Global Health Overview

Beginning in Fall 2012, the Mailman School will be offering a Certificate in Global Health as part of the Columbia MPH program. The Certificate replaces the School’s Global Health track and builds on our faculty’s extensive history of global health research and service programs. Open to students from any department, the program builds upon the core curriculum and departmental expertise to equip students with knowledge and skills that can be applied in settings around the world.

Our faculty members are leaders in the development of global health research and service programs that have transformed the practice of reproductive health care, AIDS care and treatment, refugee health, and the management of environmental toxins in developing countries. This strong base of faculty research and service contributes to a rich learning environment in which students master both the theory and practice of public health.

In addition, our location in New York City offers students access to the myriad of global health NGOs and foundations based in the city. Students also have access to the United Nations and affiliated organizations, and can interact with numerous immigrant populations in whose home countries they will later work. Among the University's wealth of student resources, programs such as The Earth Institute, the Millennium Villages Project, and the School of International and Public Affairs offer significant and unique opportunities to learn about economic and political strategies that influence global public health.

Sample course requirements:

Priorities in Global Public Health
Advanced Topics in Global Health

Sample course electives:

Advanced Topics in Global Health
HIV and Health Systems

Practicum Experience for the MPH

The practicum component of the Global Health Track and new Certificate program requires that students spend six months in an overseas field site learning to translate theory into practice. Students have the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking global health initiatives based both at Columbia University and with other prominent NGOs and international organizations, including, but not limited to:

This unique practicum experience offers a critical opportunity for professional development that often enhances career opportunities post-graduation. A small sample of the wide array of practicum projects in which our students have participated includes:

conducting needs assessment and creating a micro-credit intervention for Injecting Drug Users (IDU) to reduce recidivism in Bangladesh.
acquiring and contributing skills to monitoring malaria incidents and training health workers and teachers in optimal malarial abatement strategies in Kenya.
designing an income-generation program to enable People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) to purchase nutritious foods in Panama.

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“New York City seems to attract people who have a global perspective. Our students find it to be a very rich environment where they are constantly exposed to global health issues whether it be in the classroom, at special events hosted by the Mailman School or the University, or through internships with international foundations and organizations such as the United Nations.”

Anne Paxton, DrPH ’94, MPH ‘84
-Associate Professor of Clinical Epidemiology and Clinical Population and Family Health
-Director, Master's Program, Department of Epidemiology
-Director, Global Health Track

Visit our Global Health Track pages.

Academic Programs