UC undergraduates can learn about a variety of topics in global health while earning credit by taking global health courses online.  

Developed and instructed by UCGHI’s faculty partners, the courses connect UC students interested in global health, teach them fundamental concepts and complex issues, and inspire them to explore and contribute to this growing discipline.

From Migration and Health, to Foundations of Epidemiology and Nutrition in Global Health, UCGHI’s online courses offer students opportunities to dive into a topic that interests them, along with renowned global health faculty and students from all 10 campuses.

Explore the course offerings below and check the UC Cross-Campus Enrollment portal for registration information.

Upcoming course offerings for Fall 2018

Introduction to Global Health
Provides a foundational understanding of the global burden of disease and disability, including the major causes of morbidity and mortality and the risk factors that contribute to health disparities across different populations.

Nutrition and Global Health
​Explores nutritional risk factors associated with the development of chronic diseases and the role of nutritional medicine in prevention including food safety, communicable diseases, supplements, and regulatory issues.

Course catalog

Climate Change and Disaster Management
Examines the social, economic, environmental and health impacts of anthropogenic climate change through the lens of multiple disciplines, including public health, anthropology, and emergency management and preparedness.

Ethics in Global Health
Introduces ethical issues in global health in both developed and developing countries, including the history of ethics, the development of ethical codes of conduct, and training in the responsible conduct of student research.

Global Population, Health and Environment
Examines concepts of demography, health, and environmental change from around the world using a planetary health framework. Engaging in current issues on the effects that our populations have on local and global environments, and the effects that our environments have on human and animal populations fosters cross-cultural and multidisciplinary problem solving.

Migration and Health
Provides an introduction to the history, current status, and future of migration and health using the social determinants of health model to foster a multidisciplinary analysis of migrant health disparities.

Poverty and Development (Winter 2019)
Explores concepts of poverty and human development and considers critically the strategies used by the global North to reduce global inequities, with particular reference to health.

Foundations of Epidemiology (Winter 2019)
Explores emerging infectious disease concerns and growing numbers of chronic health conditions through the lens of population health problem solving. Methodologies in study design and measurements are applied to real-life problems. 

In an increasingly connected world, issues related to migration, population dynamics and disaster management are of growing concern for many disciplines, including global health.

UC students are eager to find solutions. 

To help them get there, three new courses – developed by the UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI) and UC’s Innovative Learning Technology Initiative (ILTI) – will be available for spring 2018 registration. The courses address current issues in global health and offer UC students opportunities to explore a field that is growing in popularity.

Newly available courses include:

Migration and Health
Provides an introduction to the history, current status, and future of migration and health using the social determinants of health model to foster a multidisciplinary analysis of migrant health disparities.

Global Population, Health and Environment
Using a planetary health framework, this course examines concepts of demography, health, and environmental change from around the world. Engaging in current issues on the effects that our populations have on local and global environments, and the effects that our environments have on human and animal populations fosters cross-cultural and multidisciplinary problem solving.

Climate Change and Disaster Management
Examines the social, economic, environmental and health impacts of anthropogenic climate change through the lens of multiple disciplines, including public health, anthropology, and emergency management and preparedness.

UCGHI’s suite of online courses launched last fall with an Introduction to Global Health course as well as Ethics in Global Health. These courses equip students with the theoretical and practical knowledge they need to forge a career path in global health.

Global health attracts students from all disciplines – from psychology and engineering to economics and computer science – because global health issues are truly interdisciplinary.

“Introducing students to the idea that immigration itself is a social determinant of health is a core component of our course, and we use the online environment to expose students to the wide range of disciplinary approaches involved in understanding and addressing migration related health inequities,” explained Nancy Burke, PhD, MA, Migration and Health course co-creator and professor of public health at UC Merced.

“Having students from different disciplines and campuses come together really speaks to the collaborative nature of global health as a field,” said Woutrina Smith, DVM, MPVM, PhD, Global Population, Health and Environment course co-creator and professor of infectious disease epidemiology at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. “Successful projects in the real world require high levels of coordination and cooperation, and that’s exactly what the online format allows us to practice,” she added.

Interested students from all UC campuses can learn more and register via the UC Cross-Campus Enrollment portal.