With the launch of the new global health major at the IU School of Public Health-Bloomington (SPH-B), changing the world is now an actionable career path for prospective students.
Thanks to a pivotal partnership between the Department of Applied Health Science (AHS) and IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, undergraduates can now earn their Bachelor of Science in Public Health (B.S.P.H.) in the field of global health. Developed over the course of several years, the program prepares students for a range of careers across the field of global health. There are five tracks within the major that undergraduates can choose from: Pre-Health Professions, Research and Practice, Policy and Governance, Language and Culture, and Health Humanities.
“This major is interdisciplinary, collaborative, and encourages students to build expertise across a range of areas to prepare them to tackle complex health issues in their own communities and around the world,” says Julia Sherry, AHS lecturer and director of the B.S.P.H. Global Health program. “Students will not only earn an accredited public health degree in global public health but will also build a deep understanding of international studies, global development, and expertise within their selected track.”
A growing need for outreach
In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, Sherry has seen a growing student interest in global health and the desire for the next generation to use their skills effectively to make the world a better place. Sherry worked closely with a team comprised of key SPH-B faculty members and colleagues at Hamilton Lugar School to create a program where upon graduation, students would be equipped to leverage their degree to make an impact both locally and internationally in a variety of global health-related fields.
“IU students want to make a difference in people’s lives. This partnership will help them bring public health knowledge together with a deeper understanding of the languages, cultures, and institutions that shape health,” shares Isak Nti Asare, assistant dean for undergraduate education and student affairs at Hamilton Lugar School. “My hope is that they graduate better prepared to listen, to learn from the communities they serve, and to contribute with care.”
Sherry, who has a background in working to advance access to safe water and sanitation worldwide, joined SPH-B in the fall of 2024. She was impressed with the existing expertise in research and teaching at the global health level, such as the Capone Lab in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health addressing public health issues on both the national and international scale studying fecal waste streams, as well as SPH-B’s Maternal and Child Health Program.
A unified approach
The biggest challenge was bringing the existing expertise across campus units together in one unified curriculum. To make this major a reality, Sherry not only leaned on her team of colleagues at IU Bloomington but also the expertise of outside institutions such as the Consortium of Universities for Global Health.
“More and more, students are wanting to connect deeply to the communities where they live and to people and places around the world,” says Sherry. “Health cannot be understood without crossing borders. This major equips students to listen and engage thoughtfully with communities, learn across contexts and disciplines, understand problems on a large scale, build evidence, and address complex global health challenges.”
A key partnership
AHS Department Chair Eric Walsh-Buhi applauds Sherry’s “strong and sustained leadership”, as well as citing the benefits of bringing together the complementary strengths of both SPH-B and Hamilton Lugar School to expand undergraduate offerings for prospective students.
“At a time when infectious diseases, climate change, migration, conflict, and persistent health inequities remind us that health challenges do not stop at national boundaries, the need for global health education is especially clear,” says Walsh-Buhi. “We must prepare the next generation of globally minded public health professionals to understand these complexities, work across cultures and disciplines, and develop thoughtful and effective solutions to improve health and well-being around the world.”
SPH-B Dean Kurt M. Ribisl, who previously taught at the University of North Carolina Gilling School of Global Public Health, shares Walsh-Buhi’s excitement in preparing “the next generation of leaders in international health.”
“Our goal is to equip undergraduate students with key skills they will need to address today’s global health challenges,” states Ribisl.
Read more stories on SPH-B students, faculty and staff are breaking new ground at go.iu.edu/48bx.