Humanitarian Health - MPH
Mission:
Humanitarian action is a citizens’ response to political failure. The purpose of humanitarian action is to save lives, minimize suffering, and protect the integrity of the people, usually but not always in a short period of time. The mission of the Humanitarian Health Program is to prepare a well-versed corps of global health professionals as humanitarian practitioners to address health and related issues in humanitarian settings. This program will equip students with necessary knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy/skill-sets to assess needs, design and implement programs, and contribute to better decision-making, performance efficiency, and sound policy making within aid system and in humanitarian settings. The main strength of this program is in its breadth in building a wide range of skill-sets and to address the implementation challenges in humanitarian aid.
Goals:
The overarching goals of the program are to train students to be public health practitioners and leaders in design, implementation, and evaluation of humanitarian programs and policies through learning to:
- Understand and assess the fundamental causes of humanitarian situations and their public health challenges
- Understand and analyze the interdependence of health science, socio-political science, economics, and global governance in humanitarian situations
- Identify and apply common healthcare and socio-political and ethical tools and policies to assess and address the burden of a wide range of health and social conditions in humanitarian situations
- Produce data and evidence with scientific rigor, and assess the efficacy and effectiveness of wide range of social and health care interventions in humanitarian settings
- Generate and use best local and global level evidence for sound healthcare and socio-political policy formulation and program management, and to translate recommendations into actions that support on- the-ground humanitarian programs
- Develop strong cultural sensitivity and cross- and inter-cultural competencies within diverse health and political systems in humanitarian aid
- Develop understanding of and assume leadership positions in humanitarian aid industry and related disciplines
- Work with methodological rigor in and apply ethical frameworks and contribute to international-level priority setting, program design, implementation, and evaluation
- Communicate effectively the results of research and practice to a diverse group of stakeholders in humanitarian settings
Program Director: Ramin Asgary
- MPH Core Requirements
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PUBH 6000 | MPH Applied Practice Experience (0 credit)
PUBH 6002 | Biostatistical Applications for Public Health (3 credits)
PUBH 6003 | Principles and Practice of Epidemiology (3 credits)
PUBH 6007 | Social and Behavioral Approaches to Public Health (2 credits)
PUBH 6009 | Fundamentals of Program Evaluation (2 credits)
PUBH 6011 | Environmental & Biological Foundations of Public Health (3 credits)
PUBH 6012 | Fundamentals of Health Policy: Public Health and Healthcare (2 credits)
PUBH 6021 | Essentials of Public Health Practice & Leadership 1: Leading Self and Teams in Public Health (1 credit)
PUBH 6022 | Essentials of Public Health Practice & Leadership 2: Managing Organizations & Influencing Systems in Public Health (1 credit)
PUBH 6023 | Interprofessional Education Experience (IPE) (0 credits)
PUBH 6418 | GH Culminating Experience I: Proposal Development (1 credits)
PUBH 6419 | GH Culminating Experience 2 (1 credits)CORE TOTAL: 19 CREDITS
- Program Specific Requirements
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PUBH 6400 | Global Health Frameworks (2 credits)
PUBH 6410 | Global Health Study Design (1 credit)
PUBH 6412 | Global Health Quantitative Research Methods (3 credits)
PUBH 6416 | Ethical & Cultural Issues in Global Health Research & Programs (1 credit)
PUBH 6462 | Nutrition and Food in Large Humanitarian Emergencies (1 credit)
PUBH 6467 | Ethics, Accountability, and Current Topics in Humanitarian Assistance (3 credits)
PUBH 6468 | Preparation & Response to Epidemics, Pandemics, Mass Health Emergencies, and Disasters (2 credits)
PUBH 6480 | Public Health in Complex Emergencies (2 credits)PROGRAM-SPECIFIC TOTAL: 15 CREDITS
- Selectives
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Choose at least 6 credits from list below:
PUBH 6132 | WASH/Disaster Relief Management and Development (2 credits)
PUBH 6463 | Communication Strategies & Planning in Humanitarian Settings (2 credits)
PUBH 6464 | Mental Health and Psychosocial Issues in Humanitarian Settings (1 credit)
PUBH 6465 | Reproductive Health and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Settings (1 credit)
PUBH 6492 | Global Health Programs and Control of Chronic Diseases (2 credits)SELECTIVES TOTAL: 6 CREDITS MINIMUM
- Electives
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5 credits - any PUBH graduate level course.
ELECTIVES TOTAL: 5 CREDITS
- Non-Academic Requirements
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Professional Enhancement
Students in degree programs must participate in eight hours of Professional Enhancement. These activities may be Public Health-related lectures, seminars, or symposia related to your field of study.
Professional Enhancement activities supplement the rigorous academic curriculum of the SPH degree programs and help prepare students to participate actively in the professional community. You can learn more about opportunities for Professional Enhancement via the Milken Institute School of Public Health Listserv, through departmental communications, or by speaking with your advisor.
Students must submit a completed Professional Enhancement Form to the student records department [email protected].
Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Training
All students are required to complete the Basic CITI training module in Social and Behavioral Research prior to beginning the practicum. This online training module for Social and Behavioral Researchers will help new students demonstrate and maintain sufficient knowledge of the ethical principles and regulatory requirements for protecting human subjects - key for any public health research.
Academic Integrity Quiz
All Milken Institute School of Public Health students are required to review the University’s Code of Academic Integrity and complete the GW Academic Integrity Activity. This activity must be completed within 2 weeks of matriculation. Information on GWSPH Academic Integrity requirements can be found here.
- Past Program Guides
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Program Guides from prior Academic Years
Students in the MPH in Humanitarian Health program should refer to the guide from the year in which they matriculated into the program. For the current program guide, click the "PROGRAM GUIDE" button on the right-hand side of the page.