Minor in Global Health Technologies

Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in Global Health Technologies

Upon completing the minor in Global Health Technologies, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the ability to prototype and build appropriate technologies that respond to global health design challenges or problems, and/or develop a community health plan or strategy to address these challenges. They will conduct independent research and design—from developing a research question and completing a literature review, to analyzing and interpreting data—to demonstrate the effectiveness of their proposed solution.
2. Demonstrate a broad understanding of the issue of human health, disease, and health care planning from Natural Science, Humanities, and Social Sciences perspectives.
3. Understand the basic elements of human health and disease from evolutionary, biological, and epidemiological perspectives.
4. Demonstrate critical thinking and analysis skills within the realm of global health and its related disciplines, including the ability to critically and responsibly synthesize materials and methods from a range of disciplines to address global health problems or questions.
5. Demonstrate a knowledge of how health and disease are, in part, social and cultural constructs; students will be able to explain how different populations of individuals within the same geographic locale or in very different geographic locales may understand health and disease differently. They will also demonstrate the ability to assess and explain how different kinds of health planning, delivery systems, institutions, and health products would be more or less effective for different populations.
6. Communicate effectively at the college level by demonstrating the ability to write research papers, literature reviews, and other scholarly papers and by being able to verbally present this information effectively and correctly.

Requirements for the Minor in Global Health Technologies

Students pursuing the minor Global Health Technologies must complete:

• A minimum of 7 courses (21 credit hours) to satisfy minor requirements.

The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.

Summary

Minor Requirements

Footnotes and Additional Information 

Course Lists to Satisfy Requirements

Elective Requirements

To fulfill the remaining Global Health Technologies minor requirements, students must complete a minimum of 2 additional electives courses (minimum of 6 total credit hours) as listed below.

Natural Science/Engineering Electives

Humanities/Social Science Electives

Policies for the Minor in Global Health Technologies

Admission

Courses with the GLHT subject code are open to all Rice students, including those not pursuing the GLHT minor, with the exception of GLHT 360 and the capstone course GLHT 451/GLHT 452. Preferential admission to GLHT 360 will be given to students who formally declared or state their intention to pursue the GLHT minor. For GLHT 360, the minor and course prerequisite (GLHT 201) is waived for students who have declared a major in Bioengineering (BIOE). For program-specific information on the declaration of minor process for the GLHT minor, please visit this website. 

There is no requirement to initiate or declare the GLHT minor in the freshman year. It can be formally declared as late as the junior year (beginning of the fifth semester). It will be possible for students to receive credit for GLHT minor courses that also fulfill a requirement within their major.

Program Restrictions and Exclusions

Students pursuing the minor in Global Health Technologies should be aware of the following program restriction:

• As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.

Transfer Credit 

For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities. 

Program Transfer Credit Guidelines 

Students pursuing the minor in Global Health Technologies should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:

• Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Global Health website: https://www.rice360.rice.edu/glht-minor

Opportunities for the Minor in Global Health Technologies

Academic Honors

The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.

Program Internships and Competition

Rice 360° Global Health Summer Internship Program

The Rice 360° Global Health Technologies Summer Internship Program gives Rice University undergraduate students - both science and non-science majors - first-hand exposure to health care in resource constrained settings. In partnership with clinics, schools, and organizations working in resource constrained settings, the internships allow students to advance their solutions to a global health design challenge in a real-world setting. 

The summer internships are held in a number of national and international locations, exposing students to health care challenges and solutions in low-resource settings. In the past, our students have visited Malawi, Tanzania, Brazil, and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas among other locations. During the internship, students are responsible for the implementation of a GLHT project and a site specific project, both of which are assigned to them. In addition, participants select a project of their choice and work on identifying and documenting five novel ideas or technology ideas at the site. 

Summer internships are fully funded experiences, covering the cost of your travel (airfare, visa, and traveler's insurance), immunizations, housing and a stipend for day to day living expenses (eg. food and local transportation). 

For more information visit: https://www.rice360.rice.edu/internships.

Global Health Technologies Design Competition

The Rice 360° Annual Undergraduate Global Health Technologies Design Competition is held each Spring at Rice University. It features over 20 student teams from national and international universities who present their low-cost global health technologies. Entries are judged on the quality of the problem definition, the effectiveness and potential impact of the design solution, and the likelihood that the solution can be successful in improving healthcare delivery in low-resource settings by faculty, clinicians, and private and public sector partners from around the country. 

Information on the application process and competition guidelines can be found here:
https://www.rice360.rice.edu/design-competition.

Additional Information 

For additional information, please see the Global Health website: https://www.rice360.rice.edu/glht-minor