The essential goal of protecting nature has come to the fore for the health of the planet as well as for the health of all species. This certificate will enable students to explore the landscape, from urban to wilderness, and the connections among climate, biodiversity and human health from an ethical and an interdisciplinary perspective. The Certificate’s main learning goal is to develop an integrated awareness of this issue, and translate that into a co-curricular experience, thus helping to prepare students for the future.

The intended participants could be from any discipline, and the time frame for completion is open – in some cases a first-year course may count, and a senior thesis could be the co-curricular experience. Other faculty are welcome to be advisors for this certificate.

The certificate pulls together courses voluntarily from disciplines if they intersect with this theme. It is intentionally a “big tent” and across all divisions of the College: this is an issue that we need all disciplines to engage with, urgently. We need people working together in a positive way while keeping communities healthy.

The course list and co-curricular options are intended to be dynamic, and the latter can include student-initiated projects. Professionals beyond our faculty who are eager to participate in targeted projects include a climate scientist, an expert in mindfulness and trauma, a Native American advisor, a forest ecologist, experts in urban design/urban ecology, land conservation and communication professionals, a cultural historian, an artist, and an organic farmer. All are dedicated specifically to helping with this theme.

In sum, the goal of this certificate is to apply a liberal arts lens on the critical issues of stabilizing the climate, increasing the ecological integrity of our landscape (in myriad ways, large and small) and protecting clean water and public health so that all species can thrive. The natural world is the source of everything we need, including things we have not even discovered yet.

As noted above, the Global Health and Human Ecology certificate is intended for students who want to think in an integrative way about ecology and health, including those that may want to continue in public policy, research, health care, land conservation and stewardship, and community planning. The culminating co-curricular experience will feature special networking opportunities among participants.

Two courses and a qualifying co-curricular experience: CLIC, LAAL, GHHG project (local or international), or a relevant independent study or internship. The two courses must be from two different departments. Other courses may be eligible subject to certificate advisor approval.

Eligible courses:
PSYC 206 Environmental Psychology & Sustainability
PSYC 219 Science and Practice of Well-Being
PSYC 237 Health Psychology
PSYC 246 Community Psychology
PSYC 248 / NESC 248 Nature and Brain Health
PSYC 302 Behavioral Neuroscience
URST 212 / NESC 212 / PSYC 212 Landscape Planning for Environmental Education and Brain Health
ECON 217 Economics of Health and Health Care (notify instructor)
ECON 305 (for Economics majors only) Urban Economics (notify instructor)
ECON 306 (for Economics majors only) Public Finance: Economics of the Public Sector (notify instructor)
ECON 307 (for Economics majors only) Health Economics (notify instructor)
ENGL 448 Plants in Literature & Film
ENGL 104 or 105 This American Experiment
ENGL 338 Beyond Nature Worship: New Theories of Environmentalism
ENGL 368 Literature of Trauma & Resilience
HIST 219 Planet Earth
HIST 220 Possible Earths: Histories and Cultures of Environmental Thought
INTS / POLS 263 Global Environmental Politics
INTS 340 Climate and History
PBPL 302 Law and Environmental Policy
PBPL 318 Privatization and Public Policy
PHIL 228 Who’s the Animal, Here? Animal Rights, Human Responsibilities
POLS 355 Urban Politics
POLS 414 Senior Seminar: Global Environmental Politics
RELG 203 Religion and Climate Change
RELG 260 Meditation, Medicine, and the Mind
SOCL 390 Medicine, Health, & Society
URST 207 Learning from Hartford: Post-Industrial Urban Futures
URST 210 Sustainable Urban Development
URST 321 Geographies of Transport

For more information, students should contact Professor Susan Masino.