Global & Public Health Sciences

GPHS Major Requirements

Global and Public Health Sciences Major

The requirements listed below pertain to all students matriculating in August 2021 and January 2022.

In addition to college requirements , students in the GPHS Major must complete specific requirements listed here.

Introductory Chemistry

Introductory Chemistry (4+ credits)
This fulfills the college distribution natural sciences requirement.
Choose one of the following:
(a)    CHEM 2070  General Chemistry I 1, 2 (4 cr) AND CHEM 2080  General Chemistry II (4 cr) (two-course sequence required for pre-health)
(b)    CHEM 2070  General Chemistry I^1,2 (4 cr) (single course not adequate for pre-health)
(c)    CHEM 1560  Introduction to General Chemistry¹ (4 cr) (not for pre-health)
(d)    CHEM 2150  Honors General and Inorganic Chemistry^2,3 (4 cr) (not for pre-health)
1 Students may use an AP Chemistry score of 5 to place out of CHEM 2070. However, GPHS students must take at least one semester of chemistry at Cornell—i.e., students who use AP credit toward their chemistry requirement must take an additional chemistry course (i.e., CHEM 2080, CHEM 2150, or other, but not CHEM 1560). Students interested in the pre-health track should take two semesters of chemistry at Cornell.
2 Students who take CHEM 2070 forfeit AP credit. Students who take CHEM 2150 may keep AP credit.
3 Students should only select option (d) if they are very strong in chemistry and are not considering a pre-health (e.g. pre-med) track.

Introductory Biology

Introductory Biology (8 credits)
Choose one of the following labs:
(a)    BIOG 1500  Investigative Lab (2 cr) OR
(b)    BIOSM 1500  Investigative Marine Biology Lab (3 cr)

AND choose two out of the three lecture options^1:
(a)    BIOMG 1350  Cell and Development (3 cr)
(b)    BIOG 1440  Comparative Physiology (3 cr) OR²
BIOG 1445  Comparative Physiology (autotutorial)  (4cr)
(c)    BIOEE 1610  Ecology and the Environment (3cr) OR²
BIOEE 1780  Evolution and Diversity (3cr)
^{1 Students may use use AP Biology score of 5 or IB HL Biology score of 7 to place out of one introductory biology lecture. Pre-health (e.g. pre-med) students should not use AP scores to fulfill biology requirements.}

^{2 Cannot take both courses within one category to fulfill this requirement.}

Organic Chemistry Lecture

Organic Chemistry Lecture (3+ credits)
Choose one of the following:
(a)    CHEM 1570  Elementary Organic Chemistry (3 cr, not for pre-health) OR
(b)    CHEM 3530  Principles of Organic Chemistry (4 cr) OR
(c)    CHEM 3570  Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences I (3 cr) AND CHEM 3580  Organic Chemistry for the Life Sciences II (3 cr) OR¹
(d)    CHEM 3590  Honors Organic Chemistry I (4 cr) AND CHEM 3600 Honors Organic Chemistry II (4 cr)²
1 Students interested in pre-health tracks should take a two-course sequence of organic chemistry lectures (option c or d above).

2 Students who select options c or d above must take both courses in sequence; one course alone will not fulfill requirement.

Physiology

Physiology (3-4 credits)
Choose one of the following:
(a)    NS 3410  Human Anatomy and Physiology (4 cr) OR*
(b)    [BIOG 1440  Comparative Physiology (3 cr) OR**
BIOG 1445  Comparative Physiology (autotutorial) (4cr)] OR
(c)    NS 1150  Nutrition, Health, and Society (3 cr) OR

(d) NS 1220  Nutrition and the Life Cycle (3 cr)
*   Pre-health students should also take NS 3420  Human Anatomy and Physiology Lab (2 cr).
** Cannot take both to fulfill this requirement. Can only be used to fulfill physiology requirement if not used to fulfill introductory biology requirement.

Biochemistry

Biochemistry (4-6 credits)
Choose one of the following*:
(a)    NS 3200  Introduction to Human Biochemistry (F, 4 cr)
(b)    BIOMG 3300  Principles of Biochemistry (F/S, 4 cr)
(c)    BIOMG 3310  Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins and Metabolism (F, 3 cr) AND BIOMG 3320  Principles of Biochemistry: Molecular Biology (S, 2 cr)
(d)    BIOMG 3310  Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins and Metabolism (F, 3 cr) AND BIOMI 2900  General Microbiology (F/S, 3 cr)
(e)    BIOMG 3330  Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins, Metabolism, and Molecular Biology (Summer, 4 cr)
(f)    BIOMG 3350  Principles of Biochemistry: Proteins, Metabolism, and Molecular Biology (S, 4 cr)
* Students who take only one semester of introductory chemistry should talk with faculty advisors and biochemistry instructors as early as possible to determine which biochemistry course is best for them and how they may access resources for the best chance of success.

Global & Public Health Core Courses

Global & Public Health Core Courses (14 credits)
NS 1600  Introduction to Public Health (F, 3 cr)
NS 2060  Preparation for Engaged Learning (F, 2 cr)
NS 2600  Introduction to Global Health (S, 3 cr)
NS 3600  Epidemiology (F, 3 cr)
NS 4600  Explorations in Global and Public Health (F, 3 cr)

Supervised Experiential Learning in Global & Public Health

Supervised Experiential Learning in Global & Public Health (variable credit)

Approval required. May be completed anytime from spring semester sophomore year onward. Must be largely completed before the fall semester of senior year.
 

This experience may be obtained through one of several options, including (but not limited to):

• Global Health Summer Programs (India-NS 4060 , Tanzania-NS 4630 , Zambia-NS 4631 )
• Cornell in Washington (NS 4997 )
• Public Health Research and Internship (NS 4060 ) 
• Cornell Cooperative Extension (Tompkins County and others) (NS 4060 )
• Weill Cornell Clinical & Translational Science Center (NS 4060 )
• Study abroad programs with a public health focus/internship (NS 4060 )

Social & Behavioral Health Selective

Course should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from a social and/or behavioral health perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from a social science perspective (e.g. sociology, anthropology, psychology, economics, communication, and other social science disciplines). See the Requirements for GPHS majors in CHE for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Choose one course from the following options:

Social & Behavioral Health Selective (3-4 credits)
Choose one course from the following options:
NS 2450  Social Science Perspectives on Food and Nutrition (3 cr)
ANTHR 2468  Medicine, Culture, and Society (3 cr)
COMM 4760  Population Health Communication (3 cr)
DSOC / LSP 2200  Sociology of Health and Ethnic Minorities (3 cr)
DSOC 3020  Political Ecologies of Health (alt even 3 cr)
PAM 3280  / DSOC 3280  Fundamentals of Population Health (3 cr)
PAM 4280  / ECON 3710  The Economics of Risky Health Behaviors (3 cr)
SOC 4120  Health and Social Context (4 cr)

Biological Aspects of Public Health Selective

Biological Aspects of Public Health Selective (3-4 credits)

Courses should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from a biological perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from a biological perspective (e.g. biochemistry, molecular biology, physiology, neuroscience, and other biological sciences disciplines). See the Requirements for GPHS majors in CHE for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Choose one course from the following options:
NS 3030  Nutrition, Health and Vegetarian Diets (3 cr)
NS 3060  Nutrition and Global Health (3 cr)
NS 3150  Obesity and the Regulation of Body Weight (3 cr)
NS 4200  Diet and the Microbiome (3 cr)
NS 4300  Proteins, Transcripts, and Metabolism: Big Data in Molecular Nutrition (3 cr)
NS 4410  Nutrition and Disease (4 cr)
BIOMG 4390  Molecular Basis of Disease (3 cr)
BIOMG 4870  Human Genomics (3 cr)
BIOMI 2600  Microbiology of Human Contagious Diseases (3 cr)
BIOMI 2950  Biology of Infectious Disease: From Molecules to Ecosystems (3 cr)
BIOMI 3210  Human Microbes and Health (3 cr)
PLBIO 2100  Medical Ethnobotany (3 cr)

Environmental Health Selective

Environmental Health Selective (3-4 credits)

Courses should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from an environmental perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from an environmental perspective (e.g. entomology, design and environmental analysis, microbiology, and other related disciplines). See the Requirements for GPHS majors in CHE for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Choose one course from the following options:
DEA 2700  Healthy Places: Design, Planning and Public Health (3 cr)
DSOC 3020  Political Ecologies of Health (3 cr)
DSOC 3400  Agriculture, Food Systems and Society (3 cr)
BIOMI 2500  Public Health Microbiology (3 cr)
BIOMI 2950  Biology of Infectious Disease: From Molecules to Ecosystems (3 cr)
BIOMI 4310  / BIOMS 4310  Medical Parasitology (2 cr)
CEE 5970  / TOX 5970  Risk Analysis and Management (3 cr)
COMM 2850  / STS 2851  Communication, Environment, Science and Health (3 cr)
ENTOM 2100  / BSOC 2101  Plagues and People (2-3 cr)
ENTOM 3070  / TOX 3070  Pesticides, the Environment, and Human Health (2 cr)
FDSC 3960  Food Safety Assurance (2 cr)
PLBIO 2100  Medical Ethnobotany (3 cr)

Health Policy and Practice Selective

Health Policy & Practice Selective (3-4 credits)

Courses should cover some aspect of public health (including nutrition) from a health policy and/or practice perspective. More than half of the course content must be devoted to consideration of issues of public health from a health policy and/or practice perspective (e.g. policy analysis and management, developmental sociology, economics, government, nutritional sciences, and other public policy and practice disciplines). See the Requirements for GPHS majors in CHE for regular updates to course options and information; new options are available to all class years.

Choose one course from the following options:
NS 4450   Toward a Sustainable Global Food System: Food Policy for Developing Countries (3 cr)
NS 4500  Public Health Nutrition (3 cr)
NS 4570  // ECON 3910  Health, Poverty and Inequality (3 cr)
NS 4800   Implementation and Impact in Global and Public Health (4 cr; restricted to students in the Cornell in Washington program)
AMST // GOVT 2225 , DSOC // ILROB // PAM // SOC 2220 , PHIL 1950  Controversies about Inequality (4 cr)
ANTHR // EDUC // FGSS 4458  Women, Girls and Gender in Education (4 cr)
CRP 3430  Affordable Housing Policy and Programs (3 cr)
DSOC 2050  International Development (3-4 cr)
DSOC 2090 , PAM // SOC 2208  Social Inequality (4 cr)
DSOC 3020  Political Ecologies of Health (3 cr)
DSOC 3700  // SOC 3710  Comparative Social Inequalities (3 cr)
DSOC 4230  Gender and Health: Concepts, Data, Theories and Evidence (3 cr)
ECON 3740  // PAM 4140  Global Health Economics and Policy (3 cr)
GOVT 3032  Politics of Public Policy in the U.S. (4 cr)
PAM 2030  Population and Public Policy (3-4 cr)
PAM 2350  The US Health Care System (3 cr)
PAM 3110  Pharmaceutical Management and Policy (3 cr)
PAM 3780  Sick Around the World? Comparing Health Care Systems Around the World (3 cr)
PAM 3870  // PAM 5870  Economic Evaluations in Health Care (3 cr)

Social Sciences

Social Sciences (6 credits)
This fulfills the college distribution social sciences requirement.

Choose one course in any two of the following four areas:

Anthropology
ANTHR 1400  The Comparison of Cultures (3 cr)

Economics
ECON 1110  Introductory Microeconomics (3 cr)    *Counts for Human Ecology credit
ECON 1120  Introductory Macroeconomics (3 cr)   *Does not count for Human Ecology credit

Psychology
HD 1150  Human Development: Infancy and Childhood (3 cr)
HD 1170  Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood (3 cr)     
PSYCH 1101  Introduction to Psychology (3 cr)

Sociology
DSOC 1101  Introduction to Sociology (3 cr)
SOC 1101  Introduction to Sociology (3 cr)

Statistics

Statistics (4 credits)
This fulfills the college distribution quantitative and analytical courses requirement.
STSCI 2100  Introductory Statistics for Biology (F/S, 4 cr)
* Must be taken at Cornell; AP Statistics is not accepted.

GPHS Additional Requirements

Additional Requirements (10-12 credits)
Any course with the Course Distribution PBS, SBA, KCM, MQR, LA, CA, or HA. Language courses may count here.
For example, students interested in pre-health tracks or graduate study in pre-physical therapy/exercise sciences could fulfill this requirement by taking:
CHEM 2080  General Chemistry II
CHEM 3570  AND CHEM 3580  Organic Chemistry (full year sequence)
CHEM 2510  Organic Chemistry Lab
PHYS 1101  and PHYS 1102  General Physics I and II (auto-tutorial) OR    
PHYS 2207  and PHYS 2208  Fundamentals of Physics I and II