NYU College of Global Public Health: A unique and globally-focused education

“NYU is a great place to study Public Health. When you come to NYU’s College of Global Public Health, you really come to the center of the world where you will be surrounded by students from 40 different countries, speaking 30 different languages.” – Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, Dean and Professor, College of Global Public Health, NYU

Established in 1831, New York University (NYU) has since forged a world-renowned history of global influence and stature. The institution now represents the largest private university in the US, ranked as students’ fourth-top Dream School, alongside Stanford, Harvard and MIT.

As a platform for those who are keen to change the world, the NYU College of Global Public Health is fueled by a bold and universal vision. Here, staff and students come together to advance the wellbeing of the planet’s population, employing innovative research practice to pioneer powerful health solutions.

“The NYU College of Global Public Health is striving to be in the Top 10 Schools of Public Health within the decade,” says Professor Cheryl Healton, Dean of the college.

“We are on the cutting-edge,” she explains, “we are doing things in new and different ways. You have the opportunity to impact health worldwide, to work with world-class researchers – it’s an exciting place. It’s the place to be, whether you’re coming as an undergrad, Master’s student, or a Doctoral student.”

In line with the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a strategy that seeks to promote good health and global wellbeing, among other transformative aims – the demand for public health professionals with deep-held knowledge and technical prowess is steadily on the rise. NYU’s College of Global Public Health seeks to serve this growing need, offering students much flexibility when obtaining the Master of Public Health degree (MPH). For example, the innovative one-year Cross-Continental MPH program affords students the opportunity to complete degree requirements in an accelerated format on three continents. The hybrid SDG MPH concentration allows students to complete degree requirements by taking a combination of online and in-person courses. These creative approaches to teaching public health produce highly qualified, forward facing graduates.

In a society that’s increasingly globalized and inherently connected, it’s critical that public health professionals possess expertise that transcend borders and diverse populations. The College’s Cross-Continental MPH instills the necessary expertise, inspiring students to tackle the challenge of public health through a skills-focused, practice-based curriculum.

“We’ve created a Cross-Continental MPH program where you’ll begin your studies here in the United States, move onto another country within the globally networked university – of which there are 14 sites worldwide – and then move onto yet a third location and finish your degree in a one-year period,” says Healton. “This exciting new degree allows you to graduate having lived and worked on three different continents within a 12-month period.”

This ground-breaking degree program currently alternates between sites in Washington DC, New York City, Accra, and Abu Dhabi or Florence, encompassing practice and field placement experience in these diverse settings. In addition to granting the tools you need to elevate your profession, this program pledges global perspectives and insights you can use to heal a connected population.

Developed in partnership with associates at the United Nations and health ministries of the developing world, the College’s hybrid SDG MPH prepares students to address the spreading skills gap in global public health. While most sector professionals demonstrate elite technical skill in the prevention of fatal epidemics – including deadly infections like HIV and malaria – crucial managerial and analytic components are often overlooked, hindering the efficiency of resource and healthcare allocation.

But that’s exactly why NYU created the SDG MPH: to empower public health representatives with a foundation that allows them to think faster, work better, and above all save the lives of people most in need.

“We developed this program to teach vital practical skills so that by the time you’re finished, you’re qualified to deliver a budget or strategy, or an investment case for public health programming, that you can deliver to your health ministry or your district health office, or to your county health office to try to argue for better programming,” says Chris Dickey, Program Director of Global Health at the College of Global Public Health.

The program launched this fall and calls for applications from all corners of the globe. It promises a gold-standard education delivered both on- and off-line, pledging a unique flexibility that means you don’t have to leave your job. Learning is detailed and instant, granting an internationally-relevant bedrock of knowledge you can apply straight to your work.

“We’re looking for people who have some technical skill and experience working in the country, but we want to make you much, much better at your job,” Dickey explains. “We want to make it so that you have a much bigger impact on your health system after you finish.”

At NYU’s College of Global Public Health, students leave readily-equipped with the critical thinking skills, dedicated acumen, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to revolutionize the public health paradigm.

“It’s a place for bold thinkers, it’s a place for people who want to change the world,” Healton concludes.

“What really matters is that first, you are motivated to improve the world. You’re interested in the health of people worldwide, and you want to contribute in some fundamental way to improving it. There’s a place for people in public health who care, and to me that’s a fundamental requirement.”

Interested? Request more information form NYU here, and follow NYU’s College of Global Public Health on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram

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