Global Health Research Masters, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam

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Research Master Global Health is a 2-year, 120 ECTS programme that is fully taught in English. This page provides detailed information about the programme.

Geschiedenis

THE IMPORTANCE OF GLOBAL HEALTH TO THE WORLD
New and emerging infectious diseases, such as the Zika virus or zoonoses, changing disease patterns and lifestyles, large-scale migration of vulnerable populations or the rising costs of healthcare; these are examples of problems that add complexity to the already considerable health challenges the world is facing today. Many diseases do not stop at national borders, and most health problems have social, political and economic impacts. With the world’s population becoming increasingly interdependent, there is need for a vision on health that spans the globe and promotes shared responsibility. Global health is defined as the broad field of study, research and practice geared towards improving health and achieving equity in health. Global health researchers need inter- and transdisciplinary approaches in order to study and unravel complex health problems. They need to cross disciplinary boundaries and interact with health professionals, patients, policy-makers, public and private sector stakeholders to gain an in-depth understanding of global health problems. However, their role does not stop here. Global health researchers also need to bring these different stakeholders together to set out cohesive and strategic action to solve these problems.

PROGRAMME IN A NUTSHELL
The Research Master Global Health is a two year, 120 ECTS programme which is fully taught in English. During this master, you embark on an intensive study of cross-cutting aspects of health systems together with students from all over the world. You will obtain the latest insights on infectious and chronic diseases in Master classes and learn all about research methods in our programme courses. You are taught how to design, implement and measure interventions and innovative strategies that address complex health challenges, such as the transmission of HIV from mother to child, and to analyse and compare different health systems. In this Research Master’s, and in particular during the two internships, you learn how to design and conduct research as well as how to analyse, discuss and present your research data. We strongly believe in the added value of offering two internships during the programme. This not only gives you the opportunity to explore different health problems and contexts, it also allows you to put mixed methods and transdisciplinary research into practice. Moreover, you will add relevance to your internship by bringing together different stakeholders to discuss the implications of your research findings for global health policy and practice. During a two-year period, you will receive the best possible preparation for a PhD or research position. While a number of our alumni have seamlessly enrolled into PhD trajectories, we have also seen our alumni successfully securing health policy or advisory positions in governmental and non-governmental agencies after completing the programme.