Population Health

Tacoma undergraduate courses

Undergraduate students who would like deeper exposure to population health may find one or more of the following courses to be of interest. This list is a sampling of undergraduate courses across disciplines at UW Tacoma that (1) are open to non-majors and (2) do not require completion of a prerequisite, thereby allowing interested students to register as they have availability in their schedule. Similar lists of courses are available for UW Bothell and UW Seattle.

Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

T AMST 210 American Cultures and Perspectives: Class, Ethnicity, Gender, and Race (5) VLPA/I&S, DIV
Introduces approaches and questions central to American Studies. Focuses on how perspectives on America have evolved over time, how artists, intellectuals, and others envision America’s diverse cultures, and how social issues play a role in the making of American cultures and nationhood.

T BIOL 102 Infectious Diseases in the 21st Century (5) NW
Introduces core concepts of infectious disease in humans and the interaction of biology and society through lecture, case studies, contemporary examples, and biomedical literature.

TCOM 312 Nature, Inequality, and Popular Culture (5) I&S, DIV
Surveys the debates within cultural/critical studies to explore how portrayals of ecology in popular culture directly relate to representations of gender, sexuality, nationality, ethnicity, and class. Applies numerous critical perspectives to understand key power structures in film, television, magazines, and novels from the U.S. and international sources.

TESC 201 The Science of Environmental Sustainability (5) NW
Provides an overview of the origins of sustainability and the development of sustainability science as a discipline. Focuses on the interactions of natural and social systems and how they affect sustainability. Investigates methodologies used by scientists to measure and develop sustainable systems.

TEST 295 Valuing Ecosystems Services and Natural Capital (5) NW
Introduces students to the services provided to humans by ecological systems. Explores the ecological, economic, social, ethical, and political dimensions of enhancing, sustaining, and also losing ecosystem services.

T SOC 265 Race and Ethnicity in the United States (5) I&S, DIV
Introduces issues of race and ethnicity in the United States, particularly the social construction of race, and its effects on policies throughout history. Examines social movements (from the mid-1800s – present) and explores how ideas of racial justice and equality are articulated in relation to economic, political, and cultural contexts.

Business

T BGEN 212 Introduction to Corporate Responsibility (5) I&S
Introduces the tools used in the business world today to engage in socially responsible business practice. Provides a framework for integrating corporate responsibility practice into the overall strategy of an organization, and explores current trends in corporate responsibility.

Education

T EDUC 310 Racism and Schools in the U.S.: Critical Race Theory and the Maintenance of Societal Inequality (5) DIV
Examines the social and historical relationship of schools in the United States and communities of color. Examines the educational construction of race, the justification and perpetuation of racism, systemic school inequalities, community cultural wealth, and student resistance. (Add code required.)

General Education

T CORE 110 Introduction to Educational Equity and College Access (2)
Focuses on issues of educational inequity and college access. Prepares students to work with youth by critically examining the educational and psychological literature on first-generation college students.

Nursing & Healthcare Leadership

T HLTH 290 Special Topics in the Foundations of Health (3-5, max. 10)
Explores current topics in health and describes factors contributing to selected health problems and steps to maintain health.

T HLTH 310 Health, Illness, and Society (5) I&S, DIV
Introduction to societal factors influencing health both locally and globally, utilizing perspectives from diverse disciplines. Examines topics such as the social construction of health and illness, the meaning of health and illness in cultural context, the social determinants of health, and issues in health care delivery and access. (Add code required.)

Social Work and Criminal Justice

T CRIM 156 Criminal Justice and the War on Drugs (5) I&S
Investigates how criminal justice policymaking, policing, legal, and correctional agencies articulate and execute the U.S. War on Drugs. Critically analyzes drug prohibition and enforcement practices, and examines the relationship between drug policy, enforcement, mass incarceration, and inequality. Explores changing perspectives on and approaches to drug prohibition in the U.S.

TSOCWF 101 Introduction to Social Work (5) I&S
Introduces social work as a profession including exploration of its history, values, ethics, and career options within the field. Emphasizes social work’s historic commitment to economic and social justice, diversity, empowerment, and improving conditions faced by society’s most vulnerable members.

TSOCWF 150 Suicide: Individual and Community Responses (2) I&S
Increases student understanding of historical and contemporary responses to suicide; explores ethical and moral issues; and develops introductory skills used in suicide prevention. Explores psychological and sociological theories of suicide as well as other responses people engage in suicidal behaviors.

Urban Studies

T GEOG 210 Geographies of Global Change (3) I&S
Introduces aspects of the economic, political, social, and environmental changes the world is experiencing and the new geographies being brought about by these changes. Includes such topics as population growth, environmental degradation and sustainability, food security, urbanization, poverty and inequality, development, the geopolitical arena, and the role of international organizations.

T SUD 222 Introduction to Sustainability (5) I&S
Provides an introduction to the global goal of sustainability and surveys policies and techniques associated with current sustainability initiatives in diverse metropolitan environments. Includes a discussion of scientific debates; conflicts within and between societies at different levels of economic development; key policy arenas for action; and common methods used to further sustainability values.

T SUD 240 The City and Nature (5) I&S
Examines connections between urban and environmental conditions by investigating the social and material production of urban nature. Challenges conceptual barriers between nature and the city that have evolved over time and considers new strategies for achieving both environmental sustainability and social justice in the city.