Global Health is the study and practice of improving health and achieving health equity for all people worldwide. The program addresses transnational health issues and the structures that shape our capability to live healthy lives, locally and globally. Students learn to approach the complexity of health through a multi-jurisdictional and multi-sectoral approach that promotes interdisciplinary collaboration and a synthesis of population-based prevention with individual-level health care. As the first undergraduate global health program in Canada, Maclean’s magazine listed it as one of York’s “stand out” programs.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the recent monkeypox outbreak are examples of global health challenges that do not recognize borders. Our health and that of the rest of the world’s population is intertwined with broader issues, including population growth and migration, wealth disparity, environmental degradation, government policy and human rights. Health not only involves the absence of disease, but also the promotion of physical, mental, and social well-being – with keen attention to how the conditions that ensure health and health equity require positive health practices on both an individual and societal level.
Tomorrow’s health professionals, both medical and non-clinical (e.g. health care managers, NGO leaders, health data analysts and policy researchers) will need to take a coordinated global approach working across borders with others to address global health challenges. York’s School of Global Health prepares you to be one of these professionals through a comprehensive education that encompasses both the biomedical sciences and the social sciences and humanities, looking at all aspects of health from healthcare to public health to the social determinants of health. Students in the Global Health program also benefit from small class sizes where they enjoy direct interaction with fellow students and with professors who are experts and professionals in their fields.
Global Health Courses
All students, whether in the BA or BSc options, take the same core courses that explore the major issues at the forefront of global health including:
Global Health Governance and Leadership
Global Health Policy, Power and Politics
Determinants of Health: Local to Global
Agents of Change in a Global World (strongly recommended as an elective course)
Methods and Approaches in Global Health Research
Global Health and Epidemiology
Chronic Diseases and Care
Health and Human Rights
Healthcare Planning for Communities
Global Health Ethics
Communicable Diseases and Care

Pathway to Medical, Professional Schools & Post-Graduate Training
In addition to providing the anatomy and physiology prerequisites for medical school, the Global Health degree also prepares students for professional schools (e.g., law, teaching), graduate school, and post-graduate training in various health professions (e.g., public health, nursing, health management and administration) or to directly enter the workforce. Medical schools are increasingly looking for candidates who have the kind of comprehensive education and who demonstrate social responsibility along with the teamwork and leadership skills provided by York’s Global Health program.
Real World Experience
All Global Health students have an opportunity to gain valuable, hands-on, real-world experience tackling global health issues. Specialized honours students will have the opportunity to work in an organization locally or internationally. Examples of organizations where students can be placed include the Hospital for Sick Children, Black Creek Community Health Centre, Doctors Without Borders, the World Health Organization, the Ontario HIV Treatment Network and YorkU’s EcoCampus in Costa Rica.