Outline

Overview

This unit is an opportunity for students to explore the practicalities of communicable disease prevention, control, and mitigation. In the unit, students will understand four broad categories of responses for communicable disease control - emergency, biomedical, socio-behavioural, and structural. And students will have considered these control responses relative to the epidemiologies, histories, and politics of communicable diseases globally. Each student has the opportunity to create a response plan for a communicable disease of their choice in a country / region most relevant to them. Through opportunities to engage national, regional, and global experts, students will learn to do global communicable disease control that is reasonable, respectful, responsive, and effective.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Public Health
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	No

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Graeme Hoddinott, graeme.hoddinott@sydney.edu.au

Assessment

The census date for this unit availability is 1 September 2025

Details
Criteria

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length	Use of AI
Conversation	Tutorial and live talk participation - continuous assessment Tutorial and live talk participation - continuous assessment of contribution in tutorials and live talks	30%	Ongoing	Ongoing	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Portfolio or journal	Portfolio part 1 Short essay	15%	Week 05 Due date: 05 Sep 2025 at 23:59	1000 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Portfolio or journal	Portfolio part 2 Portfolio part 2	15%	Week 09 Due date: 10 Oct 2025 at 23:59	1500 words	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
Presentation	Final assessment - interactive oral Interactive oral	40%	Week 13 Due date: 14 Nov 2025 at 23:59	15 minutes	AI allowed
Outcomes assessed:
= hurdle task ?

Assessment summary

Detailed information for each assessment can be found on Canvas.

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).

As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High distinction	85 - 100	Consistently making accurate, generous, insightful, and critically reflective contributions that are mindful of the histories, contexts, and socio-political dynamics of global communicable diseases and their control, and to their own and other students' positionalities.
Distinction	75 - 84	Almost always engaging, sometimes making insightful and / or critically reflective contributions and showing that, for the most part, they can apply both the 'how to do' global communicable disease control and reflections on the tensions to doing so are.
Credit	65 - 74	Demonstrating mastery of almost all of the core concepts, and some engagement with the material, lecturers, tutors, and other students, but also making some key errors and demonstrating limited ability to apply these to real-world settings with accuracy and / or sensitivity.
Pass	50 - 64	Knowing some of the concepts, but generally demonstrating a lack of engagement with the material and insight into how to apply these.
Fail	0 - 49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard.

For more information see sydney.edu.au/students/guide-to-grades.

For more information see guide to grades.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

You can use generative AI tools for open assessments. Restrictions on AI use apply to secure, supervised assessments used to confirm if students have met specific learning outcomes.

Refer to the assessment table above to see if AI is allowed, for assessments in this unit and check Canvas for full instructions on assessment tasks and AI use.

If you use AI, you must always acknowledge it. Misusing AI may lead to a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

Academic integrity

The University expects students to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

Our website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. This includes advice on how to avoid common breaches of academic integrity. Ensure that you have completed the Academic Honesty Education Module (AHEM) which is mandatory for all commencing coursework students

Penalties for serious breaches can significantly impact your studies and your career after graduation. It is important that you speak with your unit coordinator if you need help with completing assessments.

Visit the Current Students website for more information on AI in assessments, including details on how to acknowledge its use.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Support for students

The Support for Students Policy reflects the University’s commitment to supporting students in their academic journey and making the University safe for students. It is important that you read and understand this policy so that you are familiar with the range of support services available to you and understand how to engage with them.

The University uses email as its primary source of communication with students who need support under the Support for Students Policy. Make sure you check your University email regularly and respond to any communications received from the University.

Learning resources and detailed information about weekly assessment and learning activities can be accessed via Canvas. It is essential that you visit your unit of study Canvas site to ensure you are up to date with all of your tasks.

If you are having difficulties completing your studies, or are feeling unsure about your progress, we are here to help. You can access the support services offered by the University at any time:

Support and Services (including health and wellbeing services, financial support and learning support)
Course planning and administration
Meet with an Academic Adviser

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Weekly	Weekly pre-recorded lectures	Lecture (12 hr)
	Weekly in-class 'live talk' with lecturers	Lecture (12 hr)
	Weekly (except weeks 1 and 10) activity-based tutorials	Tutorial (15 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Normal day students are required to watch pre-recorded lectures and undertake preparation before attending weekly 'live talk' discussions with lecturers and activity-based tutorials in person on campus at fixed times.

Synchronous online students are also required to watch the pre-recorded lectures, undertake preparation, and watch recordings of the live talk discussions before attending weekly activity-based tutorials online at fixed times.

Asynchronous online students are also required to watch the pre-recorded lectures, undertake preparation, and watch recordings of the live talk discussions before participating in the tutorials that will take place asynchronously online over five days in each week.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

Available in Canvas.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Understand what communicable diseases are, how they are controlled, and how this control fits into the historical and contemporary public and global health contexts
LO2. Experience designing an action plan to address a communicable disease requiring control
LO3. Master the application of key concepts for the control of existing and emergent communicable diseases
LO4. Understand types of approaches to communicable diseases (emergency, biomedical, socio-behavioural, and structural) and how these may be effectively applied
LO5. Explore the complexities of global communicable disease control through the lenses of a selected disease (submitted assessments), a group of diseases with shared transmission pathways (tutorials), and communicable diseases generally (live talks)
LO6. Engage 'experts in the field' about the real worlds of communicable disease control and research
LO7. Think critically about doing communicable disease control with communities who experience high disease burden, low(er) resources, and intersecting socio-economic marginalities - in Australia and around the world
LO8. Articulate a reasonable, respectful, responsive, and effective approach to global communicable disease control

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

We have used feedback from 2024 to change the final assessment and clarify the marking rubrics for all assessments.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

GLOH5112: Global Communicable Disease Control

Semester 2, 2025 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI)

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Support for students

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links