Global Health (Minor)
Director:
Marie Donahue
Affiliated Faculty:
Visit globalhealth.nd.edu/affiliates
The Global Health Minor (GHM) aligns with the mission of the University to have “a disciplined sensibility to the poverty, injustice, and oppression that burden the lives of so many” and to “create a sense of human solidarity and concern for the common good that will bear fruit as learning becomes service to justice.”
The GHM recognizes that health is not limited to treating diseases but that the root causes of health inequality must be addressed. Solutions to these “social determinants of health” require expertise in every discipline—including the social sciences, policy and governance, engineering, education, human rights and ethics. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of global health practice, the GHM is an ideal supplement to every major at the University.
Requirements
The GHM consists of 15 credit hours, including a required gateway course, one research methods course and two elective courses from an approved list or by permission from the director, and a capstone experience.
Gateway Course (3 credits)
The course provides foundational knowledge necessary to understand what global health is today; its history and evolution; how the application of the biosocial model is necessary to understand global health challenges and in designing effective intervention strategies; and topics such as health inequality, maternal-child health, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases, climate change, governance, and relevant international organizations.
Research Methods Course (3 credits)
Students will choose one research methods course from an approved list of courses, which focus on analytical or methodological approaches that are relevant for evaluating and understanding global health issues.
Electives (6 credits)
Students will choose two electives from approved courses encompassing a wide range of topics from across all schools and departments. Students may also take an additional research methods course as one of their electives.
Capstone Experience (3 credits)
The capstone project provides an opportunity for students to complement coursework with a global health practice experience that can be domestically or internationally based. The capstone project will include the following three components:
Experiential Learning in Global Health Practice
A one-credit course that will prepare students for any fieldwork practice component of the capstone.
Global Health Practice Capstone Project
The practice component is a supervised practical application of global health activities. By the second semester of the junior year, students will write a proposal outlining their practice project, including identifying a faculty mentor to supervise the project. The practice component may be either:
- Internship/practicum: students will work in a global health setting which may include, community organizations; health departments/agencies; non-governmental, governmental, or international organizations;
- Research: students will collaborate with a faculty member on a research project. This could include a research paper on a topic of interest (thesis), secondary analysis of an existing data set, or work on an existing project.