The 15-credit certificate provides interdisciplinary perspectives on well-being, health inequities, and the root causes of global health challenges, and it is a great complement to many majors. The certificate is open to all UW–Madison undergraduate students and welcomes all who are passionate about improving the health of populations across the world.
Students build knowledge about the global burden of disease and threats to well-being and are able to identify parallels between local, domestic, and international health issues. Through coursework and field experiences, students learn about public and global health careers and build valuable cross-cultural communication skills.
Customize a path of study
The certificate curriculum is flexible including core courses, a diverse range of electives, and a credit-bearing field experience requirement, allowing students to enhance the connection between the certificate and their major field of study as desired. Students have added the certificate to more than 50 majors in Agricultural and Life Sciences, Letters & Science, Human Ecology, Education, Nursing, Engineering, and Business.
Learn through hands-on, real-world experiences
A required field experience allows students to apply their coursework in a real-life setting where they examine global health issues and explore the connections among human, animal, plant, and environmental health alongside community members and health practitioners in Wisconsin, the U.S., and abroad.
Gain global perspective
Core courses provide students with a strong global and comparative framework for understanding complex health challenges, and faculty-led field experiences, whether international or within the U.S., allow students to learn about global health challenges from leading experts in the field.
Build community and networks
Field experience courses provide opportunities for community-building and high-impact educational experiences in courses with fewer than 20 students. Many students also build connections and develop leadership skills through participation in the many student organizations on campus related to global health.
How to Get in
Undergraduate students from across campus are encouraged to consider completing the Certificate in Global Health. There are no prerequisites for declaring, and students pursuing the program are encouraged to declare as early as possible so that they can best align the coursework with their interests and plan their field experience.
Students can declare the program by scheduling an appointment with their assigned Global Health advisor, or by filling out the online declaration form on the program’s website.
Students declared in the certificate should plan to complete the program before or alongside their degree and major requirements, as they are not able to extend their time on campus to complete a certificate. Students declared in the Global Health major are not eligible to declare the certificate. Students may not declare both the Certificate in Global Health and the Health and the Humanities Certificate.
Requirements
Minimum Requirements
- Minimum grade of C in all certificate coursework
- At least 50% of certificate coursework taken in residence
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Course Requirement | ||
| ENTOM/ENVIR ST 205 | Our Planet, Our Health | 3 |
| Core Course Requirement | ||
| Complete one course from this list. Additional core courses can also be taken as elective courses, but a course cannot double count in both categories. | 3-4 | |
| Global Health: Economics, Natural Systems, and Policy | ||
| Global Food Production and Health | ||
| Global Health and Communities: From Research to Praxis | ||
| Introduction to Disease Biology | ||
| Global Environmental Health: An Interdisciplinary Introduction | ||
| Introduction to Epidemiology | ||
| Global Food Security | ||
| Introduction to Public Health | ||
| Field Experience | ||
| Field experiences are a central component of the certificate program, and range in length from one week to an entire semester. Students are encouraged to complete the field experience prior to their senior year, and should consult the program website linked further below for complete information on different field experience programs and courses. | 1-4 | |
| Health Impacts of Unmet Social Needs (Note: this course is part of the Resource Navigator Program and requires an application. Consult the Global Health program website for information.) | ||
| Earth Partnership Restoration Education: Indigenous Arts & Sciences | ||
| Earth Partnership: Restoration Education for Equity and Resilience | ||
| Advanced Experiential Learning I (Note: only open to Nursing students.) | ||
| Global Health Field Experience (Note: this is a topics course used for study abroad field experience programs as well as some local courses. Many field experiences require applications prior to enrollment, and students should consult the program website linked further below for complete information. ) | ||
| Study Abroad: Tropical Horticultural Systems International Field Study | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select from electives list (see below) to reach a minimum of 15 credits total for the certificate. | 4-8 | |
| Total Credits | 15 | |
Field Experience Details
Students are advised to consult the program website for additional information on field experience programs and courses.
Global Health Elective List Grouped By Thematic Area
Public and Community Health
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTHRO 365 | Medical Anthropology | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 532 | Health Care Issues for Individuals, Families and Society | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 533 | Public Health in Rural & Urban Communities | 3 |
| COM ARTS 317 | Rhetoric and Health | 3 |
| COM ARTS/JOURN/LSC 617 | Health Communication in the Information Age | 3 |
| CSCS 500 | Global Health and Communities: From Research to Praxis | 3 |
| ECON/POP HLTH/PUB AFFR 548 | The Economics of Health Care | 3-4 |
| FRENCH 288 | Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) | 3 |
| I SY E 417 | Health Systems Engineering | 3 |
| KINES 355 | Socio-Cultural Aspects of Physical Activity | 3 |
| LSC 515 | Social Marketing Campaigns in Science, Health and the Environment | 3 |
| LSC 625 | Risk Communication | 3 |
| MED HIST/HIST SCI 212 | Bodies, Diseases, and Healers: An Introduction to the History of Medicine | 3 |
| MED HIST/PHILOS 505 | Justice and Health Care | 3 |
| MED HIST/HIST SCI 509 | The Development of Public Health in America | 3 |
| MED HIST/PHILOS 515 | Public Health Ethics | 3 |
| MED HIST/HIST SCI/POP HLTH 553 | International Health and Global Society | 3 |
| MED HIST/PHILOS 558 | Ethical Issues in Health Care | 3 |
| MED HIST/HIST SCI/HISTORY 564 | Disease, Medicine and Public Health in the History of Latin America and the Caribbean | 3 |
| NURSING/SOC WORK 105 | Health Care Systems: Interdisciplinary Approach | 2 |
| NUTR SCI 379 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| POP HLTH/C&E SOC 370 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| RELIG ST 102 | Exploring Religion in Sickness and Health | 3 |
| RELIG ST 475 | Religion, Global and Public Health | 3 |
| SOC WORK 206 | Introduction to Social Policy | 4 |
| SOC WORK 646 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 2 |
Social Determinants and Well-Being
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ANTHRO 265 | Introduction to Culture and Health | 3 |
| AFROAMER/HIST SCI/MED HIST 523 | Race, American Medicine and Public Health | 3 |
| C&E SOC/AMER IND/SOC 578 | Poverty and Place | 3 |
| CSCS 410 | Human Trafficking: Global and Local Perspectives | 3 |
| CSCS 470 | The Human Rights of Children and Youth: Global and Local Perspectives | 3 |
| GEN&WS 102 | Gender, Women, and Society in Global Perspective | 3 |
| GEN&WS 103 | Gender, Women, Bodies, and Health | 3 |
| GEN&WS/PSYCH 522 | Psychology of Women and Gender | 3 |
| GEN&WS 534 | Gender, Sexuality, and Reproduction: Public Health Perspectives | 3 |
| GEN&WS/INTL ST 535 | Women's Global Health and Human Rights | 3 |
| GEN&WS/HIST SCI 537 | Childbirth in the United States | 3 |
| GEOG 307 | International Migration, Health, and Human Rights | 3 |
| HDFS/CNSR SCI 465 | Families & Poverty | 3 |
| HIST SCI 360 | Health Inequalities in the Long 20th Century | 3 |
| KINES 353 | Health and Physical Education in a Multicultural Society | 3 |
| POLI SCI/INTL ST 434 | The Politics of Human Rights | 3-4 |
| PUB AFFR 520 | Inequality, Race and Public Policy | 3 |
| RELIG ST 102 | Exploring Religion in Sickness and Health | 3 |
| SOC 170 | Population Problems | 3-4 |
| SOC/C&E SOC 343 | Sociology of Health and Medicine | 3 |
Globalization and Development
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A A E/INTL ST 373 | Globalization, Poverty and Development | 3 |
| A A E/ECON 474 | Economic Problems of Developing Areas | 3 |
| A A E/ECON 477 | Agricultural and Economic Development in Africa | 3 |
| C&E SOC/ENVIR ST/SOC 540 | Sociology of International Development, Environment, and Sustainability | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 630 | Sociology of Developing Societies/Third World | 3 |
| DS 341 | Design Thinking for Transformation | 3 |
| DS 521 | Environments of Crisis & Design | 3 |
| DS 527 | Global Artisans | 3 |
| GEN&WS 525 | Gender and Global Health in Critical Perspective | 3 |
| HISTORY/INTL ST 330 | Global History of Humanitarianism | 3-4 |
| INTL ST 101 | Introduction to International Studies | 3-4 |
Agriculture, Food Systems, and Nutrition
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A A E/NUTR SCI 350 | World Hunger and Malnutrition | 3 |
| AGROECOL 377 | Global Food Production and Health | 3 |
| AN SCI/DY SCI 370 | Livestock Production and Health in Agricultural Development | 3 |
| BOTANY 240 | Plants and Humans | 3 |
| BOTANY/AMER IND/ANTHRO 474 | Ethnobotany | 3-4 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 222 | Food, Culture, and Society | 3 |
| C&E SOC/SOC 341 | Labor in Global Food Systems | 3 |
| DY SCI 471 | Food Production Systems and Sustainability | 3 |
| DY SCI/AN SCI/FOOD SCI/SOIL SCI 472 | Animal Agriculture and Global Sustainable Development | 1 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 309 | People, Land and Food: Comparative Study of Agriculture Systems | 3 |
| PLANTSCI 350 | Plants and Human Wellbeing | 2 |
| PLANTSCI 370 | World Vegetable Crops | 3 |
| PLANTSCI 380 | Indigenous Foodways: Food and Seed Sovereignty | 2 |
| NUTR SCI 132 | Nutrition Today | 3 |
| or NUTR SCI 332 | Human Nutritional Needs | |
| NUTR SCI 377 | Cultural Aspects of Food and Nutrition | 3 |
| NUTR SCI/BIOCHEM 510 | Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism | 3 |
| PL PATH/BOTANY 123 | Plants, Parasites, and People | 3 |
| PL PATH 311 | Global Food Security | 3 |
Environmental Health and Sustainability
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| A A E/ENVIR ST 244 | The Environment and the Global Economy | 4 |
| A A E/ECON/ENVIR ST 343 | Environmental Economics | 3-4 |
| A A E 352 | Global Health: Economics, Natural Systems, and Policy | 4 |
| CIV ENGR 423 | Air Pollution Effects, Measurement and Control | 3 |
| C&E SOC/F&W ECOL/SOC 248 | Environment, Natural Resources, and Society | 3 |
| ENTOM 490 | Biodiversity and Global Change | 3 |
| GEOG/ENVIR ST 139 | Global Environmental Issues | 3 |
| HIST SCI/ENVIR ST 213 | Global Environmental Health: An Interdisciplinary Introduction | 3 |
| POP HLTH/ENVIR ST 471 | Introduction to Environmental Health | 3 |
| POP HLTH/ENVIR ST 502 | Air Pollution and Human Health | 3 |
| SOIL SCI/ATM OCN/BSE 132 | Water and People | 3 |
| SOIL SCI 430 | Soil Pollution and Human Health | 3 |
| URB R PL 550 | Transportation and the Built Environment | 3 |
Disease Biology
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ENTOM/ZOOLOGY 371 | Medical Entomology: Biology of Vector and Vector-borne Diseases | 3 |
| F&W ECOL/SURG SCI 548 | Diseases of Wildlife | 3 |
| M M & I 301 | Pathogenic Bacteriology | 2 |
| M M & I/ENTOM/PATH-BIO/ZOOLOGY 350 | Parasitology | 3 |
| M M & I 554 | Emerging Infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism | 2 |
| MICROBIO 345 | Introduction to Disease Biology | 3 |
| PATH-BIO 307 | Superbugs, Sex, & Drugs: Why Modern Medicine Needs Evolutionary Biology | 2 |
| PATH/PATH-BIO 210 | HIV: Sex, Society and Science | 3 |
| PATH 404 | Pathophysiologic Principles of Human Diseases | 3 |
| PHM SCI 310 | Drugs and Their Actions | 2 |
Certificate Completion Requirement
This undergraduate certificate must be completed concurrently with the student’s undergraduate degree. Students cannot delay degree completion to complete the certificate.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and articulate the global burden of disease, opportunities and threats to well-being, and the root causes and possible solutions to these challenges.
- Demonstrate a holistic and critical perspective on human health and well-being.
- Utilize global frameworks for policy development and action for improved health, well-being, and equity.
- Identify local, national and international health issues, and the connections between these challenges.
- Engage and communicate respectfully with diverse colleagues and local partners.
- Reflect and demonstrate self-awareness, humility, and empathy toward multiple cultural perspectives and knowledge.
Advising and Careers
Advising
Each certificate student is assigned an advisor who works to understand student goals and helps each student shape their path through the certificate. Advisors also provide students with advising around options to fulfill the field experience requirement and post-graduation plans such as “gap year” opportunities, jobs, fellowships, and graduate school.
Connect with Global Health Advisors
Career Opportunities
Many graduates connect their major and certificate studies to best match employers looking for a global health perspective. Areas for future careers are extremely varied, but include healthcare professions, public health and epidemiology, research, policy, education, health communications, environmental health, and international development.
Wisconsin Experience
Internships
Local or international internships may be part of students’ field experience requirement. Examples include: Community Health Internship Program with the Wisconsin Areas Health Education Centers; Resource Navigator Internship Program with the Center for Patient Partnerships; Wisconsin in Washington Internship Program; and internships through the International Internship Program.
Global Engagement
Immersive field experiences are a hallmark of the certificate program and include both local and international opportunities. Local field experiences are offered in Madison and throughout Wisconsin. International field experiences are offered across the globe: Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, India, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Uganda.
Research Experience
Many students pursuing the certificate choose to be involved in research and are mentored by leading researchers in global health. Examples include: studying the effects of climate change on human and ecosystem health; researching ways to prevent Lyme disease spread by ticks; examining how women’s empowerment leads to better health outcomes; or investigating methods to evaluate population vitamin A status which informs global health policy.
Community Engagement and Volunteering
Several student organizations on campus are related to global health. These organizations can be a great way to connect with other students with similar interests, network, get involved in the local community, and learn more about global health or other similar topics. Examples include Slow Food, Community Health Volunteers of Madison, and Partners in Health Engage.