March 25, 2003
BIRMINGHAM, AL — The School of Public Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is now accepting applications for its new International Health and Global Studies program to be offered this fall. “The program is aimed at preparing students to better address health problems shared by both developing and developed countries,” said Donna Petersen, Sc.D., senior associate dean of academic affairs for the school. “Air and water pollution, availability of vaccines, pandemics such as HIV, and global warming are just a few examples of health concerns affecting the global community, not just developing countries.”
“Today's health challenges demand professionals who are well versed in multiple public health disciplines,” said Dr. Max Michael, dean of the School of Public Health. “This program fully supports our mission as educators to foster bold, innovative public health professionals equipped to embrace these health challenges, here in Alabama and around the world.”
Previously, International Health degree programs offered by the school were based largely in epidemiology, the investigation of the causes and impact of disease outbreaks among large groups of people. “The new program is distinctly different,” Petersen said. “Students will complete initial coursework to learn the basic knowledge and skills needed to work in an international or resource-poor setting, then they will chose a specialty, either epidemiology, environmental health sciences, health behavior or maternal and child health, in which to concentrate the remainder of their studies.”
The program mirrors the public health community’s emphasis on an inter-disciplinary approach to understanding and addressing health problems. “Devising solutions to public health problems requires the consideration of socioeconomic, environmental and human health factors,” said Petersen. “These factors, which influence poor health in developing countries, also exist in resource-poor areas of developed countries. Therefore, solutions applicable to one setting may be applicable to many communities in many countries,” Petersen said.
Already, the program has received 37 applications from interested students. “The International Health program enrolled 59 students in 2002,” Petersen said. “Since the new program is an expansion of the current one, we anticipate that as many if not more students will apply by fall semester.”
The number and diversity of students enrolled in the school, particularly in International Health, reflects UAB’s reputation and commitment to preparing students for public health careers at home and abroad. “Currently, there are about 400 students enrolled in the school,” said Petersen. “Of these, about one-quarter are international students, who have traditionally been drawn more towards International Health studies. Currently, more than 50 percent of our international students are studying International Health.”
For more information about the program or other programs of study offered by UAB’s School of Public Health, visit the school’s Web site at www.soph.uab.edu or contact the Office of Student and Academic Services at (205) 934-4993.