Intro to Integrated Studies is the foundational course for the Integrated Studies major, introducing students to integrative thinking as a framework for understanding the interconnected challenges shaping public and planetary health. Students examine how social, environmental, and community systems interact to influence human and ecological well being, establishing a shared conceptual foundation for the program. Drawing on the program’s core pillars, the course develops students’ ability to synthesize knowledge across disciplines, collaborate effectively, and approach complex problems with adaptability and purpose. This course grounds students in the concepts, skills, and perspectives that inform subsequent coursework, supporting applied learning and engagement in academic, professional, and civic contexts.

Foundations of Project Management prepares students to design, implement, and evaluate projects that address complex challenges in public and planetary health, community well being, and environmental systems. Using systems thinking, students examine how people, places, organizations, and environments interact, and how project decisions can produce intended and unintended impacts across interconnected systems. The course integrates human design thinking to center lived experience, equity, and ethical responsibility in project planning and execution. Emphasizing resilience, innovation, and community interconnectedness, students develop adaptive project management strategies that respond to feedback, changing conditions, and diverse stakeholder needs. Through applied practice, students strengthen their capacity to lead collaborative projects that support sustainable, health promoting outcomes in professional and community contexts.

Intro to Global Studies introduces students to the interconnected global systems that shape contemporary social, environmental, political, and economic conditions. Topics include globalization, governance, migration, conflict, development, and cultural exchange, with a focus on how these forces influence population and planetary health. Students examine global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, food and water security, and displacement through interdisciplinary perspectives, emphasizing health equity, social determinants of health, and environmental justice. The course provides a foundation for understanding global interdependence and its implications for integrated public and planetary health initiatives.

Effective Communication and Engagement develops students’ ability to communicate complex public and planetary health information clearly, ethically, and effectively across written, oral, and digital formats. Students examine how communication shapes understanding across disciplines, cultures, and global contexts, with attention to equity, professionalism, and audience engagement. Emphasizing innovation, resilience, and community interconnectedness, the course prepares students to navigate rapidly changing information environments, respond constructively to feedback and conflict, and adapt communication strategies to evolving social and environmental challenges. Through applied practice, students strengthen their capacity to support shared understanding and collective action in academic, professional, and community settings.

Data-Driven Stories: Analysis & Evaluation, equips students with analytical tools to examine public and planetary health challenges through both quantitative and qualitative lenses. Students learn to interpret patterns in community and global-level public and planetary health data while exploring how social, cultural, environmental, and personal factors shape human experience and well being. The course prepares students to treat data not simply as numbers, but as stories grounded in lived experience. Students develop skills as ethical listeners—critically evaluating evidence, recognizing whose voices are represented or absent, and integrating multiple sources of knowledge to ensure that data driven narratives are responsible, inclusive, and just. Through reflective analysis, students strengthen their capacity to use evidence ethically to inform decisions that support interconnected communities and sustainable health outcomes.

Environment & Society: A Global Perspective examines the relationships between human societies and environmental systems in a globally interconnected world. Students analyze how social, cultural, political, and economic forces shape environmental conditions and influence public and planetary health across regions and populations. Using case studies and applied analysis, the course emphasizes synthesis and application of knowledge to contemporary environmental challenges that affect community and global health. Students explore how decisions within one system generate consequences across others, highlighting complex people–place–planet relationships. The course develops students’ ability to evaluate evidence from diverse sources, apply systems thinking, and assess ethical dimensions of environmental decision making. Through analysis and communication of real world examples, students develop informed responses that support sustainable and just outcomes and prepare for advanced coursework and applied learning experiences.

Ethical Inquiry & Engagement explores ethical questions and responsibilities associated with civic, professional, and community engagement in an interconnected world. Students synthesize prior learning to examine major ethical frameworks and apply them to contemporary issues in public, community, and planetary health, with attention to equity, power, and impact. Through real world examples and applied scenarios, students analyze ethical dilemmas with emphasis on ethical decision making, culturally responsive engagement, and reflective practice. The course supports students in developing principled approaches to ethical action across personal, professional, and community contexts while strengthening their ability to evaluate ethical dimensions of action, justify decisions, and communicate ethically grounded approaches to engagement.

Organizational Leadership Seminar engages students in examining leadership within complex organizations and communities shaped by public and planetary health challenges. Drawing on systems thinking, students explore how leadership decisions influence people, environments, and institutions across interconnected social and ecological systems. Drawing on foundational knowledge and learning application, this seminar centers lived experience as a critical source of knowledge. Through experiential learning, reflective dialogue, and applied leadership scenarios, students integrate professional, personal, and community experiences to strengthen ethical leadership practice. The course supports students in translating experience into insight, fostering inclusive environments, and developing leadership approaches that advance healthy, equitable, and sustainable outcomes.

Public & Planetary Health Seminar engages students in advanced examination of the relationships between Earth systems, human activity, and population health. At this stage of the curriculum, students synthesize prior learning to analyze how environmental change, social conditions, and institutional responses shape vulnerability, resilience, and health outcomes across populations and regions. Through applied analysis of real world public and planetary health challenges, students translate integrated knowledge into informed perspectives and practical contributions. Emphasis is placed on evaluating scientific evidence, assessing responses across sectors, and examining the roles of governments, organizations, communities, and individuals in advancing health promoting and environmentally responsible solutions. The seminar supports students in moving from analysis to contribution by strengthening their ability to communicate complex health information clearly, apply systems level thinking, and articulate informed responses grounded in public and planetary health principles. The course prepares students to contribute meaningfully to professional, civic, and academic conversations in the field and to engage thoughtfully with complex health challenges beyond the program.

Capstone Seminar is the culminating experience of the program, integrating knowledge, skills, and approaches developed across the curriculum with students’ lived, academic, and professional experiences. Working in collaboration with an external partner, students address a real world public and planetary health challenge at the community level through applied, project based learning. Grounded in the program pillars of innovation, resilience, community interconnectedness, and public and planetary health, students synthesize existing evidence, analyze complex challenges, and develop meaningful deliverables that respond to partner needs. Through reflective practice, students examine how their perspectives, assumptions, and ways of thinking have evolved over the course of the program and apply these transformed perspectives to articulate ethical, informed, and resilient approaches to future professional, civic, or graduate level work. The course highlights integration, growth, and readiness to engage thoughtfully with complex societal challenges beyond the program.