Update as of March 12: Due to overwhelming interest in the course, we’ve hit capacity and have closed enrollment. There is no waitlist. If you are interested in the course and didn’t get a chance to enroll when it was open, please consider taking the course next year.

Course is ideal for Stanford students of all levels interested in a career involving global health or medicine

A spring quarter course hosted by the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health will offer students the opportunity to discuss and engage critically with current topics and pressing issues in global health through the lens of health equity and social justice. 

Med 194/294: Critical Issues in Global Health will focus on topics including but not limited to:

Two global health leaders teach the course: Dr. Michele Barry, Shenson Professor of Medicine and Tropical Diseases and director of the Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health and Dr. Geoffrey Tabin, Fairweather Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology and Global Medicine and a leader in global ophthalmology.

“This course is amazing for anyone considering a career in global health or medicine,” wrote one student reviewing last year’s course. “The speakers are leaders in their respective fields and I learned a great deal from their expertise. Dr. Barry and Dr. Tabin are fantastic instructors and truly care about your input and feedback. This class is a 10/10.”

During the course, students will hear from and engage with experts in the field and debate critical issues in global health through course discussions. Guest speakers represent a range of voices and perspectives. They include: Dr. Madhu Pai, a global health leader, health equity advocate, and tuberculosis expert; Dr. Jim O’Connell, a Boston physician who has dedicated his career to caring for people living on the streets; Dr. Agnes Binagwaho, past Minister of Health in Rwanda. Participants will gain new insights into the health equity considerations critical to addressing contemporary challenges, explore diverse perspectives on key issues, and critically consider current and potential interventions through the lens of a global health practitioner.

“This was a great course and explicitly discussed inequity within global health (as a field) as well as global health inequities themselves (such as inequitable access to vaccines, women’s health issues, and more),” wrote another student reviewing last year’s course. “The speakers are stellar, and having access to them and being able to engage with them in discussion was an incredible learning opportunity. If you are interested in global health and investigating what ‘equity’ means, or if you’re like me and interested in examining global health as a field itself, I would recommend taking this course.”

Three-unit students will investigate a global health equity challenge and present recommendations for effective interventions. Requirements include attendance and participation in class discussions, a short capstone presentation, and a final paper.

Course details: