Eck Institute for Global Health launches global health minor in fall 2023
Beginning in the fall of 2023, the Eck Institute for Global Health (EIGH) will launch a new 15-credit Global Health minor, open to all Notre Dame undergraduate students who are interested in studying global health.
Students in the minor will take a gateway course called “Foundations of Global Health.” The program will also feature a research methods course that can be chosen from a variety of fields and two other electives within the subject area. The list of courses for the electives is intentionally extensive to allow students to customize the minor in alignment with their interests. The final requirement will be a capstone project, which encompasses the practical application of global health.
“Because there are so many ways of practicing global health, we wanted to give students an opportunity to do different things,” associate teaching professor Marie Donahue explained.
Students can write a thesis on a chosen topic, collaborate with faculty on a research project, or complete an internship. The final projects will be shared with the respective collaborators and at a special colloquium held in the spring of each year.
While other health-related minors are available to undergraduate students at the University of Notre Dame, the Minor in Global Health is unique in providing students with the opportunity to promote research, training, and service that advances health equity with an international focus in mind.
“Global health is multidisciplinary,” Donahue said. “A lot of people think health is just limited to people who want to do clinical practice, but I always say ‘if you give me a major, I can tell you how it fits with global health.’”
The minor will be led by Donahue, who was previously a pediatric nurse practitioner before broadening her work to include public health — championing equitable healthcare across the globe. She is currently a faculty member for the EIGH, where she has been developing and instructing global health courses for more than four years.
Applications are available to students to enroll in the minor as early as the spring semester of their first year. Students are welcome to complete their applications throughout the calendar year for acceptance into the program.
“There has never been a more exciting time for undergraduate students to be engaged in global health,” said Dr. Bernard Nahlen, Faculty Director of the EIGH and Professor of Biological Sciences. “For example, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us again not only how quickly diseases can spread globally but also how innovative research can rapidly provide effective tools for diagnosis, prevention and treatment. The ongoing challenge is to make sure that all people, everywhere, are able to benefit equally from tools developed to alleviate the global burden of disease. We welcome students to become players in this global effort and I encourage anyone interested to reach out to us for more details.”
Learn more about the Minor in Global Health at globalhealth.nd.edu/minor.
Contact:
Christine Grashorn, Communications Specialist
Notre Dame Research / University of Notre Dame
cgrashor@nd.edu / 574.631.4856
research.nd.edu / @UNDResearch
About the Eck Institute for Global Health
The University of Notre Dame's Eck Institute for Global Health (EIGH) serves as a university-wide enterprise that recognizes health as a fundamental human right and works to promote research, training, and service to advance health standards and reduce health disparities for all. The EIGH brings together multidisciplinary teams to understand and address health challenges that disproportionately affect the poor and to train the next generation of global health leaders.