Program Overview

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Global Public Health and History (BA)

The highly selective, demanding undergraduate majors in Global Public Health (GPH) allow CAS students to choose a course of study that is a combination of public health and an academic discipline housed in the College (GPH is not a stand-alone major), and also provide them with instructors and courses drawn from the entire university. This unique structure responds to the ever-increasing demand for interdisciplinary public health practitioners both in the U.S. and abroad. The coursework is integrated with experiential learning and study away requirements to ensure that students are broadly trained and uniquely prepared for a variety of careers.

Program Description

The Global Public Health and History major provides a unique opportunity to unite the study of human experience in relation to particular times and places with the study of health of populations around the world. The major draws on the expertise of the CAS Department of History in providing students with the tools needed to analyze and interpret many different kinds of evidence—cultural, social, economic, and political—and to organize them into a coherent whole, presented clearly in written or oral form. Students will study a variety of topics, such as environmental history, ethnicity, sexuality, epidemiology, health policy, gender, and social movements. NYU’s Global Public Health and History major provides a unique set of skills that may be applied in a variety of careers including law, teaching, public health, business, film, international affairs, and medicine and science.

Honors Program

Students with strong academic records (a GPA of 3.65 in history and 3.65 overall) may apply to the director of undergraduate studies for admission to the History honors program. Students must be declared GPH & History co-majors and have already taken or are completing the workshop (HIST-UA 9XX) to apply for the two-course, 8-credit program. Applications are released every spring semester. Students must apply by their junior year spring semester.

• The honors program is completed in two consecutive semesters and consists of a small HIST-UA 994 Honors Seminar followed by an individualized HIST-UA 996 Honors Thesis/Tutorial.
• In the Honors Seminar (which satisfies the capstone seminar requirement for the major) students define a thesis topic, develop a bibliography, read broadly, and begin their research.
• A substantial part of the research, usually including a rough draft of the thesis, should be completed by the semester’s end.
• In the Honors Tutorial, students work one-on-one with a faculty director to complete the thesis.
• The honors thesis varies in length from 40 to 70 pages, depending on the nature and scope of the subject.
• The completed thesis, approved for defense by the director, is defended before a committee consisting of a primary faculty advisor and at least one additional faculty reader.
• A grade of at least A- on the thesis is required for the award of honors in History.
• Students who receive a lower passing grade are simply awarded 8 credits toward the major.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see the relevant NYU admissions pages.

Program Requirements

The major in Global Public Health and History requires fifteen 4-credit courses (60 credits) completed with a grade of C or higher (courses graded Pass/Fail do not count) as outlined below. Students in this combined major must consult with the DUS or other departmental adviser to work out a course plan, especially as this major requires students to study away for one semester.

• General Education Requirements:
  • First-Year Seminar
  • EXPOS-UA 1: Writing as Inquiry
  • Foreign Language 1
  • Physical Science
  • Life Science
  • Texts and Ideas
  • Cultures and Contexts
  • Expressive Culture
• Major Requirements:
  • Global Public Health Requirements:
    • UGPH-GU 10: Health and Society in a Global Context
    • UGPH-GU 20: Biostatistics for Public Health
    • UGPH-GU 30: Epidemiology for Global Health
    • UGPH-GU 40: Health Policy in a Global World
    • UGPH-GU 50: Environmental Health in a Global World
    • UGPH-GU 60: Undergraduate Experiential Learning in Global Public Health
  • History Requirements:
    • Select one workshop
    • Select one capstone seminar
    • History Advanced Electives (select four HIST-UA 100+ courses, one in each of the following areas: Pre-1800, U.S., European, and non-Western)
    • Combined Electives (select three electives)

Study Away

All majors must also study away for one semester. Programs of study are planned with the director of undergraduate studies in the chosen CAS department.

Sample Plan of Study

A sample plan of study is provided to help students plan their coursework over eight semesters.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the program, graduates will:

1. Articulate original, relevant, significant, and researchable historical questions; identify the best evidence to answer such questions; and develop persuasive interpretations of such evidence that yield coherent and effective arguments.
2. Research and write well-organized, well-referenced works of history that synthesize primary-source research based on historical documents and secondary-source research based on academic scholarship.
3. Trace the development of human societies, chart patterns of continuity and change over time, and identify the historical antecedents of contemporary issues.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of a wide range of historical fields and methods from social and cultural history to political and economic history to the histories of science, medicine, and the environment.
5. Develop a deep understanding of a particular global region and time period, set in the context of comparative chronological and geographical knowledge.
6. Recognize key historical milestones in the development and evolution of the field of public health with examples from both the US and international contexts.
7. Describe and assess the biological, social, environmental, and structural determinants of health by applying interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies.
8. Explain key data analytic techniques and epidemiologic concepts for measuring disease occurrence and frequency and how the information obtained from these measures is used to assess the health of populations.
9. Apply public health promotion and prevention concepts to engage in collaborative and culturally relevant public health activities.
10. Connect public health concepts to disciplinary practice in the field.

Policies

General Policies Applying to the Combined Global Public Health Majors

• CAS students are allowed to count 16 credits from the other schools of the University toward the baccalaureate degree.
• Four of the six core UGPH-GU courses required for the combined GPH majors are treated as liberal arts courses and therefore do not count against the 16-credit allowance.
• Students may request additional non-CAS, non-liberal arts credits beyond the 16-credit limit through the College Advising Center.
• No UGPH-GU courses can count toward the 64 credits that internal or external transfer students are required to complete in CAS (-UA) courses.
• Students must earn a C or better in all courses for their combined major and maintain a 2.0 major GPA.
• Courses graded Pass/Fail cannot be counted toward the major.

Transfer Student Policies Applying to the Combined Global Public Health Majors

• Transfer students to CAS must complete at least half of their entire combined GPH major at NYU, with at least half of the CAS coursework required for the major completed at NYU.
• In addition, GPH stipulates that transfer credit cannot be used for more than one of the six core GPH requirements (the other five must always be completed at NYU).
• The internship course (UGPH-GU 60) can never be satisfied with transfer credit.
• Applicants to schools of the health professions who are pursuing one of the science GPH majors must complete at least five of the required prehealth science courses at NYU in order to be eligible for a committee interview and letter from the CAS Preprofessional Advising Center.