HLTH 101Introduction to Health 1
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Health
- Subject
- Public Health Sciences
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 3 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: not on the schedule. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
This course will be of interest to students pursuing careers in health and those with a general interest in health and health care. Various perspectives of the concepts of health and illness will be introduced. Emphasis is on understanding the origins, factors and conditions that determine health throughout the lifespan, how these factors influence one another and the role/impact of health care. Additional topics include how health is measured, the leading causes of death, illness and disability, as well as how health status has changed throughout history. Students will also learn how to research and critically analyze the health literature and discuss important health issues with their peers.
Prerequisites
None listed.
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 2727 | 380 / 406 | TTh 16:00–17:20 |
| LEC 002 | 7865 | 127 / 150 | TTh 16:00–17:20 |
| LEC 081 | 2835 | 248 / 250 | Online or by arrangement |
| TUT 101 | 2827 | 22 / 25 | F 08:30–09:20 |
| TUT 102 | 2828 | 26 / 26 | M 14:30–15:20 |
| TUT 103 | 2829 | 25 / 26 | M 12:30–13:20 |
| TUT 104 | 2830 | 24 / 26 | M 10:30–11:20 |
| TUT 105 | 2831 | 25 / 25 | M 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 106 | 2832 | 25 / 25 | T 14:30–15:20 |
| TUT 107 | 2833 | 18 / 25 | F 15:30–16:20 |
| TUT 108 | 2837 | 17 / 25 | M 08:30–09:20 |
| TUT 109 | 2838 | 24 / 25 | F 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 110 | 2839 | 25 / 25 | T 13:30–14:20 |
| TUT 111 | 3035 | 25 / 25 | Th 14:30–15:20 |
| TUT 112 | 3036 | 0 / 25 | Th 12:30–13:20 |
| TUT 113 | 7866 | 26 / 26 | W 10:30–11:20 |
| TUT 114 | 7867 | 25 / 26 | W 14:30–15:20 |
| TUT 115 | 7868 | 22 / 25 | Th 11:30–12:20 |
| TUT 116 | 7869 | 26 / 26 | T 11:30–12:20 |
| TUT 117 | 7870 | 25 / 25 | F 10:30–11:20 |
| TUT 118 | 7871 | 19 / 25 | F 14:30–15:20 |
| TUT 119 | 8847 | 19 / 25 | F 08:30–09:20 |
| TUT 120 | 8848 | 22 / 25 | F 10:30–11:20 |
| TUT 121 | 8849 | 21 / 25 | F 09:30–10:20 |
| TUT 122 | 8850 | 24 / 25 | M 08:30–09:20 |
| TUT 123 | 8851 | 22 / 25 | M 09:30–10:20 |
Reviewed on UW Flow
88% liked it87% easy79% useful
From 216 ratings and 59 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
To be honest, the information in this course is actually hard and dense. There is actually a lot of dry material to be covered. The only reason why people do well is that the prof provides very straightforward multiple choice evaluations. However, if you do want to be in the healthcare field one day, I suggest actually learn the material and reasoning with it beyond the text and evaluations.
Dec 2015 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
A lot of material to cover, but overall useful. The prof was clear and engaging. This course is a good stepping stone for future health courses.
Apr 2015 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
A lot of "common sense" concepts that you probably have covered in high school. A bit more in depth into certain diseases and gradients of health but nothing spectacular.
Nov 2014 · liked it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
I hated this course. I'm comming from a math background with no knowledge of biology and this course was super difficult for me.
Dec 2012 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this
Great course, Dr. Amson is the best professor I've dealt with hands down.
Aug 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
185 posts and comments in 129 threads mention HLTH 101, October 2011 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.
Fall 2024
Health sci vs life sci (biomedical) 2 points, 2 comments
“Anyone who’s taking either can you explain how it is? Which is better for med school and mcat prep. I went for health sci but worried I should’ve picked life sci for pre med track. …”
u/No-Barnacle5113: “… Some HLTH courses are easy and quite literally free marks, such as HLTH 101 (ended with 99%). …”
u/No_News_1712: “… HLTH 101 did take some effort, it's not just free marks. 107 was okay for me but I handed in my assignment a couple minutes late so I got a 68 on part B... Chem and bio are subjective. I didn't do chem, but bio was alright for me. …”
Spring 2024
Attending HLTH 201 1 point, 3 comments
u/Conscious-Dog-9197: “… I am aware that you should be attending all lectures and classes to do well, but some of my previous courses such as HLTH 101 or 103 or even HEALTH 107 I did decent in without attending many in-person lectures as most of the content was posted online and enough to do well on …”
Attending lectures 1 point, 1 comment
u/Conscious-Dog-9197: “… I am aware that you should be attending all lectures and classes to do well, but some of my previous courses such as HLTH 101 or 103 or even HEALTH 107 I did decent in without attending many in-person lectures as most of the content was posted online and enough to do well on …”
USED TEXT BOOKS (CHEM 120, BIOL 239, HLTH 101, BIOL 201) 1 point, 2 comments
Light courses 1 point, 4 comments
u/hamstrings10: “ENGL 210C, ENGL 335, GEOG 219, HLTH 101 Most people find CLAS 104 to be light but tbh the time limits on quizzes combined with the sheer volume of readings made me wanna defenestrate myself.”
Winter 2024
Does anyone know the course outline/grade breakdown for HLTH101 online? 2 points, 0 comments
u/Sad-Peanut-379: “Heard that is a easy course and want to know if it has any in person tests?”
Fall 2023
When HLTH 101 (Online) Grade 3 points, 4 comments
u/Leading-Astronaut604: “Anyone get their mark back? Seems like it's taking quite some time for some reason.”
Bird HLTH courses 1 point, 1 comment
“Hi I’m wondering if anyone from faculty of health knows easy Hlth courses. Many of our courses say in person I’ve had courses that are fully assignment based and require very little course knowledge. …”
u/Soft-Presentation-95: “… HLTH 101 was very straightforward and easy when I took that in 2020. HLTH 102 was, too, straightforward and easy. The grades were mainly based on assignments, though if you had a shit TA like I did, then you may suffer grade wise because of their negligence. …”
RANT (serious): Idk what to do and I'm scared of failing 10 points, 5 comments
u/Flaky-Honey-7729: “… of my grades (term tests, discussions, etc) are in the 60-70% region (as of rn, excluding hlth101) and my mental health's actually been really low for over a year, hence why I had to choose public health as a major instead of health sci/kin (both of which i got into). …”
HLTH101 MIDTERM 1 point, 0 comments
u/Flaky-Honey-7729: “if anyones done it,, is it like the kahoot we did? i still need to take it”
HLTH 101 test bank request 1 point, 2 comments
u/skyler525: “does anyone have the test bank for this course? Introduction to Health 1”
switch from hlth 101 to Anth 100 1 point, 3 comments
u/WinnieThePool8: “Anyone in Anth 100 wanna take hlth101 online section instead? I can switch with you.”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them