The Global Health Studies Program (GHSP) at the University of Iowa has been a model of interdisciplinary education for over 25 years, drawing students and faculty from multiple departments and colleges into the collaborative study of real-world health that grounds our graduates in both the practical and theoretical bases of the complex factors influencing health and disease locally and around the world. GHSP at Iowa was among the first such undergraduate academic programs nationally when it began offering the Global Health Studies Certificate in 1996. It remains distinctive by virtue of its liberal arts (rather than health professional) administrative home, and by its continued commitment to undergraduate (versus graduate or professional) education. The Global Health Studies minor was implemented in 2000 and the B.A. and B.S. in Global Health Studies in 2016. Being rooted in a broad interdisciplinary base that builds upon the humanities, social sciences and health sciences, the Global Health Studies curriculum helps students understand underlying forces—such as history, culture, gender and sexuality, economics, politics, race and ethnicity, the environment, law, and technology—which lead to health disparities worldwide.