Current Opportunities
Classes
Winter Quarter: G H/ENV H 220: Global Environmental Change and Health (3 cr): An overview of global environmental change, its connections with health and global efforts to understand and address health risks. View the Global Health course description and the ENV H course description (ENV H).
Winter Quarter: G H/ENV H 418/518: Understanding and managing the health risks of climate change (3 cr): An introduction to the climate-sensitive exposures relevant to health, strategies for understanding related risks, the processes associated with conducting vulnerability assessments and developing adaptation plans, and ongoing research and practice needs in the field. View the Global Health course description and the ENV H course description (ENV H).
Winter Quarter: OCEAN/ESS/ATMOS 593: PCC Climate Communication Seminar: Building Skill and Perspective (1cr): This seminar (for graduate students only) seeks to support speakers and facilitators, especially graduate students working on public facing capstone and volunteer outreach, in delivering climate science concepts while also considering topics such as communicating risk, climate finance, and more. Each week will feature a guest speaker. View more information at the PCC website.
Spring Quarter: ENV H / G H 479/579: Climate Change & Public Health Practice (3 cr): This course will cover the full range of activities that make health systems climate resilient and explore how to update public health practice skills and competencies to protect population health in a changing climate. We will cover leadership, workforce development, surveillance, early warning systems, emergency preparedness, laboratory and information systems, communications, research, and more. Open to undergraduates and graduates. View the MyPlan course description or contact the course instructor with questions.
Spring Quarter: ENV H 408/508: Disaster Risk Reduction, Resilience, and Population Health Seminar (1 cr): Explores current research and policy and practice issues on disaster risk reduction and resilience. Takes an interdisciplinary lens to interrogate how disaster risk reduction and resilience impact population health and wellbeing. Highlights the various academic pathways students can take to pursue careers in disaster risk reduction and resilience. Open to undergraduates and graduates. View the MyPlan course description.
Graduate Certificate
CHanGE offers a graduate certificate in climate change and health to any University of Washington graduate student. The certificate provides an opportunity to learn more about climate change and its impacts on health and society and to intern with an organization focused on climate and health. Students are paired with a CHanGE faculty member for oversight and guidance as they pursue the certificate. Past students have interned with the World Health Organization, the World Meteorological Association, and the University of Washington’s Office of Sustainability, among others.
Other Climate-Focused Certificates at UW
- Graduate Certificate in Climate Science (GCeCS) – Program on Climate Change (PCC): This certificate offers interdisciplinary training to build your skills in methods, research issues, and communication of climate science, which will ultimately enhance your scientific breadth and professional employability. The program combines specialized PCC courses that highlight the connections within Earth’s systems and includes a capstone centered around Climate Science Communication.
- Graduate Certificate in Clean Energy Science, Engineering, and Society (CESES) – Clean Energy Institute (CEI): This certificate prepares the next generation of clean energy leaders with interdisciplinary training that bridges science, engineering, innovation, and public policy. Students explore the challenges and opportunities facing clean energy and its adoption in society. Through hands-on coursework they also learn foundational concepts related to clean energy as well as how to communicate across disciplines.
- Coming soon: Graduate Certificate in Climate Resilience Planning – Urban Design and Planning in the College of Built Environments
Database for Student Interest
If you are looking for a student project, please complete the climate project interest form. You will need to be signed into your UW NetID first. This can be volunteer, RA, practicum, thesis, etc. We will contact you if we are able to connect you with a project or faculty.
Mentorship
Students are central to CHanGE’s mission and activities, and CHanGE offers many opportunities for students at all levels to engage and learn. The goals of these opportunities are to develop students’ knowledge related to global environmental change and health; to build their skills in assessing, addressing, and communicating about health risks; and to support ongoing career development and connection with professional opportunities in the field. CHanGE educational offerings include classes for undergraduates and graduate students, seminars, scholarships to support travel, a graduate certificate in climate change and health, support for pre-doctoral research training, and post-doctoral training opportunities.
CHanGE faculty are a resource to connect graduate student to practicum, capstone, and theses opportunities with a focus on climate change and health. CHanGE faculty members maintain relationships with a wide range of local, regional, national, and international organizations focused on climate and health. Please contact CHanGE for more information.
Networking Opportunities
CHanGE members regularly engage in independent studies with students, and the Center also supports seminars on topics of special interest, hosts membership gatherings with special topical lectures, and sessions on global environmental change and health, all of which provide opportunities for students to learn and share their work. Please see our calendar for more information on upcoming events, and join our membership list to be kept updated on events of interest.
Other Climate Centers at UW
CDRC brings together the University of Washington, government, and community partners to create and implement transformational hazard and disaster science, build workforce capacity, inform equitable disaster risk reduction policy and practice and contribute to more resilient communities.
CSDE is a community of scholars that study human resilience and adaptation to climate change, the role of neighborhoods in conditioning human behavior, and policy and program interventions and their impact on population outcomes.
At CEI, the next generation of energy leaders is expanding the frontiers of research and developing facilities and tools to bring climate tech innovations to market.
CIG is an interdisciplinary research group that builds climate resilience by advancing understanding of climate risks and enabling science-based action to manage those risks. The organization also hosts several programs including the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center and the Washington State Climate Office.
Part research engine and part community catalyst, EarthLab works with partners to accelerate and focus UW expertise to address environmental challenges, making a positive impact on peoples’ lives and livelihoods.
Nature and Health seeks to illuminate the connections between nature and human well-being through scientific investigation. They equip students and collaborate with decision makers and communities to inform policies and programs for equitable engagement and sustainable relationships with nature.
The PCC helps society tackle climate change by providing a framework of intense cross-disciplinary collaboration that furthers research and education in climate science.
FAQs
What classes should I take if I am interested in CHanGE or the intersection of climate change and health?
There are many classes to take at the University of Washington regarding climate change. The Center for Health and the Global Environment (CHanGE) offers courses for both graduates and undergraduates which are listed above. Please click here to learn more about the UW DEOHS Climate and Health Area of Emphasis.
How can I get involved with CHanGE?
- Students may email chge@uw.edu for questions or more information about the CHanGE department.
- Prospective students may also contact us or email a faculty member directly with inquiries or arranging an appointment.
- Current and prospective students should review the CHanGE membership roster to identify faculty working in their area of interest.
- CHanGE also puts on events - check our News & Events page
Contact Us
Please contact CHanGE administration for more information on department offerings.