Educational Opportunities

Practicing Global Health at the Boonshoft School of Medicine

On this page:

Global Health Scholars Program

The Global Health Scholars Program is a longitudinal certificate program across the four years of medical school, with a graduation award. The components of the certificate program are:

  • Global Health Foundations 1: didactic course during first year of medical school
  • Global Health Field Experience 1: international service trip summer following first year of medical school
  • Global Health Foundations 2: didactic course during second year of medical school
  • Global Health Elective 2: options include clinical field experience abroad or local/non-clinical elective studies
  • Global Health scholarly work

The GHSP gives its students an opportunity to practice clinical skills and apply public health outreach and patient education in the real world before clerkships. Through participation, students gain professional and personal development toward addressing health disparities, health equity initiatives and program/project leadership.

Global Health Electives

All students at BSOM have the opportunity for many kinds of electives during their third- and fourth-year rotations.  BSOM has cultivated partnerships with sites around the world and with the Indian Health Service that can provide a variety of clinical rotation experiences in a variety of settings including primary care, surgery, and OB-GYN.  There are additional elective opportunities for Global Health Scholars Program students that further expand learning on concepts in program support and development, public health education and outreach, and scholarly project completion. 

  • Clinical elective 2,4,6 weeks available – open to all BSOM students
  • Additional non-clinical electives 2–4 weeks available – open to only GHSP students

“Glocal” Partnerships

Recognizing that global and local public health concerns may converge in communities that welcome refugees and immigrants, BSOM faculty and students participate in “glocal” health programs and initiatives that assist community immigrants and refugees. These include:

International Partnerships

The GHSP has sustained partnerships with international programs to provide its students with field experiences that support the competencies defined by the Consortium of Universities for Global Health.  Students in the GHSP may complete up to two rotations with our partners.

Because each of the programs below has a direct connection with the BSOM, we are confident that they are well-designed, providing meaningful and appropriate experiences for students, with adequate supervision. Moreover, each of these programs is known to be effectively coordinated with local health systems and services, avoiding some of the risks and disruptions that can result from short-term volunteering in global health.

Global Health M.D./M.P.H.