Global Master of Arts in Global Health (Full-Time) SIT Graduate Institute

Prepare to address the unique challenges and complexities faced by health professionals globally and build your global health leadership capability.

Please note that SIT will make every effort to maintain its programs as described. To respond to emergent situations, like COVID-19, however, SIT may have to change or cancel programs.

Why a Master's in Global Health?

As global health crises increase, governments and healthcare practitioners must confront mass migration, natural disasters, and failing governance structures. The need for professionals to manage and oversee functioning healthcare systems has never been greater. This one-year master’s degree program features partnerships with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other top-notch research institutes and medical centers. At the center of the action, you will gain hands-on training, expertise, and key management and leadership skills in the field of global health.

Begin your first semester in Geneva, Switzerland, where you will meet with health policymakers and engage with technical experts at WHO and the UN. From Geneva, you will travel to Milimani, Kenya, to the SIT center in the lakeside city of Kisumu in the Lake Victoria Basin. You will learn how high burdens of infectious and non-communicable diseases are managed under experts at the Kenya Medical Research Institute at the Centre for Global Health Research, which hosts the CDC.

During your second semester in New Delhi, India, drawing from SIT’s pool of resources, partner organizations, and health experts including the South East Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization, you will explore how burgeoning populations handle diverse healthcare systems. Witness stark differences in healthcare standards, from urban to rural regions, and examine healthcare delivery, policy, design, administration, and management alongside NGOs, healthcare workers, activists, and community leaders.

In your final semester, self-design a practicum in a location of your choosing based on your own academic and professional goals. Our faculty will help guide you through SIT’s extensive network of partners across continents.

Led by co-chairs with extensive global experience specializing in epidemiology, gender, health, and human rights, you will attain an unparalleled understanding of how to meet today’s critical global issues facing healthcare professionals around the world.

Program Sites

Geneva, Switzerland

The program is launched in Geneva, a global hub of major international health organizations including the World Health Organization, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Committee of Red Cross, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. You will meet with health policymakers and engage with technical experts in WHO, and the UN. You will also enjoy the gastronomic and cultural riches of this city and bohemian districts like Carouge, a Mediterranean-style hamlet modeled after Nice. The program will also spend time in the beautiful city of Nyon, 15 minutes by train from Geneva, where SIT’s learning center also hosts another master’s program. The Swiss transport network is well-connected and you may be able to travel to other towns such as Gland, Morges, and Lausanne.

Milimani and Kisumu, Kenya

Undertake your studies in Milimani and Kisumu, the third-largest city in Kenya, on the Lake Victoria Basin. Kenya has a high burden of tuberculosis and TB/HIV coinfection and a high number of infectious and non-communicable diseases. SIT Kenya in Kisumu enjoys a strong, collaborative relationship with the Kenya Medical Research Institute at the Centre for Global Health Research, which also hosts the CDC, offering access to resources and experts.

New Delhi, India

SIT India, based in New Delhi, the capital of India, provides students with an excellent pool of resources and partner organizations including access to the South East Asia Regional Office of the World Health Organization. Visit primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare delivery institutions in rural and urban India and hear from patients, doctors, health workers, activists, and community leaders about healthcare delivery, policy, design, administration, and management.

Practicum in Location of Choice

Conduct your practicum in Kenya, India, the United States, or any other country where SIT has its learning centers.

Coursework

With SIT’s experiential curriculum, you will learn how to put theory into practice. In addition to core courses, a broad range of elective choices lets you focus on topic areas that will help you meet your career goals.

Semester One, Fall: Geneva, Switzerland and Milimani and Kisumu, Kenya (13 Credits)

• Fundamentals in Global Health
• Epidemiology of Communicable and Non-Communicable Diseases
• Bio-Security, Global Health Issues, and Challenges
• Action Research in Global Health
• Introduction to Health Economics

Semester Two, Spring: New Delhi, India (14 Credits)

• Indian Health Policy, Design, Systems, and Management
• Social Determinants, Equity, Reproductive, and Child Health
• Field Methods and Ethics in Health Sciences
• Crisis and Health Care Delivery
• Global Health Seminar Series

Semester Three, Summer: Practicum and Capstone (9 Credits)

• Practicum
• Capstone Paper
• Capstone Seminar and Presentation

Professional Practicum

The practicum is a cornerstone of SIT Global Master in Global Health. Apply learning from the classroom directly to real-world settings while getting hands-on, professional experience you can put to immediate use after you graduate.

For your final semester, SIT and your advisor will support you in finding an approved practicum with an international agency, think tank, NGO, government agency, or other organization involved in global health issues.

This experience will give you the opportunity to work in an area of your interest while expanding your professional network.

During the practicum phase, you will remain engaged with faculty and other students and receive course credit for documenting the integration of your knowledge and skills while working in a professional context. You will also complete and present a capstone paper reflecting on the experience, or undertake fieldwork or a project of your own design.

Upon successful completion of the program, students will be able to:

• Situate critical theories and practice in global health policy, administration, and management within multidisciplinary fields, encompassing socioeconomic, ethical, and professional standards, and frameworks.
• Demonstrate skills and exhibit aptitudes in global health project design, implementation, and evaluation based on the needs of a community or a country and in collaboration with multiple stakeholders.
• Use proficient competencies and managerial and leadership skills to design, plan, deliver, and advocate for global health in collaboration with local, regional, and international contexts.
• Locate and use relevant resources available at the local, regional, and global levels to inform the development, implementation, and evaluation of quality health promotion and/or disease prevention programs.
• Identify and address gaps in global health responses through the completion of a unique capstone project in the form of a research-based paper, a policy advocacy paper, or an evidence-based intervention.
• Develop critical conceptual and practical skills that prepare them for leadership positions in global health.

Career Paths

Students who have graduated with this degree have worked in careers such as:

• Global health consultant
• Epidemiologist
• Health policy analyst
• Hospital manager
• Technical expert for NGO or nonprofit
• Global health educator
• Global health researcher
• Health administration expert
• Biostatistician