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Global Health Technologies Curriculum
Professional Development |
Global Health Technologies Minor» Requirements for Minoring in GLHT
OverviewRice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technologies collaborates with a number of departments to offer Rice undergraduate students a minor in global health technologies (GLHT) through the Beyond Traditional Borders (BTB) initiative – a unique, multidisciplinary program to educate and train students to reach beyond traditional disciplinary and geographic boundaries to understand, address and solve global health disparities. With complementary contributions from the humanities, social science, policy, bioscience, and engineering programs at Rice, the GLHT minor prepares students to integrate diverse perspectives as they develop solutions to the complex problems of global health, using the formal approach of the engineering design process. Advances in biotechnology and bioengineering are transforming how disease is detected and treated, and have led to significant advances in health over the last 50 years. Developing countries, however, have largely missed out on the gains in health enjoyed by the rest of the world, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic has greatly increased the complexity of health challenges faced by the world’s poorest regions. With the GLHT minor, BTB aims to create future leaders who can develop effective solutions to significant world health challenges.Many students pursuing the GLHT minor – having been trained to develop and implement appropriate biotechnology and bioengineering solutions that integrate scientific, engineering, health, policy and economic data perspectives –enter careers in medicine, public health, public policy, and international development. Students begin the GLHT minor sequence (five core courses and two elective courses) in a multi-disciplinary gateway course, choosing between one of two tracks based on their major course of study for teaching focused on their area of expertise. Having fostered a command of specialized knowledge relevant to the development of technologies appropriate for resource-constrained settings, students conclude the GLHT minor with a common capstone course which enables them to benefit from one another’s proficiencies as they work in interdisciplinary teams to address a global health challenge.
Requirements for Minoring in GLHTStudents must complete four core courses, in the science and engineering track or the humanities, social science, and policy track, depending upon their major course of study. In addition to the core course sequence, students must complete a minimum of two elective courses.
All core courses will be offered each year: GLHT 122, GLHT 301, GLHT 362, and GLHT 461 in the fall and GLHT 260, GLHT 122, GLHT 361, and GLHT 462 in the spring. The sequence indicated is the recommended sequence, and pre-requisites may apply, although some flexibility is possible. Prior to enrollment in the capstone course GLHT 461/462, students must successfully complete all other GLHT minor core course requirements per their track, although electives may be taken concurrently. There is no requirement to initiate the GLHT minor in the freshman year. It can be initiated as late as the junior year (beginning of the 5th semester). It will be possible for students to receive credit for GLHT minor courses that also fulfill a requirement within their major. Students can petition the GLHT minor advisory committee to accommodate a change in their major course of study that impacts their minor track selection. Elective CoursesSix (6) credit hours in elective courses are required from the following approved course list, covering a wide range of relevant topics:
Minor DeclarationHow do I declare the GLHT Minor?Undergraduate students wishing to pursue the GLHT minor need to submit i) two (2) completed copies of the Minor Declaration Form (available on Esther) and ii) a completed Undergraduate Student Fact Sheet to the Beyond Traditional Borders office in Keck Hall 225. One copy of the Minor Declaration Form will be filed with BTB and the other signed and returned to the student. The student will be responsible for submitting the signed copy of their Minor Declaration Form to the Office of the Registrar. Do I need to declare the minor to take GLHT courses?All GLHT minor courses are open to all Rice students, including those not pursing the GLHT minor, with the exception of the capstone course GLHT 461/462 which is restricted to students completing the GLHT minor. Additionally for GLHT 260, students are required to submit an application statement of 250 word or less explaining their interests in and reasons for taking the course. Application statements can be submitted via email to beyondtraditionalborders@rice.edu and are due by Monday of the week of pre-registration in order to gain instructor permission to register for the course. Preferential admission to GLHT 260 will be given to students who indicate they are seeking to complete the GLHT minor course of studies. Minor AdvisingWhat do I need to do for advising each semester?Each semester, during the class registration and advising period, students pursuing the GLHT minor will need to meet with an Undergraduate Advisor (listed below) and fill out a GLHT Advising Form (corresponding to the year the minor was declared). The signed and completed GLHT Advising Form is to be returned to the Beyond Traditional Borders office (KH225), where it will be kept on file. Throughout the year, students may also meet with the Minor Advisor (listed below) for additional information and feedback regarding completion of the GLHT minor. GLHT Advising Form by declaration year: AY '08-'09 [PDF] AY '09-'10 [PDF]
Frequently Asked QuestionsWhat is the latest the minor sequence be started?Fall of your junior year I'm not a science or engineering major, can I really complete the minor successfully?Yes! What is the experience like in Global Health Design Challenges GLHT461/462? Do you really work with bioengineering students?Yes, you really do work with bioengineering students all year, and it's wonderful. Though GLT minor students might not have the same background as the seniors in bioengineering, the projects are such that every team member has plenty to contribute. Knowledge about disparities in international healthcare is just as valuable as experience with milling machines or tissue engineering. Most bioengineering students haven't worked on a design team before, either, so the playing field is much more level than it appears at first. Because the entire team learns new things together as the year progresses, the final design is truly a collaboration of everyone's efforts - my senior design project was by far the most challenging and rewarding experience of my time at Rice. (Contributed by Katy Miller, B.A. History & English, Rice '09) How flexible is the minor sequence?GLHT461/GLHT462 must be taken in succession, and can only be taken within the senior year. GLHT301/362 must be successfully completed before applying to enroll in GLHT260. What if I have credit for BIOS201, do I need to take BIOS122?If BIOS201 has been successfully completed, an additional elective (from the approved list) can be completed in lieu of BIOS122. Can I take any elective courses I wish to meet the GLHT minor elective requirement?Students must complete two elective courses from the list of approved courses (listed above) and on the GLHT Advising Form (corresponding to the year the minor was declared). Students are encouraged to take one Science/Engineering elective and one Humanities/Social Science elective to complete the GLHT minor elective requirements, but it is optional to do so at this time. Designation of an elective course as “Science/Engineering” or “Humanities/Social Science” is based upon which school is offering the course; e.g. a statistics class offered through the sociology department is considered a Humanities/Social Science elective. If I'd like to take an elective that is not on the list, how do I get it approved?Students can petition the GLHT minor advisory committee to include a new elective on the approved list by emailing their request, with a course syllabus attached, to beyondtraditionalborders@rice.edu. Please allow a semester for the committee to render a decision and for the change to be reflected within the GLHT minor. I want to stay involved with my GLHT course design project once the semester ends, how do I do that?Students can mentor teams working on future iterations of a project they have worked on in GLHT courses. Students may also prepare a continuing project proposal and apply for GLHT 400 (Independent Study). In either case, you should contact the GLHT minor advisor and Dr. Rebecca Richards-Kortum to explore these options. When is the best time to go abroad and not interfere with completing the GLHT minor?Fall of your junior year, if the minor sequence was started prior to that, or during any summer semester. Can I make Global Health Technologies my major?We discourage students from pursing a Global Health Technologies independent area major. These students are encouraged to pursue an existing area major and the GLHT minor instead. Only in extraordinary cases will the GLHT minor advising committee consider supporting a proposal for an independent area major in Global Health Technologies, i.e. when a student cannot achieve their educational objectives by pursing an existing major and the minor.
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