Health, Languages, & Humanities in the World Certificate

This new curriculum development project aims to provide students the knowledge and skills needed to innovate and excel in the multidisciplinary fields of global health and medicine in an era of profound digital transformation and persistent inequality. We are developing a Health, Languages, & Humanities in the World certificate program, which will be housed in the School of Languages, Literatures & Cultures and intersect with the newly proposed Graduate Institute for Humanities in the World—a Hall Center for the Humanities-affiliated initiative that focuses on expanding the role that language-study plays in non-academic career paths for graduate students. This certificate program will include courses that afford students opportunities to apply humanistic modes of inquiry and foreign languages skills to an array of global health concerns. We also intend to expand the recently piloted colLAB model of collaborative, experiential, and research-driven learning to new languages and regions, taking advantage of KU’s 40+ language programs, Title VI-funded area studies centers, and longstanding partnerships with universities worldwide. Through colLAB, students will contribute to KU's Community Tool Box website-- an open-access website accessed by over six million unique users from 230 countries annually. This initiative will allow students to explore careers and establish networks with alumni whose professions bridge the humanities, health sciences, and development studies in contexts where language skills are critical.