faculty and students in lab

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

student working on project

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.

Two student in white lab coats walking down a hallway smiling.

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.

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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.

laura beth bugg, matt sparke, and grant hartzog

Global and community health campus news

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Last modified: May 20, 2025