Community and Global Health

Community and Global Health (CGH) Concentration

Why do some communities thrive while others face persistent health challenges? How does climate change, international migration, and newly emerging infections shape the health of populations around the world? And what would it take to build healthier, more equitable communities? Addressing these kinds of questions requires interdisciplinary thinking and the collaboration of people with different backgrounds and world views. With these challenges in mind, Macalester’s Community and Global Health Concentration brings together perspectives from the arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to explore the biological, cultural, social, political, economic, and environmental forces that shape health and illness around the world.

Community and Global Health is one of Macalester’s most popular concentrations, comprised of students from a wide range of majors, interests, and career paths. It is well-suited for students interested in the health professions, but we have students from every possible discipline and life trajectory. The United Nations defines health as a complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being – a fundamental right for all humanity. Therefore, health connects us all. Health is for everyone!

Requirements for the Concentration

A concentration in Community and Global Health consists of a required Epidemiology course (INTD 225), five (5) health-related elective courses, and a substantive community engagement experience or advanced research project that is tied to a 1-credit Senior Seminar (INTD 411).

• Epidemiology (INTD 225): This is a foundational course that provides all CGH concentrators with the basic statistical tools needed to examine the distribution of health and disease in human populations. This course can be taken at any point in a student’s undergraduate career.
• Five elective courses. Macalester offers more than 30 health-related courses in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences that count toward the CGH concentration. As with all Macalester concentrations, course selection must adhere to the following rules:
  • No more than two electives can be in a single department.
  • Electives must be drawn from at least two different divisions (e.g. the courses cannot solely be in the social sciences or the natural sciences).
  • At least three electives must be 200-level or above.
  • Up to two courses may be taken at another institution or abroad.
• Civic Engagement or Research Project + 1-Credit Senior Seminar (INTD 411)
  • Project: A substantial project focusing on the health and/or well-being of human populations. This requirement will be fulfilled through either:
    • 1) A civic engagement experience of at least 75 hours. This could be either an internship (paid or unpaid; with or without credit) or a volunteer position either in the Twin Cities, or some other location in the U.S. or abroad (e.g. study away). The experience must include a reflection component and site supervisor evaluation.
    • Or… 2) An advanced research project, which may be completed for academic credit in courses, independent studies, honors theses, or capstone programs within the student’s major or may be non-credit bearing work in the summer, winter break, or the academic year conducted under the supervision of a faculty member.
    • Students are strongly encouraged to seek out a CGH faculty member for advice on projects that would count toward the concentration
  • 1-Credit Senior Seminar. This is a one-credit culminating seminar, meeting weekly for one hour in the spring term, in which issues in community and global health are discussed from an interdisciplinary perspective. In addition to sponsoring lectures by notable public health professionals, the seminar will also provide opportunities for students to share the work they have done on their CGH project in a public presentation near the end of the semester. Credit for the CGH project is earned upon successful completion of the senior seminar. Typically, this seminar will be taken in the student’s senior year, but it may be taken in earlier years provided that the student completes the project before the end of the seminar.

Life after Macalester

Community and global health graduates have pursued medical school, nursing programs, graduate degrees in public health and other fields, research opportunities, policy careers, and more.

Join our community

• Every year, students in the CGH Senior Seminar host a poster session where they share the results of their independent research or civic engagement projects with the CGH community.
• CGH partners with many other departments to bring guest speakers to campus for events such as EnviroThursdays.
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