Graduate Certificate Program in Global Health of Women, Adolescents, and Children

The health of women, adolescents, and children (WACh) are intertwined and essential for societal well-being. Three of the eight Millennium Development Goals focus on maternal and child health (MCH), indicating recognition of the importance of dramatically improving maternal and child health by 2015. The courses selected as the requirements and electives of this certificate program are intended to give graduates a broad range of skills required by professionals in the Global WACh field. Coursework selected will introduce students to major health issues and methods of prevention related to achieving healthy women, adolescents, and children as well as issues that are faced by those in developing countries. The curriculum is designed to give students a base of knowledge they can draw from when faced with a variety of issues in resource poor settings. Required courses were selected to ensure that all students in the Global WACh certificate program receive a comprehensive overview of the following themes:

 

 

Students must complete the required 15 credits of coursework and 3 credit capstone project for a total of 18 credits to qualify for the Global WACh Certificate. The course requirements are distributed in the following manner: 

GH 544 Maternal and Child Health in Developing Countries (3) 

 

Select one of the following Global Health courses (3 credits): 

GH 501 Introductory Topics in Global Health (1) 

GH 502 Contemporary Issues in Global Health (1) 

GH 503 Multidisciplinary Perspectives in Global Health (1)

or 

GH 511 Problems in Global Health (3) 

The remaining 9 credits can be chosen from the electives listed on the Certificate Planning Form

Overlap of coursework applied towards the certificate program and degree program must not exceed 6 credits and is limited to elective coursework in each program. Core course requirements of a degree program may not be counted toward the certificate. For students completing more than one graduate certificate, coursework maynot overlap between certificate programs. Therefore students are strongly encouraged to work with the coordinator of their degree program and with Certificate staff to develop a specific course plan that will meet the requirements of both the degree and the certificate. Courses taken prior to admission to the Certificate Program may be counted retroactively with permission of the Certificate Staff. Students may petition to have additional courses count towards the elective requirement if they provide the department with a copy of the course syllabus and readings to determine approval by the Departmental faculty and Certificate Staff. 

 

Students are required to complete a 3 credit capstone project as part of the certificate program. Capstone projects may focus on research, laboratory methods, intervention implementation, service, policy, or evaluation. A wide variety of types of project will be considered in order to support the interdisciplinary composition of students in the certificate program. These projects are expected to be designed to enhance interdisciplinary learning through hands-on experience and should be designed to address a topic relevant to at least 2 of the 3 populations (women, children, adolescents).

 

Students will present their capstone projects in a poster presentation at an annual meeting organized by the Department of Global Health for faculty and students each year. A selected number of students will be asked to present their capstone in a brief 10 minute oral presentation during this conference.

 

 

Applications for the Certificate in Global Health of Women, Adolescents, and Children are accepted throughout the year and reviewed quarterly. The following items are required for application:

 

Please email these forms to:

info@GlobalWACh.org 

 

or send to:

 

Michael Ruffo

Program Manager, Global WACh Certificate

Department of Global Health

Harborview Medical Center

Box 359909 

325 Ninth Avenue

Seattle, WA 98104

206-685-9659