(Note for Prospective Applicants: Beginning in the Fall 2012, the School is moving to a new Certificate program with more than 20 offerings including: Child, Youth, and Family Health; Public Health and Humanitarian Assistance; Global Health; and Sexuality, Sexual, and Reproductive Health. Visit the Prospective Student/Columbia MPH site for more information.)

 An interdisciplinary program, the Global Health Track includes students from five departments of the Mailman School of Public Health. Through the curriculum of the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Global Health Track students gain knowledge of the major concepts, principles, and priorities in the field of global health, as well as the skills to create, implement and evaluate programs of public health research and practice.  Students in this track benefit from opportunities to build lasting professional relationships with peers in epidemiology, health policy, sociomedical and environmental sciences.

For information on the school-wide track click here.

Track Overview

Throughout the Mailman School of Public Health, students in the Global Health Track are prepared to improve the health of populations in developing and transitioning economies.  Within the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health, Global Health track students focus upon one or more of these substantive areas:  comprehensive sexual and reproductive public health service delivery; services for adolescents and children; and/or humanitarian assistance.

The Department emphasizes pragmatic, inter-disciplinary, and human rights-based problem-solving in the health and social sectors, and includes attention to policy and health systems frameworks. Students learn through:

1. Graduate-level training in public health. The Track offers of Masters in Public Health (M.P.H.) in the Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. The curriculum includes public health core and departmental cores, as well as track-specfic courses.
2. Research, policy analysis, and partnerships. Departmental faculty members lead innovative research projects, and participate in global partnerships to contribute to the effectiveness and quality of service delivery programs.  Frequently, students become involved.
3. Direct services to populations in need, and developing innovative health programs. Departmental faculty members and research officers participate in a range of settings – such as clinics, schools, city and state governments, and national and international non-governmental organizations – to improve the quality and efficacy of public health service delivery.  Students, through practica and internships, work directly in programs that serve communities.
4. Human rights and evidence-based advocacy networks that promote health in its broadest sense.  Departmental faculty members and research officers participate in a range of networks.