Academic Catalog 2024-25

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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.

Minor Requirements

Required Courses

BIO 2900Ecology and Evolution

3.00 units
BIO 2905Ecology and Evolution Lab

1.00 unit
GPH 3340Epidemiology

3.00 units
GPH 3345Epidemiology Lab

1.00 unit
GPH 3500Global Environmental Health

4.00 units
GPH 3700Planetary 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 3340/GPH 3345 Prerequisites: PSY 3187 or equivalent, or consent of the instructor.

*Note: GPH 3700 may be substituted with 4.0 units of electives with approval by the minor advisor.

Electives:

ART 3814Art + Environment

4.00 units
ARTH 1013Indigenous World Art

4.00 units
BIO 3150Invertebrate Biology

3.00 units
BIO 3155Invertebrate Biology Lab

1.00 unit
BIO 3850Neuroscience

3.00 units
BIO 3855Neuroscience Lab

1.00 unit
BIO 4220Medical Parasitology

3.00 units
BIO 4225Medical Parasitology Lab

1.00 unit
BIO 4300Animal Behavior

3.00 units
BIO 4305Animal Behavior Lab

1.00 unit
BIO 4310Advanced Ecology

3.00 units
BIO 4315Advanced Ecology Lab

1.00 unit
CASC 3400Theory and Practice for Community Action and Social Change

4.00 units
CASC 3405Community Engaged Research Methodology and Project Design

4.00 units
ENSC 3300Advanced Environmental Science

3.00 units
ENSC 3305Advanced Environmental Science Lab

1.00 unit
ENSC 4000Conservation Biology

3.00 units
ENSC 4005Conservation Biology Lab

1.00 unit
ENSC 4200Marine Biology

3.00 units
ENSC 4205Marine Biology Lab

1.00 unit
ENSC 4300Toxicology

3.00 units
ENSC 4305Toxicology Lab

1.00 unit
HIST 1030Big History Lens on the Evolution of Human Cultures

4.00 units
HIST 3007Disease and Disasters in World History

4.00 units
HIST 3711U.S. Environmental History

4.00 units
PHIL 3110Environmental Ethics

4.00 units
POL 3430Environmental History and Law

4.00 units

Total Credit Hours: 16