New Semester Abroad in India Program Complements Global Health Major

Come fall 2015, Duke global health majors will have an exciting new study abroad option: Duke Semester in India (DSI). Split between rural Udaipur in northeast India and urban Bangalore in the south, DSI will feature two global health courses and two development courses. 

DSI replaces the Global Study Abroad program, which included a half-semester in Beijing, China, and a half-semester in Udaipur, India.

Esteemed Faculty Lead Courses and Research in Global Health and Development

Through this program, global health students can fulfill two requirements toward their major through the following courses:

• Health of the Poor: The Burden and Response in India – This course provides an overview of the health situation in India (particularly northern India) and health care practices and systems and explores how ill health is sustained or alleviated. “Heath of the Poor” will be taught husband and wife team Sharad Iyengar, a public health specialist and pediatrician, and Kirti Iyengar, a gynecologist. The Iyengars founded and continue to run Action Research & Training for Health (ARTH), a recipient of a MacArthur Award for creative and effective institutions.
• Beyond Pills for Poverty: Understanding Health Systems and Social Determinants of Health – Taught by Prashanth Srinivas, a fellow at the Institute of Public Health (IPH), and Tanya Seshadri, a community medicine physician, this course explores how the various components of a health system interact and how social factors affect health.

In addition, students will take two development courses. Vegard Iversen, a microeconomist and honorary senior research fellow at the Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester, will teach one course. The other course will be taught by Krithi Karanth, a Duke PhD alumna, adjunct assistant professor at Duke and executive director of the Centre for Wildlife Studies. Read more about the DSI courses.

Engaging Fieldwork Gives Global Health Students a Study Abroad Experience Like No Other

In Udaipur, students will learn about field study methods and conduct community-based field study and service with pre-selected NGOs. In addition to their fieldwork, students will also have the opportunity to live with host families both in Udaipur and the surrounding villages.

In Bangalore, students will conduct research in conjunction with IPH, a non-profit organization focused on creating an equitable, integrated, decentralized and participatory health system within a just and empowered society. IPH has conducted research in maternal and child health policy, health financing, health services and urban health. 

While in Bangalore, they’ll also work with the Centre for Wildlife Studies, an internationally recognized center of excellence in wildlife research, training, formal education and conservation, with emphasis on the ecology and conservation of the tiger and other large mammals. 

“The depth of exposure to relevant global health topics, combined with hands-on independent projects in both rural and urban environments, makes this an exceptional study abroad opportunity for global health majors and minors,” noted Laura Bey, assistant director of undergraduate and medical school programs at the Duke Global Health Institute.

Learn More about Duke Semester in India

Duke Semester in India is an enticing study abroad experience for students in global health, cultural anthropology, environmental science, public policy, and many other areas of study. 

The deadline to apply for fall 2015 is March 1. To learn more about the program, visit the Duke Semester in India website.

Learn More about Other Study Abroad Programs for Global Health Students

Other study abroad opportunities that may be of interest to global health students include:

• South Africa (Summer) – application deadline February 1 – learn more
• Brazil (summer) – application deadline February 1 – learn more
• Duke Kunshan University (fall) – application deadline March 1 – learn more

Global health students: To learn more about whether the Duke Semester in India or other study abroad programs are right for you, contact Laura Bey at laura.bey@duke.edu.