Overview

The University of Miami’s Master of Arts in Global Health and Society provides a comprehensive framework of global health that underscores the sociopolitical, economic, and geographic factors that, in addition to biomedical factors, impact health conditions of various countries and populations throughout the world.Graduates of our program acquire skills in leadership and advocacy, and, combined with a deep understanding of policy and governance, are prepared to assist private, government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations formulate new global and community health strategies.

Miami is the crossroads of the hemisphere. We are uniquely positioned to study the underlying causes that affect the health of individuals, communities, and nations around the world. You will be able to take a range of interdisciplinary courses examining the emerging challenges to human health and security, the differential access and adoption of evidence-based health policies and practices, and how these interventions translate from international to community scales. This program will give you the social science knowledge and methodologies to integrate stakeholders and researchers in the design, implementation, interpretation of community-based participatory studies. 

The interdisciplinary degree is awarded by the College of Arts and Sciences.  

Admission Requirements

The Master of Arts in Global Health & Society employs a rolling admissions deadline. Students may apply for the Fall, Spring, and Summer admission. Interested students should contact the program with any questions.

  • Online Application
  • Application Fee
    • An $85.00 non-refundable application fee is paid online upon submission of the application.
  • Statement of Purpose
    • The statement of purpose is the most important element of your application packet. This letter needs to reflect who you are, your goals and why you would be an asset to the Global Health & Society program. It is very important to ensure it is grammatically correct and as detailed as possible. The statement of purpose should be no more than two pages in length. Please review before your submit. 

      Below is a link to help you get started:

      OWL Statement of Purpose Guidelines.

  • Letters of Recommendation
    • Three letters of recommendation must be provided.
  • Official Transcripts
    • You must provide official transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended. Official transcripts in languages other than English must also be submitted with a certified English translation.
  • Resume
    • Please provide a copy of your resume if it is available.
  • Admissions Interview
    • The admissions interview may be conducted in person, over the phone, or via video conference.
  • Grade Point Average (GPA)
    • A minimum overall undergraduate grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • ​Official TOEFL (or IELTS) Score

    • All international students are required to take this exam in order to demonstrate sufficient English competency. This exam is offered as a paper-based test (PBT) or an internet-based test (IBT). A score of 550 is required for the PBT or 80 for the IBT.

    • Students may also take the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam to demonstrate sufficient competency in English. A score of 6.5 or higher is required.

    • Students from countries whose primary language is English are not required to take this exam. Please visit the Graduate School's International Applicant English Proficiency webpage for more information.

    • International students from countries whose primary language is English are not required to take this exam.

Please note: Students who do not have sufficient prerequisite knowledge for their program courses, per the admissions committee of the Master of Arts in Global Health and Society, may be conditionally admitted and required to take additional courses prior to being fully admitted to the program.

Curriculum Requirements

There are three tracks in the GHS program.  Each track requires 36 graduate credits:

  • Global Health General
  • Policy, Governance and Advocacy
  • Community-Based Participatory Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (CBPR) 

Global Health General Track – The Global Health General track provides training in both qualitative and quantitative research methods.  It also allows students the ability to design their own program of elective courses according their needs.  This track is designed for professionals who are already in the health field, who those who desire to enter the health professions, but require substantial social science and epidemiological knowledge and methodologies to complete their education. These students may have strong interest in (or are already working in) developing countries or underserved areas.  Substitute courses may be permitted for some coursework that includes tailored research and independent study courses with faculty approval.

Global Health General Track
Core Courses
EPH 601Medical Biostatistics I4
APY 611Methods of Anthropological Research3
or SOC 613 Qualitative Research Methods
APY 612Advanced Medical Anthropology3
EPH 621Fundamentals of Epidemiology3
EPH 612Global Health 13
INS 6393
Electives 211-12
Capstone or Thesis (Choose one) 3
EPH 680
EPH 682
Practical Field Experience
and Generalist Capstone Project
5
APY 805
APY 810
Graduate Internship: Professional Practice of Anthropology
and Master's Degree Thesis Preparation and Writing
6
Total Credit Hours36
1

EPH 612 is only offered as a winter intersession course, requiring students to attend class from 9am-5pm for one full week.

2

Depending on the student's choice of Capstone (5 credits) or Thesis (6 credits), the student may be advised to take either 11 or 12 credits of electives,  so that their plan of study totals 36 credits. 

3

Students may choose either a Capstone or a Thesis to complete their degree.  The 5-credit Capstone is offered through the Department of Public Health Sciences at the Miller School of Medicine and requires 150 hours of fieldwork and a final project.  The 6-credit Thesis is offered through the Department of Anthropology at the College of Arts & Sciences and includes an internship, usually completed over the summer, as well as a successfully defended thesis.   


Policy, Governance and Advocacy Track – This track provides graduate students a comprehensive framework of global health that underscores the sociopolitical, economic, and geographic factors that, in addition to biomedical factors, impact health conditions of various countries and populations throughout the world. It focuses on the global health policies and governance models that are aimed at addressing these challenges. This concentration prepares interested graduate students to understand and critically evaluate global policy frameworks. Students in this track will analyze key issues and controversies in global health policy and delivery (e.g. priority setting, design of health systems, primary health care, equity considerations).  Substitute courses may be permitted for some coursework that includes tailored research and independent study courses with faculty approval.

Policy, Governance, and Advocacy Track
Core Courses
APY 612Advanced Medical Anthropology3
POL 646Public Policy Process and Implementation3
or INS 672
EPH 612Global Health 13
EPH 614Global Outbreak3
IGS 647Disasters and Humanitarian Assistance3
or INS 645
EPH 616Global Health and Global Justice3
Electives 12
APY 805
APY 810
Graduate Internship: Professional Practice of Anthropology
and Master's Degree Thesis Preparation and Writing
6
Total Credit Hours36
1

EPH 612 is only offered as a winter intersession course, requiring students to attend class from 9am-5pm for one full week.


Community-Based Participatory Research, Monitoring and Evaluation (CBPR) Track - This track will provide graduate students skills to build partnership and active participation to address critical health issues in communities throughout the world.  It provides unique social science skills to integrate community members, local stakeholders, elected officials, and researchers in the design, implementation, interpretation of community-based participatory studies as well as uses of research and evaluation results to develop integrated policies to improve the well-being of community members. Community-Based Participatory Research is a methodology that has been widely endorsed by major global health players, including the NIH’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.  Substitute courses may be permitted for some coursework that includes tailored research and independent study courses with faculty approval.

CBPR Track
Core Courses
APY 611Methods of Anthropological Research3
or SOC 613 Qualitative Research Methods
EPH 612Global Health 13
APY 616Advanced Workshop in Anthropology3
EPH 621Fundamentals of Epidemiology3
SOC 614Evaluation Research3
EPH 647Community Based Participatory Research and Social Network Analysis3
Electives12
APY 805
APY 810
Graduate Internship: Professional Practice of Anthropology
and Master's Degree Thesis Preparation and Writing
6
Total Credit Hours36
1

EPH 612 is only offered as a winter intersession course, requiring students to attend class from 9am-5pm for one full week.


 Students must satisfy foreign language competency prior to the beginning of their third semester by passing two courses taught in the target language at the 600-level or above, by completing a Directed Independent Language Study (DILS) program, or by passing a language competency exam. Students may petition for a waiver of examination if they have gained target language competency in another manner (i.e, native speaker, upper division coursework in target language, Peace Corps service, IB credits, or Defense Language Proficiency Test).

Global Health General Track 

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
FallCredit Hours
EPH 601 Medical Biostatistics I 4
APY 611 Methods of Anthropological Research 3
INS 639 3
 Credit Hours10
Spring
EPH 612 Global Health 3
APY 612 Advanced Medical Anthropology 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
Year Two
Fall
EPH 621 Fundamentals of Epidemiology 3
EPH 680 Practical Field Experience 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
Spring
EPH 682 Generalist Capstone Project 2
Elective 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours8
 Total Credit Hours36

Policy, Governance, & Advocacy Track

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
FallCredit Hours
APY 612 Advanced Medical Anthropology 3
POL 646 Public Policy Process and Implementation 3
EPH 614 Global Outbreak 3
 Credit Hours9
Spring
EPH 612 Global Health 3
INS 645 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
Year Two
Fall
EPH 616 Global Health and Global Justice 3
APY 805 Graduate Internship: Professional Practice of Anthropology 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
Spring
APY 810 Master's Degree Thesis Preparation and Writing 3
Elective 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
 Total Credit Hours36

CBPR Track

Plan of Study Grid
Year One
FallCredit Hours
APY 611 Methods of Anthropological Research 3
SOC 614 Evaluation Research 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
Spring
EPH 612 Global Health 3
EPH 647 Community Based Participatory Research and Social Network Analysis 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
Year Two
Fall
EPH 621 Fundamentals of Epidemiology 3
APY 612 Advanced Medical Anthropology 3
APY 805 Graduate Internship: Professional Practice of Anthropology 3
 Credit Hours9
Spring
APY 810 Master's Degree Thesis Preparation and Writing 3
Elective 3
Elective 3
 Credit Hours9
 Total Credit Hours36

Mission

The MA in Global Health and Society (GHS) provides students with an interdisciplinary social scientific perspective for understanding how global health outcomes relate to society, culture, and the environment. Whereas medicine itself addresses the proximate causes of health, social science perspectives address the underlying causes that affect individuals, communities, and nations. A range of interdisciplinary courses examine emerging challenges to human health and security, differential access and adoption of evidence-based health policies, practices, and interventions, community-based participatory research and evaluation, and how these translate from international to community scales.

Goals

The goals of this degree are to enable students to help build partnerships around critical health issues in communities throughout the world; develop the capacity to address and/or prevent health risks in increasingly dynamic environments; and mitigate health issues associated with global challenges such as climate change, violence, population movements, and natural disasters.

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students will analyze through a social science perspective how to understand and intervene in complex and varied social and cultural settings across local, regional, national and international landscapes.
  • Students will apply social justice, human rights, and global politics principles to discuss Health Right and Policy Advocacy strategies to address disparities across culturally and geographically defined populations.
  • Students will learn how to apply social science strategies to integrate stakeholders and researchers in participatory ethnographic research, monitoring, and evaluations on global health issues in socio-cultural and politically diverse communities throughout the world.
  • Students will identify the complexity and ethical dilemmas of global health projects in diverse economical, political, and cultural context, and promote accountability for the impact of policy decisions upon public health practice at local, national, and international levels.