Global Health

GLOBAL HEALTH IS PUBLIC HEALTH.

For 35 years, our School has been deeply engaged in global health activities, including research. David Carpenter, the founding Dean, encouraged faculty to seek out partnerships abroad, and faculty swifty responded to this call and formed partnerships with colleagues in research universities and institutes throughout the world.

We value the perspectives of international public health students and professionals who enhance our understanding of global health. Since our founding, we’ve had students from around the globe right here on our campus. The School’s first cohort of MPH graduates included several international students, some of whom remain actively engaged in our collaborative research today. Over the years, the School’s numerous NIH Fogarty International Center trainees and many Muskie and Fulbright Fellows have joined with other international students and our international faculty to form a culturally diverse, global community on our campus. Together, we’re focused on improving global health.

CENTER FOR GLOBAL HEALTH

The Center for Global Health works with partners across the University, in the local community and around the world to create opportunities for faculty and students to engage in academic programs, innovative research, capacity building and experiential learning. The Center prepares current and future leaders with the knowledge and skills they need to address critical global health challenges.

Students can complete a Graduate Certificate in Global Health Studies, participate in global health seminars and events, pursue an international internship, and participate in faculty-led global health education abroad programs. They can also apply to the Global Health Field Placement Program, which allows them to gain rigorous hands-on global experience by combining their MPH studies with service in the U.S. Peace Corps (you can read about an alum of this program, Lindsey Jackson, on page 27).

With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are reminded that global health is public health. Our international collaborations and partnerships through the Center for Global Health enable us to exchange ideas and share knowledge with public health professionals and students across the globe, and it is this sort of collaboration between many people and cultures that truly strengthens public health initiatives.

Each year, School of Public Health students engage in globally focused research, here in the United States and through international placements facilitated by the Center for Global Health.

“My study abroad experience in China allowed me to meet new people, experience new cultures, and publish two manuscripts on environmental health exposures.”

– Tia Marks, PhD student (pictured above on left)