Programs of Study

The wealth of academic, residential, and extracurricular opportunities for undergraduates at the University of Michigan creates a world of possibilities for study in global health. From this comprehensive set of options, undergraduates can design a personalized path to prepare themselves for a future in this exciting and essential field. The University’s innovative curricular and community programs of study provide an excellent foundation for careers in global health.

Many concentration programs will provide a disciplinary background relevant to future study and work in global health. For undergraduates interested in more direct academic engagement with this issue, the following options are available.

• Individual Concentration Program (ICP) in Global Health
  Each year, several students choose to undertake a degree- awarding course of study in global health using the ICP, a unique opportunity to design a personal interdisciplinary concentration program. ICs incorporate coursework from across the university; see UM-GHRT’s Undergraduate Courses listing for suggestions.
• Public Policy (B.A.)
  A liberal arts program that emphasizes multidisciplinary training in the social sciences organized around understanding the public policy process at both the domestic and international levels. Students apply their sophomore year for admission to the Ford School for their final two years of study.

Minors and specializations play a singular role in the undergraduate education experience as pioneering courses of study that push the limits of traditional concentration programs and plug students into cutting-edge academic discourses. The following three programs engage issues relevant to global health.

• International Studies Minor
  Complements its sixth-term foreign language proficiency requirement with 18 credits of study in a geographic area of emphasis and one of the following themes: human rights, international development, and international security and cooperation.
• Medical Anthropology Minor
  Uses social science theories to examine sickness, disease, and healing through 16 credits of study in two core courses, one area course, and two topical courses.
• Gender and Health Minor
  Explores how gender as a social category intersects with conceptualizations of health, healthcare, and health policy through 15 credits of study in one foundational course and four electives.

For their first year in the residence halls, incoming freshman have the option of enrolling in small learning communities and living among students with shared interests. Each community has its own unique focus. Three may be of particular interest to students thinking of pursuing careers in global health. (See a complete list)

• Health Science Scholars Program
  Provides first-year undergraduate students interested in exploring the health sciences and their related professions with a platform for intellectual engagement, professional exploration, and student growth through a residential community, a one-year exploratory core course, and opportunities to meet and observe faculty and clinicians in real-life health settings.
• Michigan Research Community
  Offers first-year students the benefits of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) along with a small, diverse residential community for academic and social support. Formerly known as UROP in Residence.
• Michigan Community Scholars
  Brings together first- and second-year students and faculty who have a commitment to community service, social justice, and academic study through focus on community and community service-learning.