Social Sciences Track

As the world deals with the aftermath of COVID-19, the Global Health Studies (GHS) program prepares students to work, learn, and lead in a recovering post-pandemic society.

The undergraduate major in Global Health Studies offers a truly interdisciplinary academic experience. Coursework for this major includes local and global aspects of health: medicine, prevention, policy, faith, environment, culture, society, and research. Students have multiple pathways available to craft a unique course of study that prepares them for any number of opportunities after graduation, including medical or nursing school, doctoral study, or employment in the non-profit, government, or private sectors.

Please note: Courses may not be double-counted. For example, a course that you take to satisfy the Methods requirement may not also count towards your Elective count.

The Social Sciences Track provides students with practical course work in the various societal disciplines surrounding health, medicine, and overall well-being. Coursework in this concentration includes geography, sociology, anthropology, psychology, international studies, education, and communication. Students looking to pursue careers or graduate study in any social science that studies physical, mental, or planetary health should consider this major.

Students in this track explore the anthropological, sociological, psychological, and geographic determinates of health around the world, from communication to food sources, from geopolitics to community well-being.

Undergraduate students looking to complete a senior thesis instead of an internship should register for GHS 499 Senior Thesis (3 credits) with the approval of the GHS Director. Click here to download the syllabus for GHS 499. Also, please download the Independent Study timeline to ensure you are following the appropriate processes. Because the GHS program is an interdisciplinary program, students should seek faculty senior thesis advisors/mentors based on their GHS track (humanities, social science, or policy).

Undergraduate students looking to complete an internship should register for GHS 590 Global Health Internship (1-6 credits).

Important Information:

• One credit of internship is equivalent to 50 hours of work on the internship site.  All students must keep a log of their hours.
• Undergraduate students must complete the GHS 590 Internship Agreement. Click here to download the syllabus for GHS 590.
• Graduate students must complete the Internship Contract prior to enrolling in GHS 890.  Upon completion of the internship, all graduate students must submit their Internship Completion Certificate to the Assistant Dean.

We encourage students to visit Handshake latest info on internship offerings.  Also, GHS students can look for internships by searching the following websites:

• Internship Websites

  • Group Care Global 
  • Open Source Wellness 
  • Ignite Fellowship (Teach for America) 
  • Marijuana Policy Project 
  • Stand Together Fellowship Koch Internship Program 
  • IDEA Exchange 
  • Action for Mother and Children Health
  • Stella's Child 
  • CDR Maguire 
  • American Public Health Association 
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 
  • Clinton Foundation 
  • GBC Health 
  • The Global Fund 
  • Global Health Corp 
  • Uganda Village Project 
  • World Health Organization (WHO) 
  • Mercy Corp

• Required Core Course

  GHS 201 - Introduction to Global Health

• Methods Course (Choose 1)

  GHS 310 - Hospital Ethnography

  PSY 292 - Introduction to Biobehavioral Statistics for Non-Majors

  GEG 306 - Geographic Research Methods

  SOC 210 - Introduction to Social Research

• Policy Course (Choose 1)

  INS 201 - Globalization and Change in World Politics

  INS 572 - Global Health Policy and Ethics

  SOC 321 - Applied Health Policy

  Speak with the program director when selecting a policy course. 

• Track Required Courses (6-9 Credits)

  APY 413 - Medical Anthropology

  GEG 241 - Health and Medical Geography

  GHS 312 - People, Plagues, and Pandemics

  SOC 384 - Medical Sociology

• Track Elective Courses (9-12 Credits)

  APY 105 - HIV: Sex, Science, and Society

  APY 205 - Medicine, Healthcare, and Society

  APY 307 - Human Adaptation

  APY 309 - Evolution of Human Behavior 

  APY 315 - Folk and Alternative Medicine

  APY 393 - Drugs and Culture

  APY 413 - Medical Anthropology*

  APY 414 - Human Osteology 

  APY 416 - Bioarchaeology: Peopling the Past 

  APY 501 - Methods of Anthropological Research 

  APY 512 - Advanced Medical Anthropology

  ECO 386 - Health Economics

  GEG 105 - World Regional Geography

  GEG 110 - Introduction to Human Geography 

  GEG 241 - Health and Medical Geography*

  GEG 306 - Geographic Research Methods 

  GEG 331 - Sustainable Development 

  GEG 336 - Hazards and Disasters: The Nature-Society Interface

  GEG 337 - Climate Change, Sea Level Rise and Society

  GEG 338 - Landscape Character, Dynamics, Evolution; Influence on Societal Habitation and Risks 

  GEG 341 - Population, Health, and the Environment

  GEG 343 - Population, Sustainability, and the Media

  GEG 345 - Drinking Water: Past, Present, and Future

  GEG 346 - Immigrant and Refugee Health

  GEG 348 - Climate Change and Public Health

  GEG 366 - Cities in Time and Space

  GEG 412 - GIS for Health and Environment

  GEG 432 - Climate Change and Security 

  GHS 301 - Sociocultural Foundations of Global Health 

  GHS 310 - Hospital Ethnography 

  GHS 312 - People, Plagues, and Pandemics

  GHS 331 - Topics in Global Health Studies: Social Sciences  

  GHS 431 - Advanced Seminar in Global Health Studies: Social Sciences 

  GHS 440 - Global Health Response to Disasters: From Management to Recovery and Reconstruction

  GHS 570 - Globalization and Health 

  GHS 571 - Global Health and International Development 

  GHS 573 - Disasters, Terrorism and Global Public Health 

  INS 101 - Global Perspectives

  INS 103 - World in Crisis 

  INS 201 - Globalization and Change in World Politics 

  INS 509 - International Migration and the Health Care Systems

  LAS 301 - Interdisciplinary Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies

  LAS 302 - Interdisciplinary Topics in Latin American and Caribbean Studies: Travel Course 

  LAS 362 - Drug Trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean 

  POL 303 - Refugees and Migrants

  POL 316 - Politics of Globalism 

  POL 341 - Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Political Conflict 

  POL 344 - Gender and Politics 

  POL 359 - International Organizations 

  POL 362 - Social Movements 

  POL 569 - LGBTI Politics 

  POL 571 - Sex, Babies, and the State 

  PSY 292 - Introduction to Biobehavioral Statistics Section B 

  PSY 411 - Relationships and Health

  PSY 426 - Health Psychology

  PSY 445 - Cultural, Values, Religiosity, and Mental Illness 

  SOC 320 - Social Epidemiology: Illness and Death in Society

  SOC 321 - Applied Health Policy 

  SOC 345 - Population and Society 

  SOC 368 - Violence in America

  SOC 375 - Sociology of Mental Health and Illness

  SOC 377 - Sociology of Drug Abuse

  SOC 381 - Aging in Society

  SOC 384 - Medical Sociology*

  SOC 480 - Health Disparities in the U.S.

   

• Capstone Options (3 Credits)

  The capstone experience must focus on issues/experiences related to global or planetary health. Students will be able to choose between the following capstone experiences:

  • Senior Thesis
  • Internship