“In the face of today’s global challenges of poverty, inequities, disease and epidemics, there is an increasing demand for dynamic health leaders with sound technical skills.” These are the words of Dr Jong-Wook Lee, former Director General of the WHO. meer lezen
The master’s programme in Global Health was designed precisely to meet the global need for this new type of professional.
Why this programme?
This programme emphasises the international dimensions of health and disease. Travel, trade, geopolitics and migration have made health an increasingly global issue. As a result, health inequalities both within and between countries are changing and increasing, requiring joint efforts to tackle and govern them. At the same time, climate change and other environmental conditions affect access to safe water and to high quality food. This programme captures the need to work together to tackle these cross border dimensions of health inequities in our efforts to improve health around the world. As a Global Health student, you work regularly in intercontinental teams with students at McMaster University in Canada, Thammasat University in Thailand, Manipal University in India, Ahfad University for Women in Sudan and Rosario University in Colombia, and you may get the chance to meet them at an annual summit. Through virtual project work, you gain insight into different perspectives and the skills needed for cross-cultural collaboration. As part of the programme, you can follow a 12-week elective track at Maastricht University or perhaps even at one of the partner universities. Annually, about 70 Global Health students take their elective in Thailand, India, Canada, Colombia, Sudan or Norway.
Finally, you can write your master's thesis (abroad if you wish).
Career prospects?
Global Health is a high-level programme that trains future leaders: policymakers, policy advisers, health advocates, managers, social entrepreneurs and more. You could work in:
international health and development agencies (e.g. the WHO, IMF, UNDP, UNICEF, World Bank), private sector healthcare firms (e.g. pharmaceutical companies or health technology developers), regional, national and international governmental bodies (e.g. health ministries), non-governmental agencies (e.g. Oxfam, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), academic institutions (e.g. as a PhD candidate, analyst or researcher).