General provisions

The course is part of the Master's Programme in Global Health.

Entry requirements

University degree, minimum of 180 credits, in medicine, nursing, nutrition or another area relevant to global health. All applicants need to verify English language proficiency. This is normally attested by means of an internationally recognised test such as TOEFL or IELTS. Applicants must have passed the course Global Health 1, or equivalent.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students should be able to:

• For freestanding courses during elective period, fulfil critera for each specific course.

Knowledge and understanding

• For internship module during elective period, understand and describe the work of an organisation in global health.
• For field study module during elective period, understand and describe the principles of planning, execution and compilation of data for research.

Competence and skills

• Critically analyse health systems in different settings using relevant frameworks and tools

Judgement and approach

• Develop a plan for analysing quantitative or qualitative data as appropriate for specified research questions
• Develop a concept note for a research project

Content

The first half of the course (15 cr) is an elective period. Students could choose from one of three options: (1) Freestanding courses, (2) Field Study or (3) Internship.

1. Freestanding courses for 15 cr: Based on availability of teacher resources, students can choose from different freestanding courses. Courses will be relevant to the field of global health, eg. environmental health, politics in global health, infectious diseases, research methods, etc. Students will also have the possibility to transfer credits from other courses. Assessment of viability for credit transfer is done by the Programme Coordinator.
2. Field Study, 15 cr: The course takes the form of an individual small research project. It focuses on practical problems with doing research in a situation outside of one's own society on a health issue in a low­ or middle-income country or in a marginalized population. Students identify and design a research protocol and select appropriate methods under the supervision of teachers. To prepare for data collection in a specific area, the contacts are made with local coworkers. An application for ethical review will be carried out. Travel to field research and data collection is carried out according to the protocol. Encode and store data for further analysis. A written summary of fieldwork experience will be presented.
3. Internship, 15 cr: Internship in an organisation that works with global health organised by the student and approved by the department.

The second half of the course consists of three course modules: (1) Health Systems, Management and Economics, 7,5 cr; (2a) Quantitative research Methods III, 7,5 cr; (2b) Qualitative research Methods III, 7,5 cr. Each individual student chooses either quantitative or qualitative research methods in order to prepare for their thesis writing.

1. Health Systems, Management and Economics, 7,5 cr: The course covers studies on health systems, management and health economics.

2a. Quantitative research Methods III, 7,5 cr: The course gives in-depth knowledge in quantitative methods in order to prepare for thesis writing. The course also includes a critical literature review assignment.

2b. Qualitative research Methods III, 7,5 cr:  The course gives in-depth knowledge in qualitative methods in order to prepare for thesis writing. The course also includes a critical literature review assignment.

Instruction

The instruction consists of lectures, and compulsory components including literature reviews, seminars and individual and group assignments, and presentations. Teaching is interactive and students are encouraged to participate and reflect on their own experiences in the field. All teaching and learning materials are in English.

Assessment

The assessment is based on:

Written tests, participation in compulsory sessions, oral presentations, and assignments. All examinations are in English. To receive a final grade for the course, the student needs to obtain a pass in the written examination, successfully complete compulsory sessions, oral presentations and assignments.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator. All examinations are in English.  

The course modules Internship and Field Study have the grading scale Pass (G) or Fail (U). The remaining course modules in the course have the grading scale Pass with Distinction (VG), Pass (G) or Fail (U). The grades from the course modules will together generate a final weighted grade for the entire course.