FOUNDATIONS OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Public health is a science-based discipline that depends on the analysis of empirical data to guide decision making. Public health decisions also involve value judgments and questions that cannot be answered solely, or primarily, with data. The goal of the Foundations Studio is to equip students with a set of conceptual frameworks and analytic tools for making those judgments and answering those questions. Comprising concentrations on history, ethics and human rights, this studio views public health practice and policy through a wide-angle lens and encourages students to think broadly about the social, political, cultural, legal, and economic drivers of public health outcomes. The studio is designed to help students grapple with challenging issues of justice, equity, individual rights and liberties, and collective action; and to develop a critical capacity for thinking broadly and deeply about public health issues.