Program Overview

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Global Health, BS

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.

Program Description

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.

Career Opportunities

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.

Learning through Hands-on 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.

Building 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.

Customizing 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.

Making 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.

Gaining a 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.

Admission Requirements

• No application required. All students who meet the requirements listed below are eligible to declare.
• Courses required to get in: None
• GPA requirements to get in: None
• Credits required to get in: Must have fewer than 86 credits.
• Other: Students who do not meet the requirements above or are not in good academic standing should schedule a meeting with CALS Dean on Call to discuss exceptions.

University General Education Requirements

All undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are required to fulfill a minimum set of common university general education requirements to ensure that every graduate acquires the essential core of an undergraduate education. This core establishes a foundation for living a productive life, being a citizen of the world, appreciating aesthetic values, and engaging in lifelong learning in a continually changing world. Various schools and colleges will have requirements in addition to the requirements listed below.

• BreadthHumanities/Literature/Arts: 6 credits
• BreadthNatural Science: 4 to 6 credits, consisting of one 4- or 5-credit course with a laboratory component; or two courses providing a total of 6 credits
• BreadthSocial Studies: 3 credits
• Communication Part A & Part B
• Ethnic Studies
• Quantitative Reasoning Part A & Part B

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Requirements

In addition to the University General Education Requirements, all undergraduate students in CALS must satisfy a set of college and major requirements. Courses may not double count within university requirements (General Education and Breadth) or within college requirements (First-Year Seminar, International Studies, Science, and Capstone), but courses counted toward university requirements may also be used to satisfy a college and/or a major requirement; similarly, courses counted toward college requirements may also be used to satisfy a university and/or a major requirement.

• Quality of Work: Students must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.000 to remain in good standing and be eligible for graduation.
• Residency: Students must complete 30 degree credits in residence at UW-Madison after earning 86 credits toward their undergraduate degree.
• First-year seminar: 1 credit
• International studies: 3 credits
• Physical science fundamentals: 4-5 credits
• Biological science: 5 credits
• Additional science (biological, physical, or natural): 3 credits
• Science breadth (biological, physical, natural, or social): 3 credits
• CALS Capstone Learning Experience: included in the requirements for each CALS major

Major Requirements

• Fundamental Courses: 29 credits
  • Mathematics: complete one sequence (or satisfy through placement exam)
  • Statistics: complete one course
  • General Chemistry: complete one sequence
  • Introductory Biology: complete one sequence
  • Global Health Introductory Social Sciences: 6-8 credits
• Core Courses: 15 credits
  • Gateway Core Requirement: complete one course
  • Public Health Core Requirement: complete one course
  • Food Systems and Health Core Requirement: complete one course
  • Environmental Health Core Requirement: complete one course
  • Global Disease Biology and Epidemiology Core Requirement: complete one course
• Depth Courses: 15 credits
  • Complete a minimum of 15 credits of depth courses, with at least 9 credits from one category and at least 6 credits from the other categories.
  • Public Health, Policy, and Development Depth Electives
  • Food Systems and Nutrition Depth Electives
  • Ecosystem Sustainability and Planetary Health Depth Electives
  • Disease Biology Depth Electives
• Capstone: 3 credits
  • Complete one option

University Degree Requirements

• Total Degree: To receive a bachelor's degree from UW-Madison, students must earn a minimum of 120 degree credits.
• Residency: Degree candidates are required to earn a minimum of 30 credits in residence at UW-Madison.
• Quality of Work: Undergraduate students must maintain the minimum grade point average specified by the school, college, or academic program to remain in good academic standing.

Learning Outcomes

1. Describe the current status of health, well-being, and sustainability for humans and all life, the environment, and the planet.
2. Compare and contrast health and environmental conditions in the context of local settings and our state with national, international, and global settings.
3. Quantify health challenges in terms of the global burden of disease, the human development index, and the metrics associated with the sustainable development goals and the planetary health boundaries.
4. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of contemporary initiatives and programs to improve global public health and sustainable systems.
5. Use socioeconomic and political frameworks to characterize health challenges and demonstrate social awareness.
6. Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills necessary for teamwork and leadership, ethical conduct, cross-cultural collaboration, and civic engagement.
7. Use a systems approach to analyze complex relationships related to creating conditions for healthy life, sustainability, and survival and describe the challenges and opportunities related to sustainable systems and survival.

Four-Year Plan

A sample four-year plan is provided to help students plan their coursework and ensure they meet all requirements.

Advising and Careers

Each student is assigned an academic advisor who works to understand student goals and helps each student shape their unique Wisconsin Experience and make the most of their time at UW-Madison. Advisors also provide students with career advising, as well as resources and guidance on planning for post-college activities such as graduate/professional school and gap year experiences.

Wisconsin Experience

The Wisconsin Experience is a comprehensive approach to undergraduate education that emphasizes hands-on learning, community engagement, and career preparation. Global health majors can participate in field experiences, internships, research, and study abroad programs to gain practical experience and build their skills and knowledge.

Resources and Scholarships

Students in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences receive more than $1.25 million in scholarships annually, including funding to help support Global Health Majors who participate in field experiences and study abroad. Students apply for these scholarships through a single application in the Wisconsin Scholarship Hub (WiSH).