Launched in fall 2013, Duke’s global health major enables students to work alongside some of Duke’s best faculty, expand their classroom learning through exciting fieldwork opportunities and customize a college experience that uniquely prepares them for their desired career path.
The program is one of the country’s first liberal arts majors in global health and the first global health co-major program. At Duke, students majoring in global health must co-major in another discipline. Many students choose a co-major in a closely related field such as biology or public policy, but co-majors have also included the likes of French, dance and computer science. Currently among the 103 students majoring in global health, co-majors span 24 disciplines.
Co-Major Brings Broad Range of Perspectives to Bear on Global Health Issues
The co-major requirement reflects Duke’s dual emphasis on interdisciplinary inquiry and liberal arts. And according to Gary Bennett, professor of psychology, neuroscience and global health and director of undergraduate studies in global health, it’s one of the most compelling features of the program. “At various points, students from different co-majors will be working together on a single global health problem, but they’ll be approaching it from various perspectives,” he said. “And it is from these multidisciplinary interactions that we expect the most exciting and most successful global health answers to emerge.”
Experiential Learning Enables Program Customization
Global health majors are also required to put their learning into practice by engaging in an experiential learning activity for a minimum of eight weeks. Students can fulfill this requirement through an established Duke program (for example, the Student Research Training Program, Bass Connections, or DukeEngage), internships with a global health organization, or faculty-mentored independent research projects. These experiences can range from working in a rural African community to a research lab on campus; the variety of experiential options allows students to hone in on their specific global health interests.
Students Have Embraced the Program
Although having a double major can be demanding, students appreciate how their studies in different disciplines complement each other and prepare them for a career in global health.
“I really enjoy the combination of cultural anthropology and global health because it provides a way of thinking and a way of acting in the world,” said Leah Catotti ’15. “I appreciate the emphasis they both place on fieldwork and getting to know specific locales, and I hope to use what I’ve learned in a career in global health or international development.”
Overall, student interest in global health at Duke is very strong. Last fall, more than 20 percent of incoming students enrolled in the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences listed global health as one of their top five academic interests.
Global Health Minor Provides Foundation in Global Health
Duke’s global health minor is a popular option for students who are interested in global health issues but may not be able to commit to a double major. The minor requires less coursework than the major and does not have an experiential learning component. Currently 127 students are minoring in global health.
Learn More about Duke’s Global Health Programs
Considering pursuing global health at Duke? Watch “Creating Pathways for Changing the World” to learn more about the program:
Interested in getting a student perspective on the global health program? Watch “Training Tomorrow’s Global Health Leaders: Senior Voices 2014”:
Learn more:
- Watch more videos about the global health major and minor.
- Visit the global health major and minor pages on our website.
- Contact the undergraduate education program at the Duke Global Health Institute.
- Declare global health as your major. (The March 6 deadline is quickly approaching!)
