PROGRAM IN GLOBAL HEALTH STUDIES

Minor Requirements

General Guidelines 

GHS Minor Worksheet 

To earn a minor in Global Health Studies, students must: 

• Complete 7 courses 

• Consisting of 2 core GHS courses, 2 additional GHS courses, and 3 non-GHS elective courses. 

• Students may elect to study abroad as part of their Global Health Studies curriculum. 

• Global Health Studies does not permit double-counting classes. 

• Speak with your standalone major advisor to see what is permissible before contacting your assigned GHS Director of Undergraduate Studies advisor to have a class double counted. Some units within WCAS and other colleges do allow it.  

Note: The terms GHS advisor and GHS Directors of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) are used interchangeably.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS

A. Two GBL HLTH Core Courses 

1. Introduction
   • 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
2. One of the following:
   • GBL_HLTH 302 Global Bioethics
   • GBL_HLTH 320 Qualitative Research Methods
   • GBL_HLTH 303 (Re)Mixing Qualitative Methods
     • While no longer offered, this course will still fulfill this requirement if you have already taken it. Formerly GBL_HLTH 390, which counts for this requirement if taken prior to Fall 2022.
   • GBL_HLTH 318 Community Based Participatory Research
     • Formerly GBL_HLTH 390, which counts for this requirement if taken prior to Fall 2022

B. Two Additional GBL_HLTH Courses

• Select courses listed on our Course Descriptions page. All Global Health courses count, except for GBL_HLTH 399 and courses taught abroad (GBL_HLTH 3XX-SA).
• The following co-listed courses, taught together with other departments and programs, count interchangeably, as GHS courses for the minor. None of the courses, however, can count as non-Global Health Studies electives.
  • GBL_HLTH 221 and GNDR_ST 221
  • GBL_HLTH 309 and HISTORY 379
  • GBL_HLTH 317 and NAIS 317
  • GBL_HLTH 326 and NAIS 326
  • GBL_HLTH 337 and ENVR_POL 337
  • GBL_HLTH 338 and ENVR_POL 338
  • GBL_HLTH 339 and ENVR_POL 339
  • GBL_HLTH 357 and ANTHRO 357

C. Three Non-GBL_HLTH Elective Courses

Global Health Studies (GBL_HLTH) courses may not be used for elective credit towards a Global Health Studies degree.

• Non-GHS approved electives are offered by other departments and shared before pre-registration each quarter. Please see the schedule for each quarter.
• Only one approved 200-level course can count towards this requirement.
• Approved Non-GHS Electives (last updated May 2026)
  • When using this document, please ensure the course title matches entirely. Occasionally professors change the name of a course over time, and the newer iteration may no longer meet the GHS threshold for approval. If this occurs, discuss this with your assigned GHS DUS, preferably before registration.
  • Additional 300-level courses may also be considered electives with approval from the Global Health Studies program.
• Up to two electives courses can be taken through study abroad or domestic opportunities, please see below. 

Study ABROAD, cHICAGO fiELD sTUDIES, AND oTHER oPPORTUNITIES

You may elect to participate in a substantial public health experience abroad or domestically. Please review the Study Abroad webpage for complete information.

• Students who elect study abroad or domestically more than once may earn more elective credits.
  • Most Global Health Studies students choose to complete one of Northwestern's public health programs offered in France, 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.
  • Domestic opportunities include specific Chicago Field Studies courses listed in Part C above.
  • You may also participate in a non-Northwestern public health program (either affiliated with the University or not).