Education and Training

Training the next generation of researchers and policy makers ensures the durability of intellectual commitment to sustainable solutions for health in the human ecosystem. The Institute for Health in the Human Ecosystem partners with academic units and colleges to support an interdisciplinary undergraduate global disease ecology major and delivery of the center’s flagship six-day training course in the biology of vector-borne diseases.

Global Disease Ecology Major

The global disease ecology major will use an integrated approach to advance understanding of the concept(s) of disease, the societal, environmental and personal impacts on disease; the science behind discoveries, causes, evolution, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of domestic and international plant, animal and human diseases.

The curriculum will focus on the development of tools to solve complex problems in real-world scenarios to advance creative and critical thinking skills. The major will include a senior research practicum, which the student designs with a faculty mentor to bridge the disciplines of the major to match career interests and maximize career prospects.

The major will focus on three learning outcomes and skill sets:

• Global disease issues (challenges to global health, environmental impacts, economic impacts and social pressures of disease)
• Disease knowledge (etiology, evolution, ecology, modeling, epidemiology)
• Scientific research and methods (application of the scientific method to the study of health and disease)

A Bachelor of Science in global disease ecology will support students interested not only in traditional health careers, but also other career paths, including but not limited to health policy and regulation, global and public health, animal welfare, plant pathology, microbiology, food and water quality, sustainable agriculture, sustainable forestry and environmental protection. Students can also pursue an academic minor in global disease ecology as a means to complement their non-global disease ecology major.