Global Health Program

Masters of Science in Global Health

Point of Contact
Allan Weiss
Department Manager
Phone: 703-993-3126
Email: aweiss2@gmu.edu

Dr. Lisa Pawloski
Department Chair

Professor Lorraine Rudowski
Practicum Coordinator

Graduates of this program will be given the knowledge base and skills to work and conduct research within the global health environment. Through coursework and experiential learning, students will be prepared to work in the diverse cultural and multidisciplinary environments inherent to global health. Students will learn about the fundamentals of global public health including epidemiology, environmental health, global health policies, and sociocultural influences on health and behavior. Students will also be trained on how to collaborate among not-for-profit, governmental and business sectors. Graduates will be prepared to work in international health organizations such as NGO’s, governmental organizations, and multilateral organizations, or may choose to pursue a research track and continue toward a terminal degree.

Admission Requirements

Admission to this program will require a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher education with a minimum GPA of 3.0 in the last 60 credits. The GRE (Graduate Record Examination) is required. Undergraduate courses in statistics, anthropology or sociology and natural sciences are helpful. In addition, at least 6 credits of a foreign language or equivalent will be a prerequisite for students who are not already fluent in a second language. Applications to this program will be made through the Department of Global and Community Health in the College of Health and Human Services.

Program of Study

To graduate, students will need to complete 42 credits, of which 27 will be the International Health Masters Core, 6 credits will be obtained by completing two practica projects or a research thesis, and the remainder 9 credits will be selected from a list of approved electives.

Required Courses (33)
- A Communications Course (3 credits)*
  *Must be approved by Program Coordinator/Dept. Chair
- GCH 530 (3:3:0)
  Nutrition: A Global Perspective
- GCH 543 (3:3:0)
  Global Health, Trends, and Policies
- GCH 560 (3:3:0)
  Environmental Health
- GCH 590 (3:3:0)
  International Health Organizations
- GCH 601 (3:3:0) or HAP 501
  Introduction to Biostatistics
- HAP 621 (3:3:0)
  Management of Health Service Organizations
- GCH 680 (3:3:0)
  International Research, Methods, and Ethics
- GCH 712 (3:3:0)
  Introduction to Epidemiology
Practicum or Thesis Track**
Practicum Track
- GCH 798 (3:3:0)
  Practicum I in International Health
- GCH 799 (3:3:0)
  Practicum II in International Health
Masters Thesis Track
- GCH 788 (3:3:0)
  Global Health Research I
- GCH 789 (3:3:0)
  Global Health Research II
Electives - Choose nine credits from the following
- ANTH 599 (3:3:0)
  Anthropology of Health
- ANTH 612 (3:3:0)
  Culture and Curing
- ANTH 631 (3:3:0)
  Refugees in the contemporary world
- EOS 704 (3:3:0)
  Spacial Analysis and Models of Populations
- GCH 502 (3:3:0)
  U.S. Role in global health, nutrition, and population
- GCH 583 (3:3:0)
  Food and culture
- GCH 602 (3:3:0)
  Global issues related to health and violence
- GCH 605 (3:3:0)
  Social epidemiology
- GCH 722 (3:3:0)
  Infectious Disease Epidemiology
- GCH 726 (3:3:0)
  Advanced seminar in epidemiology
- GEOG 540 (3:3:0)
  Medical geography
- GOVT 641 (3:3:0)
  Seminar on global systems
- HAP 609 (3:3:0)
  Comparative international health systems
- PUAD 636 (3:3:0)
  The NGO, managing the international nonprofit organization
- PUBP 880 (3:3:0)
  Global and international public policy
Total = 42 Credits

**Description of Practicum and Thesis Tracks

The Department will register you for the practicum or thesis only with approval from your academic advisor and after they have completed at least 27 credits of the program.

Practicum Track
For the practicum track, which entails the application of an idea or theory through fieldwork, students will be required to work a minimum of 112 hours per practicum in an international health agency under the guidance of a preceptor and their faculty advisor. Students will be encouraged to conduct one practicum abroad and one within the Washington DC region. Students must attend two seminar courses, complete a project while working in each international health agency, and produce a formal report and presentation during each practicum.

Thesis Track
For the masters thesis track, students are required to work with a committee of three faculty members. The faculty advisor within the Department of Global and Community Health, and the two other faculty members may or may not need to be a faculty within the DCGH. For the thesis, students must conduct a research project that will result in a research thesis. Their research which should be understood to entail an original design to test a theory will complement one of the faculty expertise areas within the department including: epidemiology, biostatistics, rehabilitation science, chronic illness, mental health, social networks, gerontology, nutrition, and health behavior. Students must take two thesis classes while working on their thesis. Students must develop a proposal and have it approved by their committee, before undergoing the research project. The thesis must conform to the format stated within the GMU University Library guidelines (www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections/dtwebguide/htm).

Explanation of Credit Hours
Course titles are followed by numbers in parentheses (0:0:0), separated by colons. The numbers have the following significance:

First Number: credits for the course
Second Number: hours of lecture or seminar per week for the course
Third Number: hours of laboratory for the course

For independent study, readings, topics, or similar courses, individual instructors set hours.

* The Second Practicum experience may be fulfilled through GMU's Summer International Development Institute