Photo credit: Annie Spratt, via unsplash.com
Next Offered Spring Quarter, 2027 | Wednesdays, 9:30-11:20am
Application required – see below for details
In this course, participants will discuss and engage critically with current topics and pressing issues in global health through the lens of health equity and social justice. Topics include: the consequences of global funding cuts, how nations heal from trauma; mental health, global blindness and inequities, women’s leadership in global health, global vaccine equity, and new technologies and AI and the future of global health.
Students will hear from and engage with experts in the field and debate critical issues in global health through course discussions. Three-unit students will investigate a global health equity challenge and present recommendations for effective interventions. A sample of last year’s speakers include: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Madhu Pai, Dr. Mamphela Ramphele, Vanessa Kerry, and Dr. Olufunke Fasawe.
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.
Requirements for the course for 3-unit students include attendance and participation, an outline submission, a short capstone presentation, and a final paper. Students who choose to take the course for 2-units will be required to submit a key takeaways paper at the end. The teaching team will be holding a discussion section on Wednesdays, 11:30am – 12:30pm (right after class). Students are strongly encouraged to attend the discussion session and will receive extra credit points. The discussion is a valuable opportunity to engage with both course professors in a small, intimate setting and to learn valuable skills that will assist students in completing the course requirements. The TAs will walk through engaging exercises to help three-unit students prepare for their final projects. Exercises from last year include: guided walk-throughs of midterm outline and final papers, and a global health case study – if you were a policy maker, what would you do?
This course will be taught by Dean Michele Barry, Director of the Center for Innovation in Global Health, and Dr. Geoffrey Tabin, Professor of Ophthalmology and Global Medicine and co-founder of the internationally renowned Himalayan Cataract Project.
This course is open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and medical students. All students will be expected to post questions for guest speakers and post reflections in Canvas weekly. Students are highly encouraged to attend the optional discussion session facilitated by the teaching team held every Wednesday after class. Students can take the course for two or three units. Students enrolling in the course for a third unit will be expected to submit an outline, give a short capstone presentation, and submit a final paper.
This class counts as required coursework toward the following programs:
Capacity is limited to ensure that the class size encourages student discussion and engagement. If enrollment capacity is reached, there will be a waitlist for both Med 194 and Med 294. If you are an undergraduate student not interested in obtaining Ways credit for the course, you are encouraged to enroll in Med 294.
Students must apply for this course. Applications will be due in March, 2027 and the link to apply will be posted here in Winter Quarter.
Here are some testimonials from students who took the course in 2026.
“This is a great class and a great way to fulfill the EDP requirement. It can feel a little intimidating at first because many of the speakers and people involved have accomplished so much, but the class is really about learning and being exposed to new ideas. It is a unique opportunity to hear from incredible speakers with diverse backgrounds and perspectives and I learned a lot from each of them.”
“AMAZING CLASS! Coolest array of speakers I have ever seen at Stanford. Great opportunity to hear from and interact with leaders and pioneers in just about every leading field involving Global Health. Many great connections, research topics, opportunities and ideas stemming from these speakers and their topics. 10/10 recommend. Workload is MORE than reasonable for how effective and unique of an opportunity of a class this is!”
“Loved this class! It was so inspiring to hear from speakers working in various global health fields and to develop a better understanding of the most pressing issues we face today. Highly recommend for anyone interested in public/global health.”