Master of Public Health (MPH)

Global Health Concentration

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Our signature philosophy is that there is no difference between global health and public health.

Designed to train professionals to solve public health problems locally and globally, the Global Health concentration provides students with skills to advance the health and well-being of populations in diverse global settings. Students will gain skills in the development, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs and projects that are aligned with local culture, contexts, and resources. This concentration is available only in a residential format.

Student Spotlight

Lein Soltan
Why I Chose UNC Gillings
I chose UNC Gillings because of its amazing faculty, welcoming environment, and its reputation for being a leader in public health both locally and globally. Now that I am here, I get to experience UNC Gillings' dedication to students firsthand. We have the opportunity to learn from world-class faculty who value their students and always make themselves accessible to us.
Check out our list of 80+ global health faculty
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What You’ll Learn

As a student in the Master of Public Health (MPH) concentration in Global Health, you will enhance the foundational skills from your MPH core with additional focus on the planning, implementation and evaluation of global health programs. The courses in the concentration will equip you with the advanced skills needed to:

  • Use quantitative and qualitative data to analyze the challenges to achieving health outcomes in low resource settings;
  • Develop programs to deliver evidence-based interventions to address these challenges;
  • Analyze barriers to implementation and sustainment of programs and strategies in order to overcome these barriers;
  • Monitor the quality of program implementation and evaluate program outcomes; and
  • Engage in interdisciplinary problem solving with multinational teams.

Both residential and online students can take advantage of the many global health organizations located in the Research Triangle Park area bordering the University of North Carolina. We have close partnerships with organizations such as FHI360, RTI and IntraHealth International in addition to broad contacts with health departments in North Carolina and relationships with diverse research and practice institutions worldwide. Through these connections, we will provide you with opportunities to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to real-world problems.

Download an introductory slideset (PDF).

Career Information

Hosted by the Gillings School’s Departments of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Health Behavior, Maternal and Child Health, and Public Health Leadership Program, the Global Health concentration is designed for a broad range of professionals from a variety of disciplines who are interested in working on public health problems in resource-constrained settings outside the United States, or with foreign or vulnerable populations who face challenges to health because of similar resource constraints in the U.S. and other wealthy nations. Graduates in this concentration will be equipped to make immediate contributions to government agencies, nonprofits, private sector companies, research institutes, universities and international organizations.

Some possible job titles for graduates of this concentration include:

  • Program officer
  • Program coordinator
  • Project manager
  • Public health analyst
  • Monitoring and evaluation specialist
  • Implementation specialist
  • Quality improvement advisor

Learn more about the opportunities that await you with an MPH from the Gillings School.

Required Courses

In addition to the interdisciplinary, 14-credit Gillings MPH Core, you will take:

  • PUBH 711: Critical Issues in Global Health
  • HBEH 780: Program Planning & Proposal Development for Global Health
  • MHCH 780: Cultural Humility
  • HBEH 784: Implementation Science for Global Health
  • HBEH 782: Professional Development
  • MHCH 723: Introduction to Monitoring and Evaluation
  • PUBH 710: Global Health Ethics
  • ENVR 992: Integrated Learning Experience

Concentration Competencies

This program will empower you with the knowledge and skills to achieve the following core competencies:

  • Analyze how the roles, relationships, and resources of entities influencing global health policies and practices affect disparities in health outcomes.
  • Develop methods to select, recruit and engage a diverse range of stakeholders to advance research, policy and practice in global health and to achieve sustainable results in resource-constrained settings.
  • Develop skills for monitoring and evaluating the processes and outcomes of global health programs and policies.
  • Apply strategies to work effectively in diverse local and global sociocultural and political settings.
  • Apply ethical approaches in global health research and practice.

Requirements and Sample Plan of Study

Global Health Degree Requirements and Study Plan (PDF)

Ready to Apply? Visit our Apply page for more information.

Contact

Want to learn more?

William Gillison202B Rosenau Hallwgilliso@unc.edu

Concentration Leaders

Suzanne Maman, PhD
Professor
Department of Health Behavior
maman@email.unc.edu

W. Oscar Fleming, DrPH
Assistant Professor
Public Health Leadership Program
oscar.fleming@unc.edu

Ilene Speizer, PhD
Professor
Department of Maternal and Child Health
ilene_speizer@unc.edu

Jill Stewart, PhD
Professor
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
jill.stewart@unc.edu