The Sparkman Center is proud to collaborate with international partners to offer international global health-related internships and practicum opportunities for eligible UAB students over the summer. These travel awards provide elite educational experiences that enrich UAB students. In-person internships are supported with a $3,000 travel stipend to cover airfare and some living expenses.
As part of the preparation for summer internships, students will participate in an online training with the Sparkman Center. Topics that will be covered in the training modules are country-specific research, global health practice, safety, and ethics.
Internship Experiences
Current Internship Sites
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Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
Partner Organization: Center for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
Location: Lusaka, Zambia
About: CIDRZ is an independent, local, non-governmental health organization that has been an active partner of the Government of the Republic of Zambia through the Ministry of Health, and other Ministries through 2001. Their mission is to improve access to quality healthcare through innovative capacity development, implementation science and research, and impactful and sustainable public health programs. CIDRZ experts utilize innovative and collaborative approaches to develop research, health services, and training initiatives with measurable results.
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Buiga-Sunrise Centre
Partner Organization: Buiga-Sunrise Centre
Location: Banda Kyandaaza, Uganda
About: Buiga-Sunrise Centre is a registered Ugandan community-based organization, Canadian charity, and US non-profit. Their mission is to empower, educate, and equip communities through a holistic combination of education, healthcare, and income-generating activities. Buiga works with community members to identify community assets and build upon them to break the cycle of poverty.
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Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)
Partner Organization: Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
About: CVC is a coalition of community leaders and non-governmental agencies that are advocates and service providers, working with and on behalf of Caribbean populations who are especially vulnerable to HIV infection or often forgotten in access to treatment and healthcare programs.
Highlighting Past Internship Sites
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Nashulai Maasai Conservancy
Partner Organization: Nashulai Maasai Conservancy
Location: Maasai Mara, Kenya
About: Nashulai is the first Maasai conservancy in the Maasai Mara to be created, governed, and managed by the people whose ancestors have inhabited this beautiful land for centuries, understand it intimately, and have sustained themselves and their herds in harmony with the natural life of this globally important ecosystem. Their mission – conserve wildlife, preserve culture, and reverse poverty – is both profoundly simple and very complex, because each dimension is critically interdependent.
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Koç University
Partner Organization: Koç University
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
About: The Department of Public Health is part of the School of Medicine at Koç University in Istanbul. The department engages in training medical and graduate students in public health, as well as a variety of community-based population health activities. This includes collaborations with nongovernmental organizations like the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (ASAM).
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Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)
Partner Organization: Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC)
Location: Kingston, Jamaica
About: CVC is a coalition of community leaders and non-governmental agencies that are advocates and service providers, working with and on behalf of Caribbean populations who are especially vulnerable to HIV infection or often forgotten in access to treatment and healthcare programs.
Interested in Becoming a Global Health Intern?
Eligibility Criteria
UAB junior or senior undergraduate students (3.25 GPA minimum), graduate, and doctoral students in good academic standing who will be enrolled at the time of travel are eligible for placement. Domestic and international students can apply.
Application Process
Only electronic applications will be considered. For an application to be considered for selection, all fields need to be completed. Once you have submitted the form below, you will receive a conformation email of your submission. (Remember to check your spam or junk folder.) If you do not receive a confirmation email within the hour, resubmit your application.
Do not reach out directly to the organizations that will be hosting summer interns. All applications and placements will be processed through the Sparkman Center.
If applicable - all necessary approvals for training and potential foreign travel related to this award, including approvals from the UAB Office of Education Abroad and UAB Institutional Review Board, must be obtained prior to the travel start date.
Approvals are not required for application submission.
Contact your department advisor for further requirements and academic credit. If you are a School of Public Health Student, contact the Office of Public Health Practice for further requirements and academic credit.