Global and Community Health at UC Santa Cruz aims at improving health and reducing health inequalities both locally and globally. We are an interdisciplinary program that bridges the sciences, social sciences, engineering, humanities, and arts with shared commitments to health justice and the development of community partnerships.
a collaborative, interdisciplinary program
Discover health justice through our degree offerings.
Academics
B.A. program
This degree is appropriate for students interested in careers ranging from medicine, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy to public health and environmental health work in governmental agencies, to global health and community health work with non-governmental organizations, law firms, and universities.
B.S. program
This degree is appropriate for students who aspire to a wide range of careers in direct patient care or the science of medicine. Students choose between two concentrations—the biomedical concentration and the public and community health concentration.
In both degree programs, B.A. and B.S., students are required to complete a capstone course entitled ‘Global and Community Health Task Force’ (GCH 190) in which they work in interdisciplinary teams to research a real-world health challenge and collaborate in writing a report that recommends responses.
Research
Bringing our faculty and students together across all five academic divisions, research in the Global and Community Health program is centered on a shared commitment to social justice and health.
We connect global health lessons with local needs right here in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties.
Faculty
Our faculty are committed to the value of interdisciplinary learning, as well as to the possibilities of connecting teaching and research with public health concerns beyond the university.
We benefit from a truly collaborative interdisciplinary program, where we all collaborate and learn alongside students and faculty from multiple departments.
Global and community health campus news
Global & Community Health, Social Sciences, Sociology
New research shows how immigration status can become a death sentence during public health crisis
A study looking back on COVID-19 deaths in California found that immigrants who were potentially undocumented experienced much higher relative excess mortality during the pandemic, revealing failures in both public health and immigration policy.
Global & Community Health
UC Santa Cruz partners with UC Davis to launch new Central Coast medical program
The establishment of the UC Programs in Medical Education Central Coast (PRIME Central Coast), made possible by $1.5 million in new seed funding from the state, aims to enroll an inaugural cohort of medical students on the Central Coast by fall 2027
Computer Science & Engineering, Critical Race & Ethnic Studies, Education
Celebrating the Class of 2025: Innovators, advocates, and future leaders
Highlighting a handful of graduates who are ready to make a difference
