UW-Madison hosted the first international conference to explore links between ecology and human health.
Human Welfare and Society
Good health, economic opportunity, responsible governance, and justice
for all people are among the prerequisites for sustainable communities and
cultures.
UW-Madison programs, units, projects, and groups that significantly
address sustainability in human welfare and society are listed below.
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Academic Programs
- Development Studies -
For students seeking careers in social science research,
policy, and education related to international development. Ph.D.
- Geography - Considers four thematic areas:
people-environmental studies, physical geography, human geography, cartography and geographic
information science. B.A., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
- Global
Health - Focuses on global health topics and
health issues that transcend national boundaries, emphasizing health and
disease in developing countries. Capstone or graduate-level
certificate.
-
International Public Affairs -
Prepares students to engage in governance in ways that
meet the challenges of globalization, such as environmental
degradation, spread of deadly viruses, and financial market
instability. M.I.P.A.
- Molecular and Environmental Toxicology - Studies toxicological problems
related to human health and the environment. M.S., Ph.D.
- Nutritional Sciences - Focuses
on diet and nutrition to improve the health and economic development of
current and future generations and to foster an educated society. B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
- Population Health
- Examines causes of disease and disability and seeks to identify
and communicate the most effective, equitable, and efficient ways to
improve the health of populations. Concentrations in
epidemiology, health services research, and clinical research. M.S.,
Ph.D.
- Prevention and Intervention Science
- Studies efforts to reduce the incidence of maladaptive
behavior and to promote adaptive behavior in populations across the life
course through designing and evaluating interventions, and utilizing
knowledge about them. Graduate-level certificate,
Ph.D. minor.
- Public
Affairs - Builds knowledge of the policy process; develops skills in microeconomic and
statistical analysis and competence in public management and public
policy analysis to apply knowledge and analytical tools to real-world
problems. M.P.A.
- Public Health - Offers
multidisciplinary education and training in public health
concepts and methods for current and future health professionals.
M.P.H.
- Rural Sociology - Explores the
social behavior of rural people, the conditions under which they live
and work, and natural resource and development issues of nonmetropolitan
regions. Subthemes: population and community, environment and resources,
sociology of agriculture and agrofood systems, and labor and
development. B.S., M.S.
- Social Welfare and
Social Work
- Focus on the nature of social problems, their impact on
vulnerable populations, and ways to critically analyze and promote the
achievement of a just, equitable, healthy, and productive society.
B.A., B.S., Ph.D. (social welfare) and B.S.W,
M.S.W., Ph.D. (social work).
Centers, Institutes, etc.
- Center for
Cooperatives -
Studies and promotes cooperative action to meet people's economic and
social needs.
- Center for Community
and Economic Development - Creates, applies, and transfers multi-disciplinary
knowledge to help people understand community change and identify opportunities.
- Center for Culture, History, and Environment - Seeks to understand and explain past
and present connections between environmental and cultural change.
- Center for Global Health - Promotes
interdisciplinary education, research and partnerships to address health
issues that transcend national boundaries.
- Center for the Study of Cultural
Diversity in Healthcare - Develops culturally competent research, education, and
training programs; identifies ways to eliminate health disparities among
minority and vulnerable populations; and adopts interdisciplinary
approaches to improving health outcomes through strategic partnerships
between academia, government, and communities.
- Center for Urban Population Health - Conducts and
facilitates population health research and education
initiatives that improve the health of urban communities through
collaboration with academic and community organizations.
- Center for World Affairs and the
Global Economy - Brings together scholars from economics, political
science, public policy, sociology, business, law and other fields to
study contemporary processes of globalization and international economic
integration.
- Center on Wisconsin
Strategy - A national policy center and field laboratory for
high-road economic development: a competitive market economy of shared
prosperity, environmental sustainability, and capable democratic
government.
- Holtz Center for Science and
Technology Studies
- Seeks to understand how science and technology shape human lives and
livelihoods and how society and culture, in turn, shape the development
of science and technology.
- Institute for Research on Poverty - Conducts
interdisciplinary research on the causes and consequences of poverty and
social inequality in the United States.
- La Follette School of
Public Affairs
- Seeks to improve public policy and governance by conducting multidisciplinary policy and management research; training,
mentoring, and educating students in domestic and international policy
and governance in public, non-profit, and private settings; and by
disseminating knowledge to practitioners.
- Land Tenure Center -
Conducts multidisciplinary research and training on issues related to
land ownership, land rights, land access, and land use with emphasis on
the relationship of land to economic development, socio-political
organization, and environmental sustainability.
- Population
Health Institute
- Stimulates, creates, and communicates useful public health and health
policy research and analysis.
- Wisconsin Office of Rural
Health - Seeks to improve the quality of health for rural and underserved communities
in Wisconsin by collaborating with health care organizations and
systems, community-based providers and individuals, and educational
organizations to develop programs and provide resources.
Research and Outreach Programs
- BASIS Research Program on
Poverty, Inequality, and Development - Dedicated to understanding
the poverty and income distribution dynamics of rural economies and to
crafting creative policies and programs that broaden the base of
economic growth and offer sustainable pathways from rural poverty.
- Community, Natural Resource, and Economic Development
- An educational network that gives Wisconsin citizens and communities access to university research and knowledge
in leadership and organizational development, effective local government, natural resources, and economic development.
- Environmental Communication and Social Marketing Newsletter
- An interdisciplinary forum for communication between professionals in the social and natural sciences who share an interest in promoting
behaviors that affect the environment positively. Emphasizes theoretically-informed, evidence-based approaches to behavioral change.
- Wisconsin Area Health Education
Center System - Seeks to improve access to quality health care through
development of community-based health professions training programs and enhancement of
community health education resources throughout Wisconsin.
Interest Groups
- WisPIRG UW-Madison Chapter
- Student group that advocates for consumer rights, environmental protection, democracy issues, and hunger and homelessness issues.
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