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.

Total Credit Hours: 16