Department of Global HealthAcademic Programs

GHED - Academic Programs

• Global Health & International Development (Fall term, 3 credit hours)

  The world is increasingly interconnected. Globalization, socio-economic development, and climate change are all contributing to profound transitions in the global burden of disease that often reinforce underling structural determinants of health. Meanwhile, emerging and re-emerging diseases that do not obey national borders are straining health systems and exacerbating regional, national, and global health inequities. Yet the governance structures, policies, and practice of global health remain rooted in an international development model that has existed since the end of World War II. This course will provide a multidisciplinary theoretical overview of the state of global health as field of study, research, and practice that places a priority on improving health and achieving equity in health for all people worldwide. With a diverse array of topics and speakers, combined with a highly interactive learning environment, students will learn some of the fundamental knowledge, attitudes, and skills to start developing a global perspective on past, present, and future public health issues.

  Course Directors:

  • Dr. Matthew Dacso
  • Dr. Premal Patel
• Global Health Governance & Diplomacy (Fall and Summer term, 3 credit hours)

  The course aims to build capacity for achieving the health-related sustainable development goals by cultivating a better understanding of the governance structures for health, the challenges of program implementation, and the application of a health diplomacy framework. The course will also discuss the challenges facing health systems during the pandemic time, focusing on the role of governance structure and stewardship in shaping the pandemic response. During the fall course, students work with active resolutions being discussed at the annual assembly of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

  Course Director:

  • Dr. Hani Serag
• Global Health Policy, Practice, and Delivery  (Spring Term, 3 credit hours)

  Global health is a rapidly evolving field that requires working collaboratively on policy, implementation, and community-based program activities. Led by global health experts and with invited speakers from around the world, this 3 credit-hour course will help students to become familiar with the core methods applied in policy-making, implementation, and global health program design

  Course Directors:

  • Dr. Hani Serag
  • Dr. Michael Goodman
• One Health – Introduction to the One Health Approach (Spring Term, 8 weeks, 2 credit hours)

  The past several decades have seen profound shifts in the global burden of disease. Increased population mobility, globalization, and industrialization have also spurred changes in the planet’s climate, which is causing extreme transformations within human and animal ecosystems and thus potentiating the emergence of novel pathogens. This course will introduce students to the fundamental elements of "One Health" and teach them how to apply that approach to the diverse public and population health challenges characteristic of the modern era.

  Course Directors:

  • Dr. Dennis Bente
  • Dr. Greg Gray
• Global Health Practicum Experience

  Training for global health work requires developing familiarity with the dynamics between policy entities, non-governmental organizations, clinical/public health institutions, and host communities. Students participating in the SPPH global health program will have an opportunity to do an international rotation for up to 3 months during which time they will work with long-term collaborators on training, research, or public health practice projects that address needs identified by those partners and the communities they serve.

  Variable, site dependent