Grand Challenges Impact Lab

Grand Challenges Impact Lab offers a 5 credit capstone course (GH 490/CEE 498) during spring quarter. The course is open to UW graduate students and to undergraduate seniors in any department. For senior undergraduates in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the School of Public Health, this course meets the CEE and SPH capstone requirements.

This capstone course is a service-learning opportunity presented in partnership with Seattle-based organizations. The course will consist of:

  1. Time in the field engaging with local organizations working on homelessness
  2. Structured academic and reflective time in the (virtual) classroom
  3. Time outside of class for student teams to work on their project.

The theme of GCIL– Seattle 2021 was addressing homelessness; for 2022, student will select one of three themes to work on: homelessness, climate change, public health. The student groups will collaborate with local organizations to address specific challenges arising in this arena. We gratefully acknowledge generous support from the UW College of Engineering, the School of Public Health, and Babak and Sinikka Parviz.

A homeless camp in Ballard. (Photo: Rob Harwood)

By taking this course, you can learn:

  1. Identify and apply foundational principles of design theory and public health theory
  2. Work in a team with members whose expertise is interdisciplinary, including a diversity of school majors and lived experiences, to actively engage in social innovation
  3. Apply critical-thinking and empathy skills to innovate solutions that are novel and grounded in reality.

Course Details

Course GH 490/CEE 498
Offered Spring Quarter
Number of credits 5 credits; can meet CEE and SPH capstone requirements
Dates March 28 to June 3, 2022
Syllabus Download draft syllabus here

Undergraduate students who enroll in this class who wish to obtain the “W” writing credit will have the option to do additional writing work to have this course meet that requirement. For more information about the class, email gcil@uw.edu

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