Planetary Health (Minor)

Changes to Earth’s natural systems, including anthropogenic climate change, is the most significant public health challenge of the 21st century. The emerging field of planetary health links changes in natural systems to human health and well-being. As the pace and scale of human impacts on Earth’s natural systems continues to grow, there is increasing interest in understanding and quantifying the implications of these accelerating changes for human health. The goal of the planetary health minor is to equip future practitioners with the education and training needed to address complex challenges at the intersection of global environmental change and human health, and to integrate such complexity into equitable, solution-oriented actions and policies.

Program Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of the planetary health minor, students will:

1. Identify how anthropogenic changes to natural systems influence human health outcomes using mixed-methods approaches.
2. Use systems thinking to analyze a diverse range of complex and interrelated factors shaping human health on a changing planet, including geographical scale, temporal scale, and socio-cultural and economic context.
3. Examine the new ethical terrain of planetary health, including assessing equity issues around whose health is impacted by changes to natural systems.
4. Design and advocate for policies that are sound for the health of humans and the environment.
5. Recognize and anticipate the surprises and unintended human health consequences associated with changing environmental conditions.

Electives:

ART 3814	Art + Environment	4.00 units
ARTH 1013	Indigenous World Art	4.00 units
BIO 3150	Invertebrate Biology	3.00 units
	and
BIO 3155	Invertebrate Biology Lab	1.00 unit
BIO 3850	Neuroscience	3.00 units
	and
BIO 3855	Neuroscience Lab	1.00 unit
BIO 4220	Medical Parasitology	3.00 units
	and
BIO 4225	Medical Parasitology Lab	1.00 unit
BIO 4300	Animal Behavior	3.00 units
	and
BIO 4305	Animal Behavior Lab	1.00 unit
BIO 4310	Advanced Ecology	3.00 units
	and
BIO 4315	Advanced Ecology Lab	1.00 unit
CASC 3400	Theory and Practice for Community Action and Social Change	4.00 units
CASC 3405	Community Engaged Research Methodology and Project Design	4.00 units
ENSC 3300	Advanced Environmental Science	3.00 units
	and
ENSC 3305	Advanced Environmental Science Lab	1.00 unit
ENSC 4000	Conservation Biology	3.00 units
	and
ENSC 4005	Conservation Biology Lab	1.00 unit
ENSC 4200	Marine Biology	3.00 units
	and
ENSC 4205	Marine Biology Lab	1.00 unit
ENSC 4300	Toxicology	3.00 units
	and
ENSC 4305	Toxicology Lab	1.00 unit
HIST 1030	Big History Lens on the Evolution of Human Cultures	4.00 units
HIST 3007	Disease and Disasters in World History	4.00 units
HIST 3711	U.S. Environmental History	4.00 units
PHIL 3110/PHIL 1110	Environmental Ethics	4.00 units
POL 3430	Environmental History and Law	4.00 units

Required Courses

BIO 2900	Ecology and Evolution	3.00 units
BIO 2905	Ecology and Evolution Lab	1.00 unit
GPH 3340	Epidemiology	3.00 units
GPH 3345	Epidemiology Lab	1.00 unit
GPH 3500	Global Environmental Health	4.00 units
GPH 3700	Planetary Health Perspectives from Costa Rica	4.00 units
Total Credit Hours:		16

*Note: BIO 2900/ BIO 2905 Prerequisites: BIO 1000/ BIO 1005 with a grade of 'C' (2.0) or better.

*Note: GPH 3700 may be substituted with an elective with approval by the minor advisor

Total Credit Hours: 16