New micro-credential brings the world to public health

One health-related truth the COVID-19 pandemic underscored is this: public health issues frequently cross borders. That notion is part of the impetus for a new micro-credential, Public Health from Global Perspectives, developed by UB’s Office of Global Health Initiatives (OGHI).

The new micro-credential offers UB graduate students the chance for a focused study of public health in global contexts. The program is designed to build on foundational public health knowledge and offers in-depth study of major global health issues, including social determinants of health, environmental health, non-communicable diseases, infectious disease, pandemics and more. The focus is on growing global and intercultural fluency, critical-thinking and problem-solving abilities, and skills in teamwork and collaboration.

“Students who take part in the Public Health from Global Perspectives micro-credential will be well prepared for potential opportunities to work on global health-related issues,” says Lina Mu, director of the Office of Global Health Initiatives and professor of epidemiology and environmental health.

Students who complete the Public Health from Global Perspectives micro-credential will gain a digital badge that they can include in their CV.

Micro-credentials are an increasingly popular way for students to grow their knowledge and skills in defined topics. In the public health field, expertise in how issues play out in a global context is an important way students can differentiate themselves for future advanced degree programs or a future employer.

A distinctive aspect of the Public Health from Global Perspectives micro-credential is that the training it offers all takes place outside the classroom in active-learning, community-based academic activities.

The micro-credential program is open to UB graduate students who have earned a four-year degree from an accredited college or who have graduate-student status in a combined undergraduate/graduate degree program. UB graduate students in schools other than Public Health and Health Professions must have completed a UB graduate-level course on the topic of global health, medicine or development.