Certificate in Global Health Affairs (CGHA)

At the University of Denver’s Josef Korbel School of International Studies

The JKSIS Certificate in Global Health Affairs (CGHA) is the first academic program in global health to
be based in a school of International Studies. Unlike certificates offered by schools of medicine or
public health, which emphasize biomedical approaches to health, CGHA places social and political
solutions at the forefront of global health action. Our mission is to bring the interdisciplinary approaches
of international studies to bear on global health policy, intervention, and governance. We further aim to
raise the standard of health-related knowledge, discourse, and decision-making among international
studies professionals. Whether combined with a JKSIS MA degree or a standalone option, the seven-
course CGHA sequence prepares students for systematic, evidence-based approaches to a broader range
of global health problems than are covered by traditional Masters in Public Health programs.

CGHA’s core emphasis lies in building sound decision making skills in an arena often suffused with
inefficiency and blindness to political, social, and cultural context. Substantive courses address the
widest conception of the causes and consequences of individual and population health, emphasizing
social science and biomedical perspectives; short- and long-term effects, the increasing globalization
and personalization of health; and interactions between health and other key areas of human endeavor
such as politics, development, trade, human rights and conflict. Practical courses combine basic analytic,
management, and epidemiologic skills with advanced training in social and political technologies for
health – such as social marketing and Geographic Information Systems – that are increasingly embraced
by the biomedical establishment.

Students who graduate with the certificate in global health affairs distinguish themselves as leaders and
innovators through the pursuit of the “science of service” on and off campus. While most CGHA
students take advantage of traditional internship opportunities, they also have the opportunity to pursue
action-oriented research and leadership projects through a thriving network of academic and
professional partnerships that continue to grow through the actions of current and former students.
Students begin this process in our introductory course “Global Health Affairs: Theory and Practice”,
where they are required to design a service-based research proposal, allowing students to begin early on
in their careers to consider critically their roles, targets, and intentions as future leaders in the field.

Global Health Affairs (GHA) is also the only JKSIS program to combine a training program with an
extensive portfolio of research and professional practice. Students can contribute to research and policy
analysis on topics such as international health forecasting, social marketing for reproductive health and
HIV/AIDS prevention, health of displaced populations, primary health care intervention design, and the
long-term consequences of health for development. GHA and Sante, a student-run organization, engage
students in public service projects, seminar series, film series, and short courses on topics such as
personal security, media relations, and career strategy. Close engagement between CGHA faculty,
students, alumnae, and employers enable a positive and responsive environment for discourse,
innovation, advancement, and leadership.

For more information about CGHA as part of a JKSIS degree or as a stand-alone option, visit
http://portfolio.du.edu/globalhealth or email gha@du.edu.
Core Courses (Two courses, 10 credits)
INTS 4367 Global Health Affairs: Theory & Practice (5 credits)

This course offers an entry point to the field of Global Health Affairs from the core social science and
international relations emphasis of JKSIS students. The main goal of the course is to help students gain
an appreciation of the range of major global health interventions, policies, systems, and governance
mechanisms in practice presently and historically. It also provides students with a method for evaluating
the substantive claims underlying global health programs, analyses, and evaluative frameworks.
Throughout the course students are asked to address the role of politics, advocacy, and narrative in
determining global health priorities and programs. The single assignment for the course requires
students to design a service-based research proposal. At best, this assignment provides students with a
head start on their summer internship plans, a template for subsequent knowledge acquisition, and an
opportunity to undertake an advanced research project. At minimum, it provides insight into the
frameworks, challenges, and assumptions involved in program design, implementation, and evaluation.
The course is taught by Program Director Randall Kuhn.

INTS 4516 Major Diseases in Global Health: From Pathophysiology to Control (5 credits)

As future global health practitioners and policy makers, it is imperative that we each have a complete
and solid understanding of the mechanisms, physiology, epidemiology, transmission patterns, and
clinical impact of the major diseases affecting global health. In this course, the student will develop an
understanding of the etiology, agents, vectors, burden, methods of detection, basic treatment
complexities, and life cycles of major diseases impacting the world. Specifically, this course will detail
HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria, maternal/reproductive health, some protozoa, helminthes and major parasites,
chronic disease such as cancers and diabetes, and violence/trauma. As there is no shortage of amazing
and interesting diseases globally, students will learn a sound method of inquiry with which to address
any disease process. Students will also apply this method directly toward program analysis, and in the
development of teaching sessions for community health workers. The course is taught by Karen
Gieseker and Chiara Lepora.

Skills Courses (Two courses, 8 credits)

INTS4483 Practical Applications in Global Health (3 credits)

The overarching purpose of the course is to be deployed to a field situation as realistically as possible
given the constructs of being in Denver. A very heavy emphasis is placed on program design, real
issues in implementation, and presentation at the field level. No prior field experience is necessary to
attend or to complete this course. However, an open mind, ability to engage in critical discourse, and
willingness to work with/help teach others are required. The student will acquire practical knowledge
about the following areas of actual health program design and management in the field: research and
preparation, creation and development, and implementation and presentation. Current international
health scenarios such as hygiene and environmental sanitation, microfinance, malaria control, child
soldiers, and humanitarian relief will be utilized. The intent is to develop a solid understanding of and to
practice the usage of tools and skills currently being used by various international and domestic
programs. The course is taught by K.P. Yelpaala and Chiara Lepora.
INTS4423 Health Data for Decision Making (5 credits)

Health data provide an objective basis for setting priorities, formulating policies, implementing
programs, and evaluating their impact. Measurement, analysis and decision-making tools derive from a
diversity of disciplines, including demography, epidemiology, medicine, anthropology, and economics.
Students learn to: 1) utilize and understand national health indicators, their value and limitations; 2)
understand the relationships between individual and societal measures of health, with an emphasis on
demographic adjustments; 3) read and understand scientific papers and reports using common
epidemiologic research designs; 4) use evidence-based approaches to translate these basic skills into
argument(s) for a particular course of action. The course is taught by Sandy Johnson.

Elective Courses (Three of the following, 9-15 credits)

Health Issues and Interactions
INTS4422 International Health Organizations and Actors
INTS4498 Community Health
INTS4362 Gender and Health
INTS4492 Health and Humanitarian Aid
INTS4368 HIV/AIDS in International Affairs
INTS4425 Emerging Diseases in International Affairs
INTS4535 Comparative Health: Health Care Policy *
INTS4377 Reproductive Health *
INTS4435 Health and Development *
INTS4953 Mental Health, Human Rights, & Post-Conflict Development *
INTS4531 Health Issues in Response and Recovery *
INTS4353 Sustainable Development and Environment +
INTS4397 Environment and Human Well-Being +
INTS4465 Population and Society *+

Advanced Methods
MCOM4912 International Health Communication & Development
GEOG3470 GIS and Environmental Health Geography
INTS4576 Seminar in Community-Based Research *
ECON3740 Health Economics
INTS4342 Project Management +
GIS4101 Introduction to GIS +

* Course not offered every year

+ Only one of these courses may count for elective requirement

Global Health Practice Requirement

All GHA candidates must conduct a single, 150-hour health-related internship or other field project.
This experience must take place during your course of study and your work must be carried out off
campus. In addition to traditional internships, this requirement could be fulfilled through your current
employment, RPCV local internships, independent research (so long as it has an off-campus field
component), or work on GHA service-based research projects.
To qualify as health-related, a project must meet one of the following two requirements:

a) At least 25% of the content must attend to health issues, or

b) The student provides an 8-10 page report on potential health implications of their internship work.

Students are encouraged but not required to base their internship on their required proposal for
INTS4367, and to prepare a thesis, significant research paper, or independent study based on one of their
internships or other self-driven or faculty-driven research. Students are also encouraged to apply for one
of the Service-Based Research Opportunities (deadline April 1), the Global Health Affairs Summer
Scholarship Award competition at the end of their first year (deadline May 1) and the Global Health
Affairs Summer Achievement Award at the start of their second year (deadline October 29).
More internship info can be found at http://www.du.edu/korbel/careers/students/internships.html

Teaching Faculty
Randall Kuhn. Director and Assistant Professor of International Studies. PhD, Sociology and
Demography, University of Pennsylvania, 1999.

Renee Botta. Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Media, Film, & Journalism Studies. PhD,
Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1998.

Jan Dehler. Instructor; Staff Physician, St. Joseph Hospital; Medical Operations Chief, Central US
National Medical Response Team. MD, University of Cincinnati, 1986.

Karen Gieseker. Adjunct Professor of International Studies, PhD in Analytical Health Sciences-
Epidemiology, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, 2002.

Sandy Johnson. Korbel Undergraduate Director and Assistant Research Professor. PhD, Latin American
Studies, Tulane, 2003.

Chiara Lepora. Resident Scholar in Global Health and Humanitarian Assistance, MD Medicine and
Surgery, Facoltà di Medicina e chirurgia, Università degli Studi di Pavia and Lisboa, 2000.

Phyllis Updike. Instructor and Advisor; Professor Emeritus, University of Colorado School of Nursing.
RN, MS, DNS.

Peter Van Arsdale. Senior Lecturer and Director of GSIS Certficate in Humanitarian Assistance. PhD,
Anthropology, University of Colorado – Boulder, 1975.

Jill Williams, Assistant Director, African Population Studies Training Center, Institute of Behavioral
Science, University of Colorado at Boulder. PhD, Sociology, University of Colorado-Boulder, 2004.

Marilyn Williams. Lecturer, Department of Geography. PhD, Geography, University of South Florida,
2008.

Kaakpema Yelpaala. Adjunct Professor of International Studies, Principal and Managing Director at
Yelpaala Good Advisors, MPH in Global Health, Yale, 2006.