Program Design

This program is intended to be a full-time program and will require 72-77 total hours for the completion of both master’s degrees. The joint program is designed so that the Master’s in Anthropology and in Public Health will be completed at the same time, ideally at the end of the third year of coursework. As such the program is designed to save the student time, since the independent completion of both degrees would normally require 85-92 total hours (36 hours for a Masters of Arts in Anthropology and 49-56 hours for a Masters in Public Health).

The anthropology and global health core courses emphasize the integration of medical anthropology with public health, specifically in the area of global health. Students in the joint program take two foundation courses in their first year of study that provide an overview of cultural medical anthropology and biomedical anthropology, focusing on their intersections with global health concerns. An integrative seminar in the third year of the program orients students to the intersections of anthropology and global health. This seminar, which is team-taught by anthropology and public health faculty, emphasizes the integration of the fields of medical anthropology and public health and explores the basic issues, challenges, and initiatives in contemporary global public health through in-depth case studies. The course sequence develops students' awareness of the complexity of health problems in so-called “developing” and “developed” nations and the consequent difficulties of developing effective long-term solutions. We see these courses as uniquely important facets of the program.

Application information and instructions are provided at How to Apply.