Global Health Certificate

The Global Health Certificate provides students with a framework to demonstrate their knowledge and skills acquired to address complex global health challenges in a changing global environment.  As of September 2022, the Global Health Inititative is pausing the Global Health Certificate Program.  As we sunset the offering, please contact Dawn Carey with any questions or interest in the certificate.  She can be reached at dawn.e.carey@dartmouth.edu.

About the Program

The Global Health Certificate provides students with a framework to demonstrate the knowledge and skills they have acquired to address complex global health challenges in a changing world. The Certificate combines coursework from across the curriculum with a field experience in global health. Students completing the certificate are required to demonstrate an understanding of concepts, methods, and emerging issues in global health through a final capstone project. The Global Health Certificate is open to undergraduate students from all disciplinary backgrounds and may be completed in combination with the Anthropology Minor in Global Health.

Requirements

The certificate requires successful completion of two required core and two elective courses in global health as well as the completion of a capstone experience or project that must represent work completed independently of a class.  

Four Required Courses

Topics, Concepts and Issues in Global Health (select one course):

  • Global Health and Society (Geography 21)
  • Biomedical Engineering for Global Health (Engineering 16)
  • Global Health Systems (Sociology 86)
  • Emerging Infectious Diseases: How Microbes Rule the World (Biological Sciences 11)
  • Global Environmental Health (Environmental Studies Program 28)
  • The Geographies of Health and Disease (Geography 56)
  • Anthropology of Global Health (Anthropology 55)

Research Methods and Ethics (select one course):

  • Applications of Calculus to Medicine and Biology (Math 4)
  • Introduction to Statistical Methods (Economics 20)
  • Biostatistics (Biological Sciences 29)
  • Statistical Methods in Engineering (Engineering 93)
  • Qualitative Methods and Research Process in Geography (Geography 11)
  • Research Methods Course: Government 10, Economics 10, Mathematics 10, Psychology 10 or Sociology 10
  • Research Methods in Anthropology (Anthropology 18)

Elective Classes (select two courses):

  • Environmental Justice (Anthropology 12.6)
  • The Anthropology of Health and Illness (Anthropology 17)
  • Asian Medical Systems (Anthropology 45)
  • Health and Disease in Evolutionary Perspective (Anthropology 62)
  • Ecology of Infectious Diseases (Biology 50.02)
  • Earth Resources (Earth Sciences 9)
  • Development Economics (Economics 24)
  • Topics in Developing Economics (Economics 44)
  • Healthcare and Biotechnology in the 21st Century (Engineering Sciences 5)
  • Introduction to Biomedical Engineering (Engineering Sciences 56)
  • Natural Resources, Development and the Environment (Environmental Studies 39)
  • Global Poverty and Care (Geography 4.01)
  • Climate Change and the Future of Agriculture (Geography 9)
  • Food and Power (Geography 15)
  • Moral Economies of Development (Geography 16)
  • Geopolitics and Third World Development (Geography 17)
  • Body Parts, Body Wholes: An Introduction to the Comparative History of Medicine (History 8)
  • Global History of Human Rights (History 96.33)
  • Molecular Markers in Human Health Studies (QBS 132)
  • Population and Society (Sociology 20)
  • Health Disparities (Sociology 34)
  • Sociology of Mental Health (Sociology 35)
  • Global Health Field Research: Methods and Practice (INTS 82.01)

Course substitutions must be approved by the Certificate Advisory Committee.  AP Credits may not be used in fulfillment of the course requirements. Courses taken in fulfillment of major and minor requirements, including the Anthropology Minor in Global Health, can count toward the Global Health Certificate.

To request a course substitution, please send an email to Dawn Carey in the Dickey Center (dawn.e.carey@dartmouth.edu), with "GH Certificate Substitution Request" in the subject line and a 1-2 paragraph justification for the substitution in the bosy of the email.

Capstone Project

Capstone projects enable students to apply fundamental concepts and skills to real-world health challenges. Capstone projects include a field experience and a final project. Both the field experience and final project must represent work completed independently of a course (with the exception of an honors thesis).

Field Experiences

  • Field experiences must be a minimum of four consecutive full weeks, or 28 days, at 40 hours per week.
  • Field experiences must be completed at a single institution or on one project. Candidates may complete requirements over a longer period (i.e. a weekly internship at a health department lasting six months) but may not combine several experiences to fulfill the requirement.
  • Field experiences may be done at a domestic or international institution working on global health and health equity issues.  
  • US based field experiences may either be done with an institution working with populations or issues outside of the US or be focused on domestic health equity issues.
  • Clinical shadowing may not be used to fulfill the field experience requirement.
  • All research must be conducted under the supervision of a faculty member or a site supervisor and be directly applicable to a global health challenge. Basic laboratory research may not be counted for the requirement.
  • All Global Health Initiative Internships are pre-approved for field experiences.
  • International travel and/or funding from the Dickey Center or other Dartmouth centers are not required.

Final Project

Candidates complete a written paper or project synthesis report. Candidates may not submit an internship report for the capstone paper. Students may select one of the following projects:

  • 1500-2000-word paper on a global health topic related to student's field experience and coursework;
  • Op-ed written on a global health topic related to the student's field experience and coursework accompanied by reflective essay;
  • Program proposal or evaluation based on student's field experience;
  • One to two chapters from an honors thesis involving primary research on a global health topic or issue;
  • Curated photo essay of original work that illuminates a global health issue;
  • Published article based on independent research or faculty-mentored research;
  • Poster presentation at an external conference accompanied by reflective essay;
  • Documentary or multimedia presentation accompanied by reflective essay;
  • Final deliverable from GHI Internship.

Reflective essays should be a minimum of 1000 words and should contain critical analysis of the project and self-reflection on the student's learning.

Final projects developed as part of a team must be accompanied by a description of the applicant's role in the work.

Application

Candidates for the Global Health Certificate may apply at any time in their Dartmouth career. Graduating seniors completing a final course requirement in spring term may apply for provisional approval in their final term, pending successful completion of the final requirement. Candidates submit a transcript, capstone project, and other materials in support of the application through the online application form.  If you are interested in the Global Health Certificate, please contact Dawn Carey at dawn.e.carey@dartmouth.edu.  

Application deadlines for 2021-2022/2022-23:

Spring 2022 -- May 8, 2022

Fall 2022 -- October 23, 2022