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Unaffiliated

UNAFFILIATED STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS

The international study requirement does not necessarily need to be fulfilled through an affiliated program. However, any unaffiliated program must be formally petitioned and approved to count for credit as determined by GHS’s Director, the Directors of Undergraduate Studies, and the Global Learning Office’s unaffiliated programs advisor. Note that Northwestern financial aid is not available for approved unaffiliated programs.

An unaffiliated program is expected to have the same academic rigor, public health focus, and emphasis on regional context as any Northwestern-affiliated program.  A successfully-petitioned program will have:

  • a partnership with a recognized university, institution, or organization in-country.
  • courses that are academic in nature, related to public health, and open to undergraduates.
    • Two courses should be related to the context of the program’s region, such as politics, history, culture, or language.
    • Courses should expand upon/supplement core GHS curriculum.
  • field experience, research, and/or site visits.
  • at least three registered courses to remain a full-time Northwestern student.

Approved programs will be able to receive, at most, two elective credits towards the GHS major or minor. It may also be possible to earn distro or additional major/minor credit from courses.

 Click here to complete the petition form.

NOTE: When filling out the form and emailing to your DUS, please include the following:

  • Included in the petition PDF, official transcript of courses taken during the Study Abroad 
  • As a separate document, the syllabi for all courses being petitioned for Study Abroad credits

 Popular unaffiliated programs and course combinations that past GHS students have completed include:

 SIT Argentina: Public Health in Urban Environments

  • Epidemiology and Social Determinants of Health
  • Health Systems, Policies and Programs
  • Spanish for the Health Sciences
  • Public Health Research Methods and Ethics
  • Independent Study Project

SIT South Africa: Community Health and Social Policy

  • Approaches to Community Health in South Africa
  • Social Determinants of Health in South Africa
  • isiZulu
  • Research Methods and Ethics
  • Independent Study Project

SIT Switzerland: Global Health and Development Policy

  • Perspectives on Global Health
  • Development Policy and Health
  • French
  • Research Methods and Ethics
  • Independent Study Project

SIT Madagascar: Traditional Medicine and Health Systems (Summer)

  • Social and Political Dimensions of Health
  • Malagasy 
  • Healthcare Practice in Madagascar