Adjunct Major Requirements
The adjunct major in Global Health Studies must be accompanied by a primary, stand-alone major.
To earn an adjunct major in Global Health Studies, students must:
- Complete eleven courses, including four core courses, three additional Global Health Studies courses, and four elective courses.
- Courses for the adjunct major may not be double-counted with any major.
- Students may elect to study abroad as part of their Global Health Studies curriculum.
Course requirements
Four GBL_HLTH core courses
- GBL_HLTH 201 Introduction to Global Health (formerly GBL_HLTH 301: Introduction to International Public Health, which counts for this requirement if taken prior to Fall 2022)
- Either GBL_HLTH 222 The Social Determinants of Health (formerly GBL_HLTH 322, which counts for this requirement if taken prior to Fall 2022)
- or GBL_HLTH 309 Biomedicine and World History
- or GBL_HLTH 325 History of Reproductive Health
- GBL_HLTH 302 Global Bioethics
- GBL_HLTH 320 Qualitative Research Methods in Global Health
- GBL_HLTH 303 (Re)Mixing Qualitative Methods (formerly GBL_HLTH 390)
- or GBL_HLTH 318 Community Based Participatory Research (formerly GBL_HLTH 390)
- or GBL_HLTH 390 Quantitative Methods: Turning Numbers into a Story
Three additional GBL_HLTH courses
- Select courses listed on our Course Descriptions page.
- All GBL_HLTH courses count, except for GBL_HLTH 399 and courses taught abroad (GBL_HLTH 3XX-SA).
Four elective courses
- Up to two elective courses can be taken abroad.
- Approved elective courses offered by a wide variety of departments are shared before pre-registration each quarter, and are posted with each quarter's schedule.
- Up to one approved 200-level course can count towards this requirement.
- Additional 300-level courses may also be considered as electives with approval from the Global Health Studies program.
- Global Health Studies classes may not be used for elective credit towards a GHS degree.
- Please note that Global Health Studies does not permit double-counting classes, but some units within WCAS and other colleges do allow it. Speak with your standalone major advisor to see what is permissible before contacting the Director of Undergraduate Studies to have a class double-counted.
Study abroad
You may elect to participate in a substantial public health experience abroad. Most GHS students choose to complete one of Northwestern's public health programs, offered in China, France, Mexico, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and South Africa. Two of your Global Health Studies elective requirements can be completed on a public health study abroad program. Students who elect to study abroad more than once may earn more elective credits.
You may also participate in a non-Northwestern public health program (either affiliated with the university or not).
Senior Honors Theses
At this time, there is not an opportunity for adjunct majors to complete a senior honors thesis within Global Health Studies. Interested students should pursue a senior honors thesis within their other major.