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Academic Programs

Northwestern University has diverse opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students to become involved with Global Health both here on campus and abroad. Students are able to integrate Global Health into their educational experiences through academic coursework, research opportunities, or international field programs. Northwestern University promotes an interdisciplinary approach to Global Health, targeting students and faculty of diverse training including anthropology, engineering, business, journalism, public health, and medicine. 

Undergraduate

  • International Program Development (IPD) / Global Health Studies

    The Office of International Program Development (IPD), directs Weinberg's undergraduate Global Health Minor. This program includes diverse course options and international opportunities for students to study, conduct research, and gain hands-on experience in Chile, China, Cuba, France and South Africa. The mission of the program is to provide students, faculty, and future public health practitioners with the necessary skills to understand international health issues, learn about domestic and international approaches to international crisis management, and, ultimately, deal more effectively with our own diverse population.


Graduate 

Feinberg School of Medicine

  • The Center for Global Health

    The Center for Global Health integrates global health education programming and faculty research initiatives in the field of global health within the Feinberg School of Medicine, and encourages FSM students and McGaw residents to engage in global health in a meaningful way via research projects, supervised clinical work, and public health projects at both affiliated and unaffiliated universities, health clinics, and INGOs around the world.  Additionally, the center provides a space for NU faculty and research professionals with interests in global health to collaborate on research opportunities and new proposals.

  • The Program in Public Health 

    The Master of Public Health Degree Program aims at providing students with a broad perspective on the definition and promotion of health, incorporating concepts of prevention, health promotion, health care organization and delivery, and population-based research and intervention. Students will have an interdisciplinary public health knowledge base derived from relevant areas including biomedical and social scientific theories and empiric evidence. The Master of Public Health Degree Program offer stheree degrees: A part-time Master of Public Health degree (MPH) consiting of evening classes; the MD/MPH degree, which is a combined medical and public health degree, designed for medical students enrolled in Northwestern's Feinberg School of Medicine; and the MSEB degree, which is an intensive four-quarter (1 calendar year) Master of Science degree program in epidemiology and biostatistics.

Kellogg School of Management 

  • The Global Health Initiative

    Kellogg's Global Health Initiative is a partnership between private industry, non-profit donors and academia to develop products that address health issues facing underserved communities around the world. The premise of the Global Health Initiative (GHI) is for medical product companies to donate proprietary intellectual property (IP) that improves treatment of diseases like malaria, TB and AIDS, which, however, is not considered financially viable for the asset owners to develop internally. It is the responsibility of the academic partners within GHI to provide scientific talent and managerial expertise, mainly in the form of doctoral students and MBA candidates, to develop that IP and take the products to market.  The research and development is funded within the non-profit community, eager to bring business discipline and innovation to global health problems. Since its inception in 2004, alomost 500 Kellogg students have actively participated in research and development efforts. Projects have included market research, public policy issues, market entry strategy, and product design and device specifications.  International academic partners include Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in Mbarara, Uganda.

McCormick School of Engineering

  • Center for Innovation in Global Health Technologies (CIGHT)

    Through CIGHT, the Master’s Degree Programs in Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Engineering offer the certificate program in Global and Ecological Engineering. This four-quarter program trains engineers to become globally competent in either biomedical or environmental engineering and sustainability. This certificate program is run concurrently with the existing biomedical and environmental engineering master’s programs with one additional quarter, and includes a summer research project in Cape Town, South Africa, Chicago, Illinois or other locations.

    For masters students in biomedical or environmental engineering, CIGHT offers the Certificate in Global and Ecological Health Engineering. Designed for students who plan to work in positions outside of the United States or beyond the traditional borders of industry, the Certificate in Global and Ecological Health Engineering provides students with focused training in context-sensitive biomedical and environmental engineering design. Areas of study include: Diagnostics for the developing world, information delivery systems for resource poor settings, context-appropriate and sustainable healthcare technologies, training strategies for culturally diverse contexts, and recognition and management of emerging environmental threats.