Global Health

The Department of Global Health was launched in January 2007 with generous support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the state of Washington, and the University of Washington, with a mandate to harness the extraordinary expertise, energy, and creativity of faculty across all 17 UW schools and colleges to create a comprehensive academic global health program.

The Department is housed in both the School of Medicine and School of Public Health and brings together enormous expertise in global health through our closely affiliated centers - Center for AIDS Research; International Clinical Research Center; International Training and Education Center for Health; Health Alliance International; and the Global Health Resource Center; a major institute - the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation; and our key programs - the Pathobiology Pre-doctoral Global Health Basic Laboratory Science Program, the Kenya Research Program, the new Global Medicines Policy and Research Program, and our Global Health Leadership programs.

The Department has over 230 regular, adjunct, affiliate, or clinical faculty and 336 graduate students.

Undergraduate Program

The Department of Global Health offers the following program:

• A minor in global health

Minor

Minor Requirements (30 credits):

1. Introductory courses (6-7 credits): G H 101 or G H 415; and G H 201
2. Perspectives in global health series (3 credits): G H 401; G H 402; G H 403
3. Electives (to bring total to 30 credits): Minimum of one elective course from each of the five content areas selected from a list of approved courses available from the Department of Global Health website, globalhealth.washington.edu/students_programs/studeg_undergrad.php
4. Minimum 15 credits outside the student's major
5. Minimum 15 credits completed at the UW
6. Minimum 15 upper-division credits
7. Minimum 2.0 grade in courses applied to the minor

Graduate Program

Graduate Program Coordinator
S432 Foege Building, Box 355065
206-897-1804
ghprog@u.washington.edu

Master of Public Health

The Master of Public Health (MPH) program in the Department of Global Health is a rigorous, 12- to 21-month program that gives students multidisciplinary, comprehensive training in global public health. All Global Health MPH students are required to complete 63 total credits, including core MPH courses (17-20 credits), global health courses (12 or more credits), a global health-related practicum, and a research or practice thesis based on original scholarly work and relating to health in developing countries. Graduates of this program will be able to approach global health issues with a solid grounding in basic public health disciplines. They will have practical experience, be skilled in applied research, and have an understanding of the sociopolitical matrix of health determinants of the developing world.

Admission Requirements

1. Completed Graduate School Application
2. Goal statement (1-2 pages)
3. Transcripts: A set of sealed official transcripts from each institution of higher learning attended should be mailed directly to the department.
4. Test Scores: GRE scores must be submitted, sent directly to the University by the Educational Testing Service using institution code 4854. No subject test is required. Applicants with a PhD, JD, DDS, MD or related degree from an accredited United States school do not need to submit GRE scores; Applicants to the Health Metrics and Evaluation Track, and UW or WWAMI MD students applying for the concurrent MD/MPH degree may substitute MCAT scores for GRE scores. Any other application without GRE scores is considered incomplete and is not reviewed.
5. English Language Proficiency: Proficiency in English is required for graduate study at the University of Washington. Therefore, every applicant whose native language is not English must demonstrate English language proficiency in one of the following ways:
   1. A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution in the United States or from an institution in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, Trinidad and Tobago, or the United Kingdom.
   2. Documentation verifying that the applicant's undergraduate degree (bachelor's level) is from an institution where all instruction is in English.
   3. A minimum English language proficiency test score, as follows: 7.0 on the IELTS; 92 on the Internet-based TOEFLiBT; 237 on the computer-based TOEFLC; 580 on the paper TOEFL; or 90 on the MLT.
   4. If an applicant is admitted with a score lower than the minimum scores listed above, but in the range of scores listed below, the student is required to take designated Academic English Program (AEP) courses upon matriculation and until the student has met the English language proficiency requirement for the degree: 6.0-6.9 (IELTS); 61-91 (TOEFLiBT); 173-236 (TOEFLC); 500-579 (TOEFL); or 80-89 (MLT).
   5. Successful completion of the UW Intensive English Program.
6. Three letters of recommendation
7. Current resume or CV (maximum 3 pages)
8. Application Due Date: December 1 for the following autumn quarter.

Degree Requirements

General Track

The General Track is designed for students with substantial global health experience who envision careers requiring an array of competencies to work among multiple agencies involved in global health, including ministries of health, non-governmental organizations and academic institutions. The General Track provides a broad curriculum with a wide selection of courses and maximal flexibility to develop one's own curricular direction. Students can focus on policy development; program design, implementation, and management; health education promotion; program evaluation; research; tropical medicine; and others.

Minimum 63 credits, as follows:

1. Global Health Foundations Course: G H 511
2. Global Health Management Course: G H 521
3. Either G H 531/EPI 539 or G H 532/EPI 586
4. Global Health Seminar: G H 500 is to be taken each quarter in residence
5. Global Health Thesis Workshop: G H 593 taken each of the first three quarters in the program
6. Biostatistics: At least one of the following: BIOST 511 or BIOST 517
7. Epidemiology: At least one of the following: EPI 511, EPI 512, or EPI 513
8. Environmental Health: At least one of the following: ENV H 511, ENV H 517, ENV H 570, ENV H 577, or ENV H 584
9. Social and Behavioral Sciences: HSERV 510
10. Practicum: 3-6 credits of G H 595
11. Thesis: At least 9 credits of G H 700
12. Qualitative Methods: If a student's thesis is primarily qualitative, a course in qualitative methods is required, either HSERV 521 or HSERV 526. These courses may be substituted by another qualitative methods course with permission from thesis chair. In the case of a substitution, please contact a student services staff member.
13. At least 30 credits must be from graduate-level in-classroom courses.
14. At least 18 credits must be from Global Health in-classroom courses.

Leadership, Policy and Management Track

Designed for mid-career professionals, the Leadership, Policy and Management (LPM) Track seeks to train creative leaders, effective managers, and influential policy advocates who will translate knowledge into action to transform health systems. In addition to the MPH core curriculum, students complete case-based coursework and practical experiences focusing on key competencies of leadership (fostering individual and team growth, managing cultural differences, public speaking, conflict resolution); management (financial, human resources, organizational design, operations research); and policy development and advocacy (issue identification, stakeholder mapping, options analysis). A practicum or "professional affiliation" with local or national institutions provides hands-on training, and students complete a practice thesis applying LPM skills to an actual organization, implementation or policy challenge. A four-quarter (12 month) "accelerated" option is available to students who seek and are able to complete a more concentrated curriculum than the traditional two-year program.

Minimum 63 credits, as follows:

1. General Track requirements (above)
2. Core Seminar Series: The following seminars must be taken during the first year of study: Leadership Development for Global Health Managers (2 credits), Organizational Leadership and Management (2), and Global Health Policy Development and Advocacy (2).
3. Additionally, at least one course each from three of the four following "competency" clusters: Ethics and Human Rights, Law and Policy, Management, and Program Evaluation.

Epidemiology Global Health Track

The purpose of the Epidemiology MPH-Global Health Track is to combine broad training in public health with specific training in the principles and methods of epidemiology and community health in developing countries. The degree requirements include course work in epidemiology, biostatistics, global health, health services, and environmental health; a practice experience in a public health agency (practicum); and completion of a research-based master's thesis. The degree is appropriate for individuals who possess an MD, DVM, DDS, ND, or PhD degree who seek a career in public health practice or academia, or medical students interested in a combined MD/MPH program. We also consider exceptional individuals with a bachelor's degree and health-related background who seek an MPH to prepare for a master's-level career in public health practice or research, or who plan to apply to the PhD program in Epidemiology after completion of an MPH.

Minimum 63 credits, as follows:

1. EPI 510, EPI 512, EPI 513, EPI 514
2. BIOST 511, BIOST 512, BIOST 513; or BIOST 517, BIOST 518
3. G H 511
4. HSERV 510
5. Global Health Seminar: G H 500/EPI 592 taken all quarters, minimum three times
6. Practicum: EPI 595
7. Either ENV H 511, ENV H 517, or ENV H 577
8. Epidemiology Electives: 6 credits from approved list.
9. Global Health Electives: 6 credits from approved list.
10. Thesis: 9-18 credits, EPI 700

Health Metrics and Evaluation Track

The Health Metrics and Evaluation (HME) Track is designed for individuals with demonstrated quantitative skills who intend to pursue careers at the national and international level in quantitative research, methods and modeling development, survey design and analysis, health system and program evaluation, policy analysis, or academia. The HME Track curriculum follows the established MPH core requirement model while incorporating a set of methodological and analytical courses from a variety of quantitative disciplines.

Minimum 63 credits, as follows:

1. Global Health Foundations Course: G H 511
2. Biostatistics: At least one of the following: BIOST 511 or BIOST 517
3. Epidemiology: At least one of the following: EPI 511, EPI 512, or EPI 513
4. Environmental Health: At least one of the following: ENV H 511, ENV H 517, ENV H 570, ENV H 577, or ENV H 584
5. Social and Behavioral Sciences: HSERV 510
6. HME-Specific Coruses: G H 515, G H 533
7. HME Seminar: At least three quarters of appropriate sections of G H 590
8. Resarch Methods: At least three quarters of appropriate sections of G H 590
9. Method, Tools, and Data: One appropriate section of G H 590
10. Practicum: 3-6 credits of G H 595
11. Thesis: At least 9 credits of G H 700
12. Electives: Students are encouraged to take 10 elective credits from other departments of the School of Public Health and across the University of Washington.
13. At least 30 credits must be from graduate-level in-classroom courses.
14. At least 18 credits must be from Global Health in-classroom courses.

Peace Corps Master's International Track

The Peace Corps Master's International (PCMI) Track of the Global Health MPH is designed for students who do not necessarily have developing country health work experience, although they are expected to have substantial (about two years) work experience beyond college, preferably in a health setting. This program is particularly well-suited for students who for financial or other reasons have not been able to engage in global health activities. Students gain developing country work experience by fulfilling a requirement to serve two years in the Peace Corps after completing their first academic year of coursework. Curriculum for this track is otherwise identical to that of the General Track. After returning from the Peace Corps and completing the degree, graduates of this track will have similar career opportunities to those in the General Track.

Concurrent Degrees with MPH

The Department of Global Health encourages students to take full advantage of the University's unique position as a leading education, research, and service institution and to consider one of the many concurrent degree programs available with the MPH. Enrollment in a concurrent degree program at the University permits a student to proceed in a coordinated way towards sequential completion of both degrees in a shortened period of time. Some of the options available are not formal concurrent programs, but the degrees listed can be pursued in parallel with the Global Health MPH. In some cases, agreements may be reached between the two programs to allow for sharing of some credits and/or projects. Most concurrent degrees begin with a successful application to the other school, followed by an application to the MPH during the first year of study in the first program.