Certificate in Community and Global Health

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Launch or advance your career as an effective, versatile health professional – and prepare to improve lives in your city, region, country, and the world.

Clark’s Community and Global Health Certificate equips you take on some of the biggest public health challenges facing humanity, by working with communities right here in Worcester or across the globe. You’ll engage in thoughtful, critical analysis of domestic health interventions and international health policy.

In this community and global health program, you’ll explore health from the perspective of local communities and global epidemiological trends. As you do, you’ll collaborate with faculty and professionals on the forefront of health research and change. You’ll graduate with the tools, perspective, and confidence needed to make a real difference in people’s lives, anywhere in the world.

Why a Certificate in Community and Global Health at Clark University

Benefit from a community and global health certification uniquely focused on improving health outcomes both internationally and domestically.
Advance your career by specializing in policy and project management or taking the quantitative and epidemiology track.
Make valuable connections to our partners – community, business, nonprofit, and government – in the United States and abroad.

The health effects of social forces

Professor Ellen Foley is a medical anthropologist whose research focuses on the ways that intertwined global, national, and local social forces shape vulnerability to disease, health status, and access to medical care, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

Clark brings unconventional thinking to longstanding problems. Our students become resilient problem solvers who come up with solutions you won’t find elsewhere – speaking with donors, working hands-on with affected populations, organizing supply chains.
—Ellen Foley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

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Whether or not you’ve worked professionally in the field, you can gain experience and perspective by consulting with companies or joining research projects that connect you directly with organizations you’re passionate about.

The Global and Community Health certificate gives you a well-rounded understanding from the intersection of public health, environmental and spatial analysis, and international and community development. Studying health from these multiple perspectives and disciplines leads to deeper understanding, innovative thinking, and more effective solutions.

Focus domestically or internationally and choose a policy/project management or quantitative/epidemiology track.
Earn a head start in our MHS in Community and Global Health program by applying 100% of your certificate course credits toward the full degree graduation requirements.
Explore the social and environmental dimensions of global and domestic health challenges.
Engage in thoughtful and critical analysis of domestic and international health policy.

Coursework

This certificate is built on our faculty’s long-standing local community health partnerships and extensive field experience in North America, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Efforts address:

Access to HIV prevention and treatment for marginalized populations.
The emergence of non-communicable diseases worldwide.
The health/developmental impacts of pollution on vulnerable people.
The spatial distribution and impact of environmental health hazards and health disparities among immigrants and refugees.
The development of policies to jointly improve job opportunities and health outcomes.

Sample Courses

Beyond the Classroom

Our program is designed for you to conduct hands-on research that connects you directly with organizations you’re passionate about. You will develop understanding and insight, design new approaches, and implement creative solutions to complex problems. This learning-by-doing approach addresses the social, political, cultural, economic technological and ecological contexts of environment-development problems.

You engage in fieldwork led by faculty on the forefront of change:

Partner with towns in Massachusetts to investigate topics such as how environmental pollution impacts the health of the population, especially children.
Join an effort to make food production and consumption more sustainable in Worcester County.
Engage in Clark’s partnership with SolarFlair in Charlton, Mass.
Assist efforts through the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise and the George Perkins Marsh Institute, the latter internationally recognized for its work on sustainability science and environmental risk and hazards.
Connect with the alumni-run Community Development Training Institute, a nonprofit community development consulting firm.

EXPLORE OUR RESEARCH

REQUIREMENTS

3 Course Units

2 core courses
1 elective

Course Catalog

This program will provide you with the tools to collaborate effectively with public health professionals across sectors and throughout the world. You’ll become adept at conducting community health assessments and other research, performing spatial analysis with GIS, monitoring and evaluating projects and programs, and managing project budgets.

Certificate holders develop crucial abilities, including:

Conducting in-depth policy analysis
Writing compelling grant proposals
Performing qualitative and quantitative research and analysis
Forging productive partnerships with diverse domestic and international communities
Collaborating with a broad range of community organizations
Effectively managing programs and staff

Global and community health needs are constantly changing – which means that employers across the public health landscape seek candidates who are innovative, nimble, and future focused.

At Clark, you’ll work alongside world-class researchers and partner with communities to face challenges with them, not simply for them. You’ll gain experience addressing urgent public health challenges in integrative, novel, and lasting ways.

Certificate-holders are fully prepared for successful careers in public and non-profit agencies, or for rewarding positions at for-profit corporations. Potential roles include:

Health policy analysts
Project managers
Consultants for businesses
Community health workers
Program officers

Explore the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice

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