Undergraduate Certificate (Undergraduate Certificate) in One Health
OVERVIEW
Who is this program for?
The One Health undergraduate certificate is designed for students interested in human health, veterinary medicine, public health, environmental health, agriculture, food safety, infectious disease and other fields that connect the health of people, animals and the environment. It can complement a UK bachelor's degree or pre-professional pathway or be completed as a stand-alone undergraduate certificate by students seeking interdisciplinary preparation for careers or further study in health and science.
Program Overview
Human health doesn't exist in isolation. The health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and the environment we all share. The Undergraduate Certificate in One Health explores these connections and prepares students to approach today's complex health challenges from a broader, interdisciplinary perspective.
Through the certificate, you'll examine how changes in one part of our interconnected world can affect health across the entire system. You'll explore challenges such as zoonotic and tickborne diseases, antimicrobial resistance, food safety and security, climate-related health threats and biodiversity loss — and consider how collaboration across disciplines can lead to more effective and sustainable solutions.
Rather than looking at these issues from the perspective of a single profession, One Health brings together knowledge from areas such as human medicine, veterinary medicine, public health, agriculture and environmental science. You'll learn to think across disciplines, evaluate complex health problems and consider science-driven solutions that protect the health of people, animals and the environment.
The certificate is open to current University of Kentucky undergraduate students as well as students who want to enroll at UK specifically to complete the certificate.
Related Careers
The One Health certificate can provide a valuable interdisciplinary perspective for students preparing for professional school, graduate education or careers addressing health and environmental challenges.
The certificate may be particularly relevant for students interested in areas such as:
- Medicine and other health professions
- Veterinary medicine
- Public health
- Environmental health
- Infectious disease and epidemiology
- Agriculture and animal sciences
- Food safety and food systems
- Environmental science
- Wildlife health and conservation
- Biomedical and biological sciences
- Global health
- Health and environmental policy
- Research
- Government and public agencies
- Nonprofit and international organizations
For current UK students, the certificate can add an interdisciplinary perspective to your primary field of study. It can also be completed as a stand-alone certificate, providing students with a foundation for understanding complex health challenges and preparing for careers or further study in fields where collaboration across disciplines is increasingly important.
Admission Instructions
Current University of Kentucky Students
You can add this certificate in myUK GPS. Under "My Program of Study" on the right side of the screen, click the link "Request a major/minor/certificate change". If you need help, contact your academic advisor.
You should talk with your academic advisor about how adding a program to your plan of study will impact graduation time and any graduation requirements of your major.
New Certificate ONLY students
If you are not currently enrolled at UK, you can still take this program by itself.
- Navigate to UK's Undergraduate Application
- Apply to UK with a "Non-Degree Application"
- In the Applicant Information section under Applicant Type, select "Certificate"
- Select the certificate program name
Application Requirements
Completed applications include an official high school transcript, application fee ($50 domestic/$60 international) and optional official ACT/SAT score (the University of Kentucky is test-optional for admission and scholarships through the 2028-29 academic year).
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What You'll Learn
Through the One Health certificate, you'll learn to examine health challenges as interconnected systems rather than isolated problems.
You will learn to:
- Explain the connections among human, animal and environmental health and how changes in one area can affect the others.
- Analyze complex health challenges using perspectives from multiple scientific and professional disciplines.
- Explore the causes and impacts of zoonotic diseases — infections that can spread between animals and people.
- Examine antimicrobial resistance and its implications for human health, animal health and food systems.
- Understand how environmental and climate-related changes can create or intensify health threats.
- Explore connections among agriculture, food security, food safety and health.
- Evaluate challenges such as infectious disease outbreaks, tickborne diseases and biodiversity loss through a One Health perspective.
- Apply One Health principles to develop science-driven, interdisciplinary approaches to complex health problems.
- Understand how collaboration among different professions and disciplines can contribute to research, policy and practical health interventions.
Degree requirements, course descriptions and academic policies for all programs are detailed in the University Catalog.
Get More Information
Complete the form to get the latest updates on this program, including special events and application deadlines.
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