Program Description

At Stanford, we feel that medical students should learn how to apply their newly acquired medical and scientific expertise to help those in greatest need.  One prominent example of this is in the field of Global Health. This idealism has been an engine for scholarship and service in the developing world.  The Global Health Application will provide a framework for learning the discipline-based material required to approach a global health problem and will help build the knowledge and skills required to identify opportunities and apply discipline-based expertise in the field.

The coursework requirements can be fulfilled through a diverse choice of classes in many disciplines, offering students the opportunity to build a foundation of skills to help them work in Global Health. The coursework requirements can be oriented towards an individual student's interest, and in consultation with their mentors, result in an individualized experience aligned with a student's goals.

Because so much of Global Health is practiced overseas, our concentration believes it is important to gain experience working in such settings, through a well-mentored research project abroad.

All students enrolled in the GH application are required to do at least one full quarter, and preferably four full quarters of research in an international setting.  Students are expected to attend informal sessions in which they will present their ideas for projects, faculty will be available to discuss opportunities, and students completing projects will present their work, its pros and cons, and future opportunities in their research site.