World Health: Challenges and Opportunities
GENED 1063
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
How do we analyze the health of global populations in a time of unprecedented crisis, and create new policies that address the social, political, economic, and environmental dimensions of health in an increasingly interdependent world?
Extraordinary changes in the world pose challenges for population health: shifting demographics, a rising burden of chronic disease, and transnational risks that ignore borders. Scientific advances offer new opportunities, yet rising nationalism, political polarization, and a divided international community threaten global health. This course will challenge your assumptions as you discover surprising similarities and unexpected differences between and within countries. Using cases from around the world, including the U.S., we explore diverse diseases, risks, and injuries, examine how social, political, and environmental factors shape health, and ask why gaps persist between the best off and worst off. With an interdisciplinary lens, we consider solutions within and beyond the health sector, at local, national, and global levels. You will build skills in data literacy, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and policy analysis, linking course concepts to current events and designing "problem-inspired" products that motivate action on global health challenges you care about.
Course Notes
This course counts for the Certificate for Civic Engagement. The Certificate for Civic Engagement recognizes Harvard College students who have demonstrated sustained participation in public service and civic involvement during their undergraduate experience.
Class Notes
This course is part of the Gen Ed lottery and has an enrollment cap. To participate in the lottery, you must request permission to enroll by submitting a petition and ranking your choices through my.harvard by 11:59 p.m. EST Monday, November 9, 2026.
- Note: You must rank your course choices to participate in the lottery--even if you choose only one course.
The Gen Ed lottery will run Tuesday, November 10. If you are successful in the lottery, it will say “Petition Approved” in green above the course in your Crimson Cart. You will have until 11:59 p.m. EST Thursday, November 12, to select “enroll” and claim your seat. After that time, enrollment will open up to non-lottery petitioners.
For instructions on how to participate in the lottery, please visit: https://harvard.service-now.com/ithelp?id=kb_article&sys_id=c3e857c9db7d4bc4a752f1a51d96190e
For more information on the Gen Ed lottery specifically, please visit: https://gened.college.harvard.edu/courses/registration-and-lottery/
Not Available for Cross Registration
NOTE: This course requires additional sections; you will be prompted to choose secondary components during the Add to Cart process
