This interdisciplinary course explores the global intersection of climate change, environmental degradation, and public health. Using case studies from countries and regions with contrasting climates, wealth, politics, and health systems—including India, Bangladesh, Peru, Nigeria, the United States, and island nations—students will examine how environmental stressors differentially impact health and what policy and health system responses look like in diverse settings. Quantitative skills are developed through low-level data analysis and statistics: students practice interpreting global datasets, calculating health and climate indicators, and critiquing data-driven arguments in climate-health policy debates. Through theory, case comparison, and practical analysis, the course advances students’ quantitative and global public health literacy.
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.
Instructor
- Instructor, Penn LPS Online
Priya Rajagopalan is an economist specializing in the intersection of global public health, climate change, and aging in developing countries. Her work leverages data analytics and artificial intelligence to design and improve healthcare systems for vulnerable populations. In her current role at Penn, she… Read more
