Education

Global health issues know no political or geographic boundaries. Due to rapid commerce and travel, infectious diseases can spread globally in a few days. Due to climate change and pollution, the health of populations is affected everywhere, especially in poor and vulnerable communities. Global health issues are complex and must be addressed from a multidisciplinary lens: clinical, economic, technological, political, environmental, infrastructural, social, and cultural. By cultivating partnerships between countries, universities, stakeholders, and the people most affected, we are more likely to discover practical and long-term solutions to be successful.

According to Healthy People 2030 improving global health can improve health in the United States and support national and global security interests by fostering political stability, diplomacy, and economic growth worldwide. U.S. investments in improving health in developing countries provide significant public health benefits within the U.S. Many global health issues can directly or indirectly impact the health of the United States. Outbreaks of infectious diseases, food-borne illnesses, or contaminated pharmaceuticals and other products, cannot only spread from country to country but also impact trade and travel. The U.S. can also learn from the experiences of other countries. 

Global Health Course Listings

The College of Public Health and the Center for Global Health and Development are pursuing the creation of additional courses in Global Health. Current course listings include:

CPH 559 Learning Across Borders: A Global Health Travel Experience

This course will provide an overview of global health issues and allow students to experience being a student who crosses borders to study public health in action in a destination country.

View the 2024 course syllabus

Learn More

CPH 568, HSRA 868 Global Health Systems

This course focuses on structures and roles of international organizations including the World Health Organization, United Nations Children’s Fund, and the World Bank in global health, as well as the concepts of global health architecture and security. It also shares insights into core components and functions of national health systems, including public health systems, around the world, emphasizing areas of similarity and differences. Other topics include global health economics and financing, global determinants of disease and health, global health care and public health innovations, and health care and public health systems evaluation.

View the 2022 course syllabus