHLTH 304
4.00
Health issues are rarely isolated. They cross borders and travel through human and non-human channels around the globe. Global health governance takes place through both multilateral discussions between nations as well as through a variety of organizations that have been created to address the expected and unexpected consequences of global health issues. This course introduces students to the primary governmental, intergovernmental, private, and civil society actors in global health, offering both a history of how and when these actors came to be, and an account of their shifting interrelationships in the face of evolving global health crises. Students learn about the post-World War II development of the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United Nations and its agencies on one hand, and about the parallel development of civil society organizations like OXFAM, CARE, and Catholic Relief Services on the other. The course then explores the development of governmental organizations like the CDC and USAID in the United States and an DFID in the United Kingdom, and, in the 1990s and 2000s, the addition of large private actors like the Gates Foundation and new models of governance like the Global Fund and UNAIDS. The course examines the tensions, struggles, challenges, and successes of these international organizations and their relationships and processes, through case studies of how these organizations have interacted, individually and collectively, with various countries and communities in which global health crises have emerged. In this way, the course uses global health governance as a lens through which to view many of the driving issues in global health: HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and a rising tide of new infectious diseases; the alarming global spread of diabetes, obesity, and cancer; the persistence of malnutrition and the deaths of children under five; violence, war, and mental health; and the continuing challenges of reproductive and maternal health. The solutions to all of these pressing global health issues, and many others as well, will be a product of global health governance.

And choose one from the following four courses

GLHLTH 110
4.00
Explores interactions between ecosystem health and human well-being in context of global change and human population growth. Effects of climate change on food supply, water availability, land degradation and human well-being; impact of species distribution, disease spread, and human health; ecosystem services and human well-being. Case studies used to illustrate the scientific process and to evaluate supporting evidence.
GLHLTH 305
4.00
This course covers the basics of the structure and function of major organ systems of the human body in health and disease. The course is geared towards any students who are interested in learning more about how the human body works, how disease develops, and how mind-body connections can alleviate the progression of a disease process.
GLHLTH 306
4.00
Covers evolutionary approaches to understand human health and disease at a global scale. Integration of evolutionary thinking and medical science provides new insights to a wide array of medical issues including obesity, cancer, allergies, and mental illness. Evolutionary perspectives reveal why some pathogens are more harmful than others, shed light on the origins and spread of infectious diseases in humans, and help in controlling antibiotic resistance. Evolutionary approaches provide insights as to why we age and provide solutions to alleviate human health problems that often differ from modern medical practice. Course will place these perspectives in the context of global health challenges.
GLHLTH 307
4.00
Course examines global mental health from perspectives of culture, public health, epidemiology, human rights, policy, and intervention. Readings in the course focus on peer-reviewed research literature highlighting topics such as the prevalence of mental health disorders worldwide, the role of culture in mental health, and the interventions backed by strong evidence for prevention and treatment. Students will discuss and critique study methodologies and explore the needs for future research in this emerging field. Course is designed for students with prior research methods and psychology coursework.

Disciplinary Courses

CHEM 201
4.00
In this course students will learn to recognize organic chemical structures and reactions that are akin to those found in living cells, as well as learn the molecular underpinnings for the many consumer goods and products we encounter and use in daily life. In addition to covering the scientific principles and applications of organic chemistry, this course will also explore how a variety of organic molecules have had an impact on history, society, and global economics. Organic Chemistry I is both an introductory and survey course for learning the foundations of organic chemistry, and is sufficient to support further studies and coursework in the areas of biology, environmental sciences, and global health. Laboratory: techniques of separation, organic reactions and preparations, and systematic identification of compounds by their spectral and chemical properties.
BIOL 201
4.00
Introduces major concepts in eukaryotic cell biology with a focus on molecular biology. A major emphasis is placed on transcription, translation, protein targeting and transport. In addition, the structure and function of organelles and how they function in metabolism and energetics will be examined. The role of the cytoskeleton and extra cellular matrix in governing cell shape and motility will be addressed as well as the genetic regulation of DNA replication and its place in the cell cycle and how disruption of either can lead to cancer. The laboratory portion of the class would introduce common laboratory molecular biology techniques like DNA isolation, PCR, cloning, sequencing, immunocytochemistry and fluorescent microscopy.
BIOL 202
4.00
Examines the structure and function of genomics and the flow of genomic information from parent to progeny and through populations. Changes in genetic makeup underlie important biological processes from disease to adaptation and evolution. Topics include classical transmission genetics (inheritance, assortment, recombination), bacterial and phage genetics, gene regulation, genome structure and stability, mutation and repair, population genetics genomics, complex trait inheritance and genomic technologies evaluation and modern genomic techniques. The laboratory portion examines genetic inheritance in common laboratory model systems like yeast and Drosophila with projects that show what can be learned about gene function by the examination of mutants. Mutants will be created by random mutagenesis as well as targeted recombination and CRISPR.
BIOL 208
4.00
Human activities are fundamentally altering our landscapes and our atmosphere. The science of ecology is central to our ability to sustain populations of organisms, regional and global biodiversity, and the provision of critical ecosystem services. Fundamental principles of ecology, from population to ecosystem levels, will be examined. Course emphasizes critical analysis of ecological data and the design and interpretation of ecological experiments and models.
BIOL 212
4.00
This course examines a number of different types of microbes including bacteria, archaea, fungi and viruses. Classical and modern approaches to the study of microorganisms and their roles/applications in everyday life, food, medicine, research and the environment. Topics covered include microbial cell structure/function, growth, genetics, energetics/metabolism, evolution and ecology. Virology topics include structure, life cycle, modes of transmission and host ranges. Additional examination of the role of microorganisms in disease, infection and immunology. The laboratory portion would stress aseptic technique and microbial culture; molecular, cytochemical, and physiological tests for microbial identification; and fermentation and its products for food and industrial production.
BIOL 305
4.00
Provides an introduction to the chemistry of biological macromolecules from the single molecule to cellular metabolism to the whole organism level. Protein biochemistry topics include protein synthesis, folding and structure, enzyme catalysis and kinetics, and analysis methods. Cellular metabolism topics include glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, the Krebs cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, and fatty acid and amino acid metabolism. Whole organism biochemistry/physiology topics include glycogen storage, insulin signaling and diabetes.

And choose one from the following courses

STATS 101
4.00
This course will introduce students to common statistics used in social science research articles and the media with the goal of making them informed and critical consumers of research results reported by various sources. Students will gain understanding of the conceptual basis and purpose of different statistics, as well as the formulas for deriving them. The relationship of statistical analysis to other components of the research process will be explicated. The course will be taught using team-based learning with an emphasis on the application of new concepts, knowledge, and skills in the classroom. Application activities will include interpreting statistics presented in tables and graphics in research articles and the media, critiquing conclusions drawn from statistics, and using statistical software, such as SPSS or Stata, to conduct statistical tests and generate tables and graphics.
MATH 205
4.00
The fundamental concepts and tools of calculus, probability, and linear algebra are essential to modern sciences, from the theories of physics and chemistry that have long been tightly coupled to mathematical ideas, to the collection and analysis of data on complex biological systems. Given the emerging technologies for collecting and sharing large data sets, some familiarity with computational and statistical methods is now also essential for modeling biological and physical systems and interpreting experimental results. This course is an introduction to probability and statistics with an emphasis on concepts relevant for the analysis of complex data sets. It includes an introduction to the fundamental concepts of matrices, eigenvectors, and eigenvalues.

Electives

Students can choose the recommended electives in their tracks or select other courses in different disciplines or divisions as electives. The course list will be updated periodically.

BIOL 307
4.00
Overview of the genetic changes associated with cancer and the molecular events that transform normal cellular processes into tumor-promoting conditions. Topics include: tumor viruses, oncogenes, growth factors, signal transduction pathways, tumor suppressors, cell cycle control, apoptosis, genome instability, stem cells, metastasis, and current therapeutic approaches.
BIOL 306
4.00
During the past several decades, exploration in basic research has yielded extensive knowledge about the numerous and intricate signaling processes involved in the development and maintenance of a functional organism. In order to demonstrate the importance and processes of cellular communication, this course will focus on cell signaling mechanisms and diseases resulting from their malfunction, such as cancer, stroke, and neuron degeneration (including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Students will be exposed to current literature and cutting edge knowledge.
BIOL 309
4.00
The structure, function and evolution of the vertebrate body systems including skeletal, digestive, circulatory, respiratory and nervous systems. Emphasis on understanding the functional, evolutionary and developmental basis for the similarities and difference observed among living vertebrates. In addition, examination of the physiological principles that function within these systems using examples like neural control, gas exchange, movement, excretion and metabolism. The laboratory portion will examine the various systems (muscular, skeletal, nervous, etc.) of human and non-human anatomical specimens. It will also include experiments examining the physiological aspects of the nervous, and respiratory systems. Consent of instructor is required.
BIOL 310
4.00
Mechanisms of fertilization, control of cell divisions, diversification of cell types, organization and differentiation of cells and tissues of the organism, and patterning necessary to establish the body plan of many organisms including vertebrates, invertebrates and plants. Included among these mechanisms are the roles of transcription factors in controlling the trajectories toward tissues, signal transduction, morphogenetic movements, and other mechanisms used by different plants and animals to build a functional adult. Also includes stem cell biology, regeneration of tissues, sex determination, and evolutionary mechanisms of diversification.
BIOL 308
4.00
Covers the physiology and the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of a suite of infectious diseases. Case studies include influenza, cholera, HIV, and myxomatosis, among others, with an emphasis on pathogens infecting humans. Topics include: basic immunology, the physiology of different disease processes and transmission, the role of population size on disease transmission, the effects of climate and behavioral changes on disease dynamics, networks of disease spread, spatial spread of disease, evolution of virulence, antigenic evolution, emerging infectious diseases.
GLHLTH 301
4.00
This course introduces research methods in global health. Global health is a multi-disciplinary field, so the course considers approaches common to the behavioral and social sciences, public health, and medicine. Primary interest is the study of causal inference. Global health researchers, practitioners, and donors need to know what programs and interventions ÒworkÓ and why. To answer questions of impact, the course explores randomized controlled trials, a mainstay of medical research, and spends significant time helping students understand the rationale, process, and limitations of field experiments. Randomization is not always possible or advisable, however, and researchers must build a causal argument using non-experimental methods. The course reviews several approaches, considers relevant threats to causal inference, and discusses how to improve non-experimental research designs. The course also covers research basics, such as developing and testing theory, asking good questions, understanding variability, designing good measurement, and selecting research participants. The latter part of the course turns to more specialized topics in global health research, such as cost effectiveness, community based participatory research, research on humanitarian aid, and monitoring and evaluation. Students will learn how to evaluate published and unpublished research and how to design a global health research project.
INFOSCI 302
4.00
Geographic Information Science, or GIS, is concerned with the scientific study of geographic information. This course offers an introduction to methods of describing, managing, and processing geographic information. We will explore the nature of geographic information, data models and structures for geographic information, geographic data input, data manipulation, spatial analytic and modeling techniques, and error analysis. This class is helpful for students wishing to apply GIS within numerous disciplines.
BIOL 203
4.00
BIOL 203 examines DarwinÕs theories of natural selection and evolution through multiple lenses in scientific and humanistic disciplines. This course covers the key concepts of biological evolution, examines how simple behaviors evolve in animals and humans, and explores current ideas about the evolution of complex social behaviors and societies. The course will also introduce students to the thinkers that influenced Darwin, such as economist Thomas Malthus and geologist Charles Lyell, as well as to DarwinÕs influence on later thinkers from political theorist Karl Marx to historian Yuval Noah Harari. Discussion of these topics will be grounded in scientific case studies while also considering the impact of these theories on representations of gender, race and nature in popular culture, film and media.
ENVIR 306
4.00
This course is designed to present students with a comprehensive introduction to the sources and impacts of pollution in marine and freshwater environments. Fundamental concepts and principles of aquatic biogeochemistry will be introduced first, including marine and freshwater chemistry, primary production and food webs. Specific pollution topics will include biological (e.g., pathogens, invasive species), physical (e.g., thermal, plastics), and chemical (e.g., nutrient loading, oil, pesticides, metals) pollutants. Recent case studies will be discussed in class such as the Fukushima disaster and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A field trip will be organized to visit a local sewage treatment plant in Kunshan.

Global Health / Public Policy

Divisional Foundation Courses

SOSC 101
4.00
People everywhere ponder and debate fundamental questions: What does it mean to be human? How is society to be ordered? What is a moral life? Our ancestors asked such questions as well: it is likely that those questions lie at the origins of humanity itself. They also provide the foundations for much of the most important research in the social sciences today. This course examines the ways in which social scientists from a diversity of disciplines approach these fundamental questions. Study material for the course will include foundational texts from across the social sciences, as well as cutting-edge research from the present day. This course will not attempt to answer these vast questions, or provide neat solutions for students: rather, we want to excite students about the social sciences and whet their appetites for further study.
SOSC 102
4.00
This course provides students with an understanding of research designs and research methods used in the social sciences. Students will learn about the scientific method, research methods and design, measurement, and ethical issues. Topics include quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as mixed methods.
BIOL 110
4.00
Integrated Science-Biology employs five themes that describe properties of life and will be reiterated over again in Integrated Science-Biology: Organization (Structure and Function), Cycling of Energy and Matter, Information (Genetic Variation), Homeostasis (Interactions), and Evolution. These themes will be unified under the organizational principles of the Scientific Methods, formulating hypothesis and testing hypothesis with experiments. Students in Integrated Science-Biology will develop the understanding of key concepts in the context of cross-talks with chemistry and physics. While no previous knowledge is required, some background is advantageous.

And choose one of the following two math courses

MATH 101
4.00
This course offers an introduction to Calculus, a subject that is the foundation for a large part of modern mathematics and has countless applications across the sciences and beyond. The course covers the fundamental Calculus concepts (limits, continuity, differentiation, integration) and explores related applications. The treatment of these concepts assumes no prior knowledge of Calculus. Recommended for students who have not had a previous (high-school level) Calculus course. Students who have had such a Calculus course are recommended to take MATH 105 instead.
MATH 105
4.00
Calculus is the foundation for a large part of modern mathematics and has countless applications across the sciences and beyond. This course covers the fundamental Calculus concepts (limits, continuity, differentiation, integration) and explores related applications. The treatment of these topics is rigorous and it involves basic principles of mathematical logic and epsilon-delta language. Recommended for students who have had a previous (high-school level) Calculus course. Not open to students who have credit for MATH 101.

Interdisciplinary Courses

GLHLTH 101
4.00
This course introduces students to the essential features of global health from the varying perspectives of natural science, social science, and the humanities, drawing from a variety of conceptual frameworks at different scales (individual, community, country, and global). This course examines the global burden of diseases, how this burden is measured, and debate the utility of interventions used for disease mitigation and prevention. This course also introduces the state of the worldÕs global health infrastructure and explores how that infrastructure might or should adapt to the future world.
GLHLTH 201
4.00
This course introduces students to ethical theories and frameworks in the context of historical and current issues in global health. As part of this context students learn about best practices and standards of care in clinical settings, so that they can make cross-cultural and transnational comparisons and use these to set up difficult ethical questions about health disparities. The course emphasizes self-reflection, cultural sensitivity, and flexibility in thinking about ethical issues in a globalized world. In the context of historical and current issues, students analyze and critique the choices of multinational, national, and local policymakers; clinicians; and researchers, with an eye to the impact these choices have on individuals, families, and communities. Students also explore ethical issues of conducting research on or working with marginalized/stigmatized populations, using case studies and the theoretical frameworks introduced in the course. Students are encouraged to think creatively about the relationship between ethics and health and to explore solutions to what appear to be ethical dilemmas in a variety of contexts. Topics include: human rights and development; the ethics of aid; differential standards of care; protection of human subjects; access to essential medicines; genetic information and confidentiality; pharmaceutical development; health information technology; placebo controlled trials; best outcomes vs. distributive justice.
GLHLTH 302
4.00
This course introduces students to the major social factors that affect public health at both the global and national level. Globally, students study a wide range of topics from the health impact of global income inequality, gender, and access to education, to the role of specific work place policies, among other topics. Lectures introduce a social variable (such as race or gender), discuss its theoretical underpinnings, and then link it to the current empirical evidence to health outcomes. Students learn to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the empirical evidence. The course considers the implications for intervention strategies and policy, with a focus on applicability to lower and middle-income country settings. Students also study how social factors influence health and well being, with a particular focus on national context in specific countries. Topics could include obesity, aging, socioeconomic disadvantage, access to health insurance, public health systems, the role of the media, and racial/ethnic and gender inequalities. The course provides descriptive assessments of health inequalities and analytic examinations of the mechanisms through which social factors affect health.

And choose one from the following three courses

GLHLTH 203
4.00
This course presents the history, social and political context, organization, technical content, funding and evaluation of current, major, global initiatives for disease control. This course emphasizes programs focused on health problems of the developing world and includes, initiatives for vaccines and immunization, non-communicable diseases, safe motherhood and reproductive health, malaria, Neglected Tropical Diseases, HIV, emerging infectious diseases, TB, tobacco control, nutritional interventions and injury control. This course also examines the process of policy formulation and resource allocation to international health and disease control.
GLHLTH 303
4.00
This course introduces students to the components of health systems (populations, financing, payment, workforce, service delivery, information, medicines and technologies, governance) as they appear in various health system frameworks, and to the ways in which these components and their combinations vary from country to country around the world. The course focuses on comparisons across countries at the same economic level (high-, middle-, and low-income), as well as on comparisons across levels. The course also considers how to assess health system performance, with attention to how measures of performance are invariably tied to often implicit and varying conceptions of health from country to country and culture to culture. Students will learn about the most significant challenges facing health systems within each economic level and about successes and failures in meeting these challenges with health system reforms. The latter part of the course introduces students to the role of politics and policy in strengthening health systems. Throughout the course, students learn not only about health systems but also about what systems (physical, biological, social) are, how they function, and about how systems thinking can be applied fruitfully to the study of health systems.
GLHLTH 304
4.00
Health issues are rarely isolated. They cross borders and travel through human and non-human channels around the globe. Global health governance takes place through both multilateral discussions between nations as well as through a variety of organizations that have been created to address the expected and unexpected consequences of global health issues. This course introduces students to the primary governmental, intergovernmental, private, and civil society actors in global health, offering both a history of how and when these actors came to be, and an account of their shifting interrelationships in the face of evolving global health crises. Students learn about the post-World War II development of the World Health Organization, the World Bank, and the United Nations and its agencies on one hand, and about the parallel development of civil society organizations like OXFAM, CARE, and Catholic Relief Services on the other. The course then explores the development of governmental organizations like the CDC and USAID in the United States and an DFID in the United Kingdom, and, in the 1990s and 2000s, the addition of large private actors like the Gates Foundation and new models of governance like the Global Fund and UNAIDS. The course examines the tensions, struggles, challenges, and successes of these international organizations and their relationships and processes, through case studies of how these organizations have interacted, individually and collectively, with various countries and communities in which global health crises have emerged. In this way, the course uses global health governance as a lens through which to view many of the driving issues in global health: HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and a rising tide of new infectious diseases; the alarming global spread of diabetes, obesity, and cancer; the persistence of malnutrition and the deaths of children under five; violence, war, and mental health; and the continuing challenges of reproductive and maternal health. The solutions to all of these pressing global health issues, and many others as well, will be a product of global health governance.

And choose one from the following four courses

GLHLTH 110
4.00
Explores interactions between ecosystem health and human well-being in context of global change and human population growth. Effects of climate change on food supply, water availability, land degradation and human well-being; impact of species distribution, disease spread, and human health; ecosystem services and human well-being. Case studies used to illustrate the scientific process and to evaluate supporting evidence.
GLHLTH 305
4.00
This course covers the basics of the structure and function of major organ systems of the human body in health and disease. The course is geared towards any students who are interested in learning more about how the human body works, how disease develops, and how mind-body connections can alleviate the progression of a disease process.
GLHLTH 306
4.00
Covers evolutionary approaches to understand human health and disease at a global scale. Integration of evolutionary thinking and medical science provides new insights to a wide array of medical issues including obesity, cancer, allergies, and mental illness. Evolutionary perspectives reveal why some pathogens are more harmful than others, shed light on the origins and spread of infectious diseases in humans, and help in controlling antibiotic resistance. Evolutionary approaches provide insights as to why we age and provide solutions to alleviate human health problems that often differ from modern medical practice. Course will place these perspectives in the context of global health challenges.
GLHLTH 307
4.00
Course examines global mental health from perspectives of culture, public health, epidemiology, human rights, policy, and intervention. Readings in the course focus on peer-reviewed research literature highlighting topics such as the prevalence of mental health disorders worldwide, the role of culture in mental health, and the interventions backed by strong evidence for prevention and treatment. Students will discuss and critique study methodologies and explore the needs for future research in this emerging field. Course is designed for students with prior research methods and psychology coursework.

Disciplinary Courses

PUBPOL 301
4.00
How and why do policies come about? What is the role of media, non-governmental organizations, and politicians? Why do some issues attract the attention of policymakers while others do not? What are the obstacles for policy change? Some of the questions will be answered in this course. This course will examine the political aspects of public policy from an explicitly comparative perspective. Public policy making is not a rational, straightforward process, but is heavily shaped by processes, institutions, and actors. During the course, we will identify relevant official and non-official actors, contextual factors, and particular processes, ultimately learning how these shape public policy.
PUBPOL 303
4.00
Public policy should be informed by evidence and facts, but it cannot be determined by them. People disagree about public policy not only because they disagree about empirical matters but also because they hold different understandings of familiar political concepts and they assign different weightings to competing political values. This course aims both to illustrate these general propositions and, more importantly, to introduce the tools and techniques with which one can construct and critique reasoned arguments about the political concepts and values that underpin policy choice. The course will be divided into four sections, each of which focuses on a set of contemporary policy disputes whose resolution depends upon clarifying and justifying our understanding of an underlying political concept and its associated values. The four concepts whose policy implications we shall explore are: democracy, justice, liberty, and rights. Readings are mostly works of contemporary political philosophy.
PUBPOL 101
4.00
Governments constantly face questions such as: How do we address deforestation? How can we slow down climate change? How can we make food safer? This course teaches a systematic way of dealing with these questions, namely policy analysis. This technique enables students to identify, examine, and evaluate options to implement policy goals. Readings will be a combination of theory and case studies from around the world.
STATS 101
4.00
This course will introduce students to common statistics used in social science research articles and the media with the goal of making them informed and critical consumers of research results reported by various sources. Students will gain understanding of the conceptual basis and purpose of different statistics, as well as the formulas for deriving them. The relationship of statistical analysis to other components of the research process will be explicated. The course will be taught using team-based learning with an emphasis on the application of new concepts, knowledge, and skills in the classroom. Application activities will include interpreting statistics presented in tables and graphics in research articles and the media, critiquing conclusions drawn from statistics, and using statistical software, such as SPSS or Stata, to conduct statistical tests and generate tables and graphics.

Choose one course from the following two courses

PUBPOL 304
4.00
Development and application of analytical economic tools in a policy environment. Emphasis on application of economic methods in a variety of policy settings and developing testable hypotheses that might be used to guide economic policy. Analytical topics include willingness to pay, derived demand, multi-market interactions, comparative advantage, investment analysis, and decision making under uncertainty. Applications include tax analysis, including incidence, effective protection, shadow pricing, introduction to government expenditures, labor market policy, examples of regulation and pricing externalities.
ECON 201
4.00
Introduction of the concepts of preferences and technologies. Intermediate development of the theory of demand, supply and competitive equilibrium from individual preferences and technologies. Income and substitution effects, uncompensated demand and marginal willingness to pay. Conditions under which competitive markets result in efficient outcomes. Conditions under which government policy has the potential to increase efficiency. Tension between economic efficiency and different notions of equity.

Electives

Students can choose the recommended electives in the major or select other courses in different disciplines or divisions as electives. The course list will be updated periodically.

SOSC 320
4.00
Focuses on how to extend statistical techniques learned in Stats 101 and how to apply already learned techniques to real-world social science-related problems. You will learn a) how to select an appropriate model for a given dataset b) how to interpret the diagnostic information from a statistical technique c) what types of social science problems are usually addressed with what kind of statistical model. Covered material includes standard linear model, generalized linear models, bootstrap methods, and additional linear models that rely on specific assumptions about the underlying data. Data in the World utilizes R software in applying models to real-world datasets, including for a final project that can serve as a basis for a signature work.
SOCIOL 306
4.00
Demography is an interdisciplinary field that intersects with sociology, economics, population health, statistics, and mathematics. The population issues, such as aging, population decline, fertility, and migration, also associate with economic development and policy making in different countries. This course will review key population problems in contemporary industrialized and developing societies. The following issues can be discussed in the course: the end of population growth, population aging, mortality in developed and developing countries, migration, and urbanization.
GLHLTH 301
4.00
This course introduces research methods in global health. Global health is a multi-disciplinary field, so the course considers approaches common to the behavioral and social sciences, public health, and medicine. Primary interest is the study of causal inference. Global health researchers, practitioners, and donors need to know what programs and interventions ÒworkÓ and why. To answer questions of impact, the course explores randomized controlled trials, a mainstay of medical research, and spends significant time helping students understand the rationale, process, and limitations of field experiments. Randomization is not always possible or advisable, however, and researchers must build a causal argument using non-experimental methods. The course reviews several approaches, considers relevant threats to causal inference, and discusses how to improve non-experimental research designs. The course also covers research basics, such as developing and testing theory, asking good questions, understanding variability, designing good measurement, and selecting research participants. The latter part of the course turns to more specialized topics in global health research, such as cost effectiveness, community based participatory research, research on humanitarian aid, and monitoring and evaluation. Students will learn how to evaluate published and unpublished research and how to design a global health research project.
PUBPOL 306
4.00
What factors account for the persistence of poverty in some countries? Is it always going to be the same way Ð i.e., will poor people remain poor within the foreseeable future Ð or can something be done to reduce poverty (or at least alleviate its most painful consequences)? Academics and policymakers have come up with alternative formulations as they have attempted to deal with poverty over the last 50 years. This class provides students with an overview of social and economic development in developing countries since the early 1950s. What problems do residents of developing countries face, what kinds of solutions have been advanced to deal with these problems, how have different solutions fared in practice, and what needs to be done now and in future? The course traces how development practice has evolved in the theoretical literature, and students use this knowledge to investigate what needs to be done now and in future.
PUBPOL 220
4.00
The course will help you to understand the nature of regulatory governance in complex social environments. We will explore the reasons why governments and others use regulation as a tool to achieve policy goals, and how regulation is implemented and enforced in daily practice. Building on the work of leading regulatory governance scholars, we will explore how their theoretical insights could be applied in practical settings. Throughout the course, we will essentially ask: what can regulatory governance accomplish and what is beyond its reach?
PUBPOL 102
4.00
Overview of the key health policy issues in the United States. Topics include: (1) sources of morbidity and mortality; (2) access to health care; (3) financing of health care including an overview of how health insurance works, Medicare and Medicaid and why there are uninsured persons and to what effect; (4) quality of health care; (5) the role of innovation in both treating disease and influencing costs; (6) mental health, including why drug and alcohol treatment is generally considered to be a mental health service; (7) the role of non-profit versus for-profit ownership of health care facilities and to what effect; (8) long term care; and (9) the impact of social phenomenon such as income inequality, social class and culture on health care.
INFOSCI 302
4.00
Geographic Information Science, or GIS, is concerned with the scientific study of geographic information. This course offers an introduction to methods of describing, managing, and processing geographic information. We will explore the nature of geographic information, data models and structures for geographic information, geographic data input, data manipulation, spatial analytic and modeling techniques, and error analysis. This class is helpful for students wishing to apply GIS within numerous disciplines.
GLHLTH 202
4.00
This course examines health communication theory, research, and practice. Major topics include the impact of media on health and behavior; use of mass, new, and social media strategies for health promotion, patient-provider communication; and the role of culture in health communication campaign design. Students should have basic understanding of social science research methods. Students will develop the skills necessary to use media strategically to advance public health policies and social change. The course covers the design, implementation and evaluation of media campaigns to promote public health goals, and examines theories and research on media influences with respect to its potential harmful effects on wellbeing. Students will design a digital media-based health communication campaign.
PUBPOL 318
4.00
Regulation of societal risks was long seen as the province of state administrative institutions, but recent theories and practice challenge this view. A move away from a state-centred approach to governance has created space for non-state actors to assume a myriad of regulatory roles. This course will introduce theories and practices of non-state regulation. Drawing on cases from across the globe, this course will explore the multifaceted roles non-state actors can play in regulatory and governance processes. Cases examining how private individuals, civil society organizations, social entrepreneurs, enterprises, philanthropists and others have tried to change the world will be analysed.
PUBPOL 317
4.00
Plastic is ubiquitous in our modern lives, but its proliferation is increasingly questioned because of its adverse environmental impacts. This course examines plastic pollution from a politics and policy perspective. It does so by following the life cycle of plastics, from mining resources, refinement and manufacturing to using plastic in our daily lives to disposal. Throughout the life cycle, we will consider policy tools for dealing with the identified issues. The course will have an explicit comparative perspective with case studies from around the world.
GCULS 108
2.00
What is science? Who has the authority to determine what qualifies as science? Is all scientific knowledge inherently political? This class will focus on the human dimensions of science. We will examine a number of topics, including Social Darwinism and contemporary global climate change discourse. Drawing from recent scholarship in the history of science, the class will explore debates about the meaning and origins of scientific modernity. Did Òmodern scienceÓ originate in the ÒWestÓ before diffusing elsewhere? We will also focus on questions of identity and representation in the making of scientific cultures.
PUBPOL 305
4.00
An inquiry into the nature of contemporary war in sub-Saharan Africa and its human cost. Uses public health as a parameter to assess the impact of organized collective violence on peopleÕs lives. Link between war and public health established and measured with respect to civilian deaths, gender based violence, physical and psychological trauma, mental disorders, malnutrition and famine, and the spread of epidemic diseases, inter alia HIV/AIDS. Special attention is given to rape as Òa weapon of warÓ, to the trafficking of human beings in war zones, the child soldier phenomenon, and to death counts as a vector of humanitarian or political advocacy.
ENVIR 306
4.00
This course is designed to present students with a comprehensive introduction to the sources and impacts of pollution in marine and freshwater environments. Fundamental concepts and principles of aquatic biogeochemistry will be introduced first, including marine and freshwater chemistry, primary production and food webs. Specific pollution topics will include biological (e.g., pathogens, invasive species), physical (e.g., thermal, plastics), and chemical (e.g., nutrient loading, oil, pesticides, metals) pollutants. Recent case studies will be discussed in class such as the Fukushima disaster and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A field trip will be organized to visit a local sewage treatment plant in Kunshan.
Back to top