The Department of Global Healthcare & Population Studies prepares students to understand the history and progress of global health and the policies that come with it. The courses also give students knowledge of disasters around the globe and the responses available to address them.
God created human beings in his image, and the suffering of bodies and communities is not outside the concern of the missio Dei. Scripture presents the God who sends his people to heal, to feed, and to restore. Compassionate care of humanity is therefore a participation in God’s own mission, and global health is one of the places where that mission takes concrete form. Students study the human body, the populations in which people live, and the policies and environments that shape their health. They learn that disease and well-being are never only biological. They are bound up with culture, geography, water, poverty, and the ordering of societies. The department grounds this study in a biblical theology of health, creation, and care.
Students learn the value of Global Healthcare & Population Studies as specialties that every healthcare system in the world needs, with more detailed examples from international settings. The curriculum spans global health, human anatomy, human physiology, and demography. Students then move into public health surveillance, global and environmental health policy, water, sanitation and hygiene, and the ecomissiology of global health. They also study demographic data and analysis, pathophysiology, the fundamentals of medical mission, and patient-centered care. Associate and bachelor’s completion pathways in Global Health, with majors in Global Health Studies, Global Health Mission, Population Studies, and Demography & Assessment, prepare students for service. Certificates in Global Health & Wellness, Global Healthcare, and Population Studies offer shorter paths. Within a biblical framework, graduates are prepared to serve communities worldwide in the mission of God.
