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Global Health, PHD

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  1. Degree Programs
  2. Graduate Degrees
  3. Global Health

At a Glance: program details

  • Location:
    Tempe campus
  • Second Language Requirement: No

Student Handbook

When the evolving health needs of growing global populations beckon, few are better equipped to offer solutions than those with a PhD in global health. As a program graduate prepared for medical, commercial, governmental and academic careers, you can help improve and save thousands of lives at home and abroad.

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Global Health

The PhD in global health draws on the premise that sustainable and satisfying solutions to the most pressing global health challenges require a sophisticated understanding of how cultural context, social and ecological processes and disease are really related.

This transdisciplinary graduate program trains students broadly in cutting-edge health social science research theory and methods. The program leverages the strength of ASU's medical anthropology programming and 15 medical anthropologists, and it has the advantage of accessing an exceptionally wide set of skills offered by those in such fields as medical sociology, demography, human geography and epidemiology.

Some particular thematic foci of the program are biocultural approaches to human coping, computer-based complexity modeling, culture and health, health in the Americas, and Indigenous and minority health, as well as mathematical epidemiology, nutritional anthropology, social justice and vulnerable populations, social networks, and urban and environmental health.

The program draws some 80 faculty members from throughout the university to consider how cutting-edge social science can be applied to understand and substantively improve the health of populations. The program favors community-based research in communities of all sizes and types, from hunter-gatherer communities to large U.S. cities, and runs collaborative projects in which students are encouraged to gain experience and conduct research.

Students generally enter the program with a master's degree in a relevant field.


Degree Requirements

Curriculum Plan Options

  • 84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (3 credit hours)
ASB 510 Health: Social and Biocultural Theories (3)

Electives (39 credit hours)

Other Requirements (18 credit hours)
ASB 500 Research Methods (3)
ASB 501 Professionalism (3)
ASM 579 Proposal Writing (3)
SSH 591 Topic: Principles of Epidemiology for Global Health (3)
systematic methods courses (6)

Research (12 credit hours)
ASB 792 Research (12)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours)
ASB 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information
For electives, students should see the academic unit for a course list approved by the chair.

Other requirement coursework may be substituted with the approval of the academic unit. At least two systematic methods courses in an area other than epidemiology or biostatistics and ethnography should be selected, such as nutrition, survey, archival analysis, demography or geographic information systems.

When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program may allow up to 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree to be used for this program. If students do not have a previously awarded master's degree, the remaining coursework is made up of electives.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program or a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

  1. graduate admission application and application fee
  2. official transcripts
  3. personal statement outlining educational and professional goals
  4. current curriculum vitae or resume
  5. three letters of recommendation
  6. proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information
An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Suitable backgrounds for admission include a master's degree in the social sciences (e.g., anthropology or sociology), public health, human biology or related fields. Students who enter directly from a bachelor's degree program should have completed at least 15 credit hours of social science and six credit hours of human biology or equivalent at the senior level and should have some background in statistics or epidemiology.

Applicants may submit with their application materials an optional scholarly writing sample, not to exceed 30 double-spaced pages.


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Application Deadlines

Fall

Fall

Session
Modality
Deadline
Type
Session A/C
In Person
December 1st
Final


Career Opportunities

Nationally and internationally, the health field provides enormous and varied career opportunities, and demand is high and growing for graduates with specific skills. The program supports the goals of those pursuing careers in academic research teaching and health services. Sample employment venues include:

  • health departments
  • government agencies
  • international agencies (World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Global Health Council, World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank)
  • nongovernmental organizations
  • private sector
  • universities

The degree program also provides a broad intellectual base for those who plan advanced specialist health training in fields such as:

  • dentistry
  • medicine
  • nursing
  • pharmacy

In Arizona and elsewhere, there is a pressing need for professionals with appropriate skills to work in cross-cultural settings or with underserved populations, such as migrants, minorities and those living in poverty, and many of these jobs are directly or indirectly related to health.

Global Opportunities

Global Experience

With over 250 programs in more than 65 countries (ranging from one week to one year), study abroad is possible for all ASU students wishing to gain global skills and knowledge in preparation for a 21st-century career. Students earn ASU credit for completed courses, while staying on track for graduation, and may apply financial aid and scholarships toward program costs. https://mystudyabroad.asu.edu

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

  • shesc.grad@asu.edu
  • 480/965-6215


Concurrent degree programs are specially designed academic programs which provide high-achieving undergraduate students the opportunity to complete two distinct but complementary bachelor degrees at the same time. Students must meet minimum admissions standards for both programs and be accepted individually by both colleges offering the concurrent program.
Students pursuing concurrent degrees earn two distinct degrees and receive two diplomas. ASU offers students two ways to earn concurrent degrees: by choosing a predetermined combination or creating their own combination. Predetermined combinations have a single admissions application and one easy to follow major map. To add a concurrent degree to your existing degree, work with your academic advisor. Either way, concurrent degrees allow students to pursue their own personal or professional interests.
Accelerated bachelor's and master's degree programs are designed for high-achieving undergraduate students who want the opportunity to combine undergraduate coursework with graduate coursework to accelerate completion of their master's degree. These programs feature the same high-quality curriculum taught by ASU's world-renowned faculty.
ASU students may accelerate their studies by earning a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years (for some programs) or by earning a bachelor's degree in 2.5 or 3 years.

Accelerated bachelor's and master's degree programs are designed for high-achieving undergraduate students who want the opportunity to combine undergraduate coursework with graduate coursework to accelerate completion of their master's degree. These programs, featuring the same high-quality curriculum taught by ASU's world-renowned faculty, allow students to obtain both a bachelor's and a master's degree in as little as five years.

Accelerated bachelor's degree programs allow students to choose either a 2.5- or a 3-year path while participating in the same high-quality educational experience of a 4-year option. Students can opt to fast-track their studies after acceptance into a participating program by connecting with their academic advisor.
This is only the first required math course. This program may contain additional math courses; See Major Map for details.
The level of intensity represents a measure of the number and academic rigor of math courses required.
The level of intensity represents a measure of the number and academic rigor of math courses required. Courses included in the General level: MAT 142
The level of intensity represents a measure of the number and academic rigor of math courses required. Courses included in the Moderate level: MAT 117, MAT 119, MAT 170, MAT 210, SOS 101, CPI 200
The level of intensity represents a measure of the number and academic rigor of math courses required. Courses included in the Substantial level: MAT 251, MAT 265. MAT 266, MAT 267, MAT 270, MAT 271, MAT 272, MAT 274, MAT 275
A rolling deadline means that applications will continue to be reviewed on a regular basis until the semester begins. International students should be mindful of visa deadlines to ensure there is time to produce necessary visa documents. Applicants are encouraged to complete and submit application materials as soon as possible for consideration.
A final deadline means that all applications and application materials must be received by Graduate Admissions by the deadline date. Applications that are incomplete may not be considered after the final deadline. Applications that are submitted past the final deadline may not be considered.
A priority deadline means that applications submitted and completed before the priority deadline will receive priority consideration. Applications submitted after the priority deadlines will be reviewed in the order in which they were completed and on a space available basis. An application is complete after all materials are received by Graduate Admissions.
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