Undergraduate Certificate in One Health

The Undergraduate Certificate in One Health recognizes and encourages students to value the interdependence of human and animal health, and the well-being of agriculture, industrial and natural ecosystems and will introduce students to the One Health approach to disease and problem solving.

As recent pandemic events have highlighted, better communication between veterinary, human, and public health care professionals is necessary to track and respond effectively to diseases that make the transition from affecting animals to affecting humans: zoonotic threats. The COVID-19 pandemic also has shown the importance of health and science communication, including understanding the public and news media, in preventing and stemming zoonotic threats. This certificate program fosters interdisciplinary education, expands interactive learning opportunities for undergraduate students, and prepares program participants for careers in all health-related sciences.

Specific areas in the curriculum include:

interdisciplinary communication and collaboration
pathogenesis of zoonotic diseases
the science and sociology of the human animal-bond and disease
medical communication
clinical, comparative medicine and translational research
biodiversity and environmental health
the impact of human activity on the environment

Further Details:

What is One Health?

One Health refers to the interdisciplinary, inter-institutional, and inter-professional collaboration locally, nationally, and globally to advance the well-being and health outcomes of people, animals, and the environment. It is based on the internationally recognized doctrine that the health of people, animals, and the environment are inextricably intertwined.

How to Apply

UGA’s One Health Certificate requires an application for admission into the undergraduate certificate program. Applications cycles are at the start of each Spring semester.

The deadline to apply for Spring 2025 is October 15, 2024.

The deadline for Fall 2025 will be announced in Spring 2025, so please check back.

Prerequisites:
Applicants must have an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher to apply.
Admission is open to all majors who have completed the following pre-requisite courses:
BIOL1107 and 1108

Certificate Application:
Please complete and submit this online form.

Applicants must submit a formal essay explaining their interest in One Health. This shall be submitted to [email protected].

Certificate Faculty

K. Paige Carmichael, [email protected] – College of Veterinary Medicine
Christopher Cleveland, [email protected] – College of Veterinary Medicine
Rami Dalloul, [email protected] – College of Agriculture and Environmental Science
Nicole Gottdenker, [email protected] – College of Veterinary Medicine
Sonia Hernandez, [email protected] – School of Forestry and College of Veterinary Medicine
Shannon Jones Hostetter, [email protected] – College of Veterinary Medicine
Glen Nowak, [email protected] – College of Journalism
Paula Davis Olwell, [email protected] – College of Public Health
Adam D. Orford, [email protected] – School of Law
Susan Sanchez, [email protected] – College of Veterinary Medicine and Athens Diagnostic Laboratory
Logan Sawyer, [email protected] – School of Law
Leslie Gordon Simons, [email protected] – College of Arts and Sciences
Michael Yabsley, [email protected] – School of Forestry and College of Veterinary Medicine

Required Courses (7-9 credit hours)

All required courses must be taken for a grade, and a minimal grade of C (2.0) is mandatory for all required classes taken in fulfillment of the certificate.

VPAT 3700, Introduction to One Health* (3 credits)
Offered in Fall

This course introduces students to the key concepts of the One Health Initiative and the benefits of utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to disease prevention and elimination including emerging infectious diseases, the human-animal bond, antimicrobial resistance, and impact of public policy/global economy on human, environmental, and animal health. Course content will include guest lectures by practitioners from multiple disciplines both at UGA and in the community.

VPAT 3900, Current Topics in One Health* (1 hour)
Offered in Spring

This seminar course examines substantive One Health issues and allows students to model the One Health approach to problem solving. The course will utilize a collaborative, case-based approach to cover relevant topics such as emerging infectious diseases, human-animal bond, antibiotic usage and antimicrobial resistance, and impact of public policy / global economy on human, environmental, and animal health.

VPAT 3960S, One Health Capstone (3-5 hours)
Offered year round.

All participants must complete a culminating capstone project highlighting a One Health approach to solving a problem. The capstone for the certificate should be separate from any other capstone project and the student may not use any portion of another capstone project to satisfy this requirement. However, if there are aspects of previous projects that have not been used, they may use these components for their One Health capstone. The capstone project must directly relate to issues relevant to One Health.

Examples of possible capstone projects include:

Organize a workshop that brings human, veterinary, and environmental specialists together around a pandemic
Conduct a media campaign on an aspect of an emerging zoonotic
Develop an online site on the human animal bond for high school students.
Internship at a public health office, CDC, NIH

Students will register for 3-5 credit course depending on the chosen experience, and identify a topic, project or practice site, and Capstone Project Proposal.

Although students will be expected to be self-driven and will be responsible for choosing their own courses, and choosing their own capstone project, certificate faculty and currently enrolled peers are resources that should be used to help students in choosing their topics. Projects may be conducted either within the U.S. or internationally. Projects must be finished for successful completion of the certificate.

Students will share their capstone projects during a special capstone presentation session. The projects will evaluated by certificate faculty and other faculty with expertise in One Health.

Electives (6-8 credit hours)

The remaining six to eight credits must be taken from the following list of undergraduate courses, although alternative courses may be suggested and accepted as satisfying the certificate requirements on a case-by-case basis.
Elective courses can be taken for a grade or pass / fail (if option is available). A “Pass” grade or a minimum grade of “C” (2.0) will be required in all elective classes taken in fulfillment of the certificate.
It is strongly recommended that students take elective courses outside of their degree field.
Elective courses must include at least one course outside the College of Veterinary Medicine.
The remaining elective credits can be taken in one of nine different colleges across These courses will give the student more in-depth knowledge in different areas of health within several tracks and allow students to explore different viewpoints, increase their understanding of interdisciplinary convergence, and enhance their awareness of how the intersection of different disciplines can affect health.

Elective Courses (additional courses may be eligible and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis). To see an outline of each course, please go to https://bulletin.uga.edu/CoursesHome

College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences

https://www.caes.uga.edu/

AAEC 2710, Food Fights: Analysis of Global Food Policy Issues (3 credits)

AAEC (AFST) (ENVM) 4720, Applied International Development Economics (3 credits)

AGCM 2200, Communicating in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (3 credits)

AGCM 3200, History and Philosophy of Communication in Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (3 credits)

AGCM 3400W, Writing for Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (3 credits)

FDST 2010, Food Issues and Choices (3 credits)

FDST 3000, Introduction to Food Science and Technology (3 credits)

Franklin College of Arts and Sciences

https://www.franklin.uga.edu/

SOCI 1101, Introductory Sociology (3 credits)

SOCI 3100, Medical Sociology ((3 credits)

SOCI 3710, The Science of Happiness (3 credits)

Odum School of Ecology

https://www.ecology.uga.edu/

ECOL 2100, Global Climate Change: Past, Present and Future (3 credits)

ECOL 3220, Water Sustainability in the Anthropocene (3 credits)

ECOL 3530, Conservation Biology (3 credits)

ECOL 3770S, Urban Ecology (3 credits)

ECOL 3820, Evolutionary Medicine (3 credits)

ECOL 3880H Ecosystems of the World (3 credits)

ECOL (BIOL) 4150/6150-4150L/6150L (4 credits) Population Biology of Infectious Diseases

Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

https://www.warnell.uga.edu/

FANR(MARS) 1100, Natural Resources Conservation (3 credits)

FANR 1500, Fundamentals of Sustainable Development (3 credits)

FANR (ANTH) (ECOL) (GEOG) (INTL) 4271, People, Planet and Profit (1-9 credits, up to 3 credits may be counted towards certificate requirements)

WILD(ECOL)(POPH) 4575/6575, Conservation Medicine (6 credits)

WILD(POPH) 5100/7100, Principles and Management of Wildlife Diseases (3 credits)

Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication

https://grady.uga.edu/

ADPR 5110, Advertising, Public Relations, and Health (3 credits)

ADPR 5120, Crisis Communication (3 credits)

JOUR 3030, Media, News, and Consumers (3 credits)

School of Law

http://www.law.uga.edu/

JURI 2990, Law, Justice, and the State (3 credits)

JURI 3200S, Law and Social Justice: Strategic Advocacy (3 credits)

JURI 3400, Introduction to Global Governance (3 credits)

College of Pharmacy

https://rx.uga.edu/
PMCY 2020, Pill, Potions, and Drugs in Modern Medicine (3 credits)

PMCY 3200, Introduction to the Pharmaceutical Sciences (3 credits)

College of Public Health

https://publichealth.uga.edu/
EHSC 3060, Introduction to Environmental Health Science (3 credits)

GLOB 3100, Introduction to Global Health (3 credits)

GLOB 3150, Culture and Global Health (3 credits)

GLOB 3200, Global Health and the Links Among Food, Culture, and Disease (3 credits)

HPRB 5310, Introduction to Public Health Communication (3 credits)

College of Veterinary Medicine

https://vet.uga.edu/
IDIS 3100, People, Parasites, and Plagues (3 credits)

IDIS(POPH)3110,FoodAnimalInfectiousDiseases(3credits)

VPAT 3100H, Introduction to Disease (Honors) (3 credits)

VPAT 4000/6000, On the Origins of Disease (3 credits)

VPAT 4100, Common Diseases of Production Animals (3 credits)

VPHY 3100,Elements of Physiology(3credits)

Seminar Attendance (pass / fail)

Students will be expected to attend at LEAST one selected One Health-related seminar (that is not part of VPAT 3700) of their own choosing for each semester enrolled in the certificate program. Students will be required to post the title of the seminar and a brief discussion of how they anticipate the topic will tie into the principals of One Health on eLC prior to attendance. Student attendance at seminars will be documented by having students post a reflection of each presentation on eLC that will be reviewed by certificate coordinators. A student can use a presentation they have given of a One Health-related topic in lieu of this requirement.

Final Plan of Study

Once all One Health Certificate course requirements are complete, the students must submit their Final Plan of Study and apply to graduate in Athena. Please follow the instructions below to ensure that you receive credit for the certificate on your UGA Transcript.

A pass grade or a minimum of “C” (2.0) will be required to fulfill this Certificate.
Complete the Final Plan of Study to [email protected] for signatures.
Apply to graduate in Athena. This application must be submitted prior to the withdrawal deadline for the semester in which you intend to graduate. Instructions on how to apply for graduation can be found here on the Office of the Registrar website.