Global Health Studies Learning Objectives
Objective 1: Develop a Strong Intellectual Foundation for Understanding Complex Global Health Problems
Global Health Studies students will:
- Understand prominent global health and development policies and programs and the systems and processes by which these have been implemented in the past and present.
- Analyze the social determinants of health and health disparities and understand how economic, political, cultural, environmental, social and biological factors affect health outcomes and population-level health inequalities.
- Critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of prevailing approaches to global health challenges, particularly as they relate to the lived realities and priorities of populations meant to benefit.
- Understand how context shapes health outcomes, health disparities, and possibilities for addressing public health challenges.
Objective 2: Develop and Apply Understanding of Historical and Ethical Issues in Global Health
Global Health Studies students will:
- Understand the complex histories that shape the current state of public health and healthcare delivery systems at home and abroad.
- Recognize and appreciate that values, ethics, and priorities related to public health and healthcare vary by location, socioeconomic status, culture, history, and context.
- Recognize and apply local knowledge, priorities, and values as a foundation for evaluating the ethics of specific approaches, policies, and interventions.
- Recognize, appreciate, and take responsibility for the unintended consequences of well-intended approaches to global health challenges, past and present.
Objective 3: Develop Interdisciplinary Skills in Research, Critical Thinking, and Communication
Global Health Studies students will:
- Carefully analyze and critically evaluate the range of forms of scholarly evidence, from quantitative to qualitative, currently used to support arguments about and prescriptions for global public health challenges.
- Recognize, understand, and critically evaluate the distinct contributions of various academic disciplines to analyzing and addressing global health challenges.
- Conceptualize original research questions and apply relevant methodologies and ethical principles to research designs.