Global Health Certificate Program
From our backyard to the world.
The global burden of disease poses a significant barrier to the well-being of people around the world. Students today are interested in addressing issues that cross national borders, including global health. To address this need, SSA's Graduate Program in Health Administration and Policy (GPHAP), the Center for Global Health (CGH), and the Pritzker School of Medicine (PSOM) have collaborated to develop a new Global Health Certificate Program at the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration (SSA). The new program will address issues in global health from the perspective of a variety of disciplines, including biomedicine, business, law, economics, public policy, social work and socio-cultural studies. The new program is now accepting students for the Fall of 2012.
The program fosters interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration across disciplines to address the pressing issues of our time. It builds on the foundation of the curriculum in all of the participating schools. Participating schools are the PSOM, the Booth School of Business, the Harris School of Public Policy, the Law School and the School of Social Service Administration. Courses from across the university are included in the global health curriculum to draw on the wealth of talented faculty at the University of Chicago. Students participating in the certificate program will receive a strong base of knowledge in business, law, medicine, public policy, or social work and social service administration from their primary programs, and will gain additional expertise in global health.
Global health in this context refers to health in low and middle-income countries. However, lessons learned in the Global Health Certificate Program will be applicable to urban and rural areas in developed countries as well. Comparisons will be drawn, with lessons to be learned from each setting to benefit the other.
The Global Health certificate is achievable within the timeframe of the four-year medical school program for medical students, and within the two-year master's degree programs for the other students. The ability to complete the program within the four-year medical school program distinguishes our program from other global health programs for medical students in the U.S. For medical students, the new Global Health Certificate Program builds on the Global Health Scholars Track (GHST); only medical students who ultimately participate in the GHST will receive the certificate in global health.
Students participating in the Program will be invited to all GPHAP and GHI events and are considered an integral part of GPHAP. Thus, there is much overlap between the regular GPHAP track and the global health track. Global health certificate program students may take U.S. focused health administration and policy courses as electives to fill out their program of study.
The requirements of the Global Health Certificate Program are similar to the regular GPHAP program. All GPHAP students must complete four courses consisting of two required courses and two health electives. The requirements are slightly different for master's degree and law students and medical students. All students must maintain a grade of 'B' or higher in the introductory course. All of the courses taken to fulfill the GPHAP requirements must be taken for a grade and not taken on a pass/fail basis.
Requirements for Master's Degree Students and Law Students:
The Required Course Sequence (four courses).
- Two required courses:
- Foundations in Global Health taken during the Spring Quarter of 1st year.
- A new capstone course taken during Spring Quarter of 2nd year.
- Two elective courses from a campus wide list of approved electives.
Practicum. This may include a summer internship, RA-ships, designated Fellowships, and field placements. For the Global Health Certificate Program, these may be, but are not required to be, activities outside of the U.S.
Co-curriculars. Attend 18 lectures or events and prepare a short written summary of each event. Master's degree students generally complete three co-curriculars per quarter over a two-year period. Suggested co-curricular activities are published in the GPHAP Weekly Digest e-mail sent to students. Lectures or other events that qualify as co-curriculars are held at various times throughout the year. Students may select events that coordinate well with their academic schedules. To provide additional scheduling flexibility, one of the three co-curriculars per quarter may be an on-line activity.
There are no additional fees for participation in GPHAP or the global health certificate program. The two required courses and two electives count toward the student's degree requirements.
Requirements for Medical School Students
- The specific requirements for medical students to receive a Certificate in Global Health will be posted shortly.
We are proud to offer this rigorous new interdisciplinary program of study that will allow students to distinguish themselves in the field of global health.