The Global Infectious Diseases Summer Program will be offered in a hybrid format in summer, 2023. We hope you will consider applying!
This program is designed for students, public health officers, clinicians, and scientists who are seeking advanced training in infectious diseases that disproportionally affect individuals in resource-limited areas, especially in issues of control and prevention.
Program Topics
Students must complete both of these classes and a third course for completion of the program. If not completed in one summer, you can re-enroll in following summers. Topic areas are mutually exclusive. In addition to these courses, students who enroll in the Global Infectious Diseases Program are expected to complete an additional 2.5 credits in a related topic area drawn from select courses in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Health Delivery also offered during the summer session (see FAQs for listing of current courses that meet this requirement). These additional courses also focus on skills pertinent to the control and prevention of infectious diseases; a number of these courses are offered through the Global Health Delivery Intensive Program and the Clinical Effectiveness Program, and students completing qualifying courses in these Programs may apply 2.5 credits from these courses toward completion of the GID Program.
Please note, admission to the the Global Health Delivery Intensive Program and the Clinical Effectiveness Program are separate from the Global Infectious Diseases Program, and enquiries regarding those programs should be directed to the administrators of those programs. Upon successful completion of the Global Infectious Diseases Program (7.5 credits), participants receive a Certificate of Completion.
Also note, our hybrid format has a very specific definition. It means that you can be in person here at the school, or you can be in attendance from home, or your location at work, wherever that may be, but you cannot do both. Our courses are offered synchronously, and you can attend in person, or from your country of origin, but you may not be asynchronous or participate from wherever you are that day.
Our students
The Program in Global Infectious Diseases accepts students from a range of disciplines and backgrounds. The Courses assume a core knowledge in biomedicine and public health. Students should have completed or be enrolled in graduate studies in biomedicine and/or public health (Schools of Public Health, Medicine, Graduate Degree Programs in Life Sciences). Clinicians and public health officers are welcome. The Courses may be completed by both non-degree and degree students. Students who apply to and are admitted into a degree program within 5 years of completing non-degree credits may have a maximum of 20 non-degree credits counted toward the degree, if allowable.Application Requirements
The Global Infectious Diseases Summer Program is intended for health professionals in training, researchers or those who are in a public health related field and feel the need to strengthen their skills. Applicants must have a prior bachelor’s degree in order to be eligible to apply. Participants include current degree students, incoming degree candidates, and non-degree students. Among them are public health professionals, primary care practitioners, physicians engaged in the evaluation of health care delivery and management, physicians in training, and candidates for a part-time MPH program.
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Statement of Purposes
The statement of purpose should describe your interest in public health, reason for applying to the Summer Session, and career plans. This statement should not exceed 500 words.
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Transcripts
Applicants should submit copies of transcripts for each post-secondary institution where they received a degree. Please upload your transcripts in the uploaded documents section of the application.
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Resume or CV
An updated copy of an applicant’s resume or curriculum vitae should be uploaded directly to your SOPHAS application.
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Standardized Tests
TOEFL or IELTS: Required for non-native English speakers
All applicants applying to the Summer Session from countries where English is not the language of instruction, including those who are U.S. permanent residents and U.S. citizens who were granted permanent residency or citizenship after January 1, 2019, must self-report either a TOEFL score report or an IELTS score in SOPHAS.
GRE: Recommended for all applicants
Non-degree applicants for the Summer Session are strongly encouraged to self-report their GRE scores or an appropriate substitute in SOPHAS.
GRE scores are especially important for students applying to quantitative courses. Scores from such standardized tests can provide important information about applicants’ quantitative aptitude in particular. If the transcript submitted from a baccalaureate or post-baccalaureate program does not include a grade for a college level mathematics course, it is expected that a standardized test score will be submitted.
Application Fees
A nonrefundable application fee ($50) payable to SOPHAS Express, is required to complete the application.
Courses
IID 232 – Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Infections
The course will focus on vector-borne and zoonotic infectious diseases of public health importance. The course will cover epidemiology, epizoology, clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, transmission, medical entomology, prevention, and control of diseases of particular import in resource-poor areas.
Focus areas will include dengue, yellow fever, chikungunya, Zika, other arboviruses, rabies, plague, bartonellosis, borreliosis, typhus and other rickettsial infections, malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas’, African trypanosomiasis, filariasis, Ebola, and will introduce students to medical entomology, the importance of zoonotic reservoirs, and emerging infectious diseases and outbreaks.
Course activities include lectures, case and field studies, lab practica, and readings. Evaluation will be based on an examination and class participation
IID 233 – Infections Transmitted through Water and Food
The course will focus on infectious diseases of public health importance that are transmitted through water and food. The course will cover modes of transmission, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and control of diseases of particular import in resource-poor areas.
Focus areas will include intestinal viruses (including enteroviruses, rotavirus, caliciviruses, hepatitis viruses), intestinal bacterial pathogens (including shigella, salmonella, typhoid, cholera, enterotoxigenic E. coli), intestinal protozoa (including amebiasis, giardiasis, cryptospordiosis, cyclosporiasis), intestinal helminths (ascariasis, hookworm, trichuriasis, strongyloidiasis), dracunculiasis, larva migrans, taeniasis, cysticercosis, echinococcosis, liver flukes, lung flukes, and schistosomiasis.
Additional areas will include disease prevention strategies, public health treatment strategies including oral rehydration, response to outbreaks (cholera), and effects of globalization, urbanization, and climate change.
Course activities include lectures, case and field studies, lab practica, readings. Evaluation will be based on examination and class participation.
IID232 and IID233 are core required courses that qualify toward completion of the Global Infectious Diseases Program. The remaining 2.5 credits may be fulfilled by taking the following courses also offered during the Summer Sessions.
The IID department highly recommends the students not take the 2.5 credits at the same time as the 5 credits for our courses listed above. Plan on 7 weeks of instructions for the completion of this program.
Summer 1 Electives
- BST 202, Principles of Biostatistics, Part I. This course has a lab at 10:30 – 12:20 OR 1:30 – 3:20.
- BST 215, Linear & Longitudinal Regressn*
- EPI 236, Analytical Clinical Epidemiology*
- EPI 500, Fundamentals of Epidemiology
- EPI 210, Study Design in Clinical Epidemiology*
- ID 505, Epidemiologic Methods for Global Health
- GHP 532, Introduction to Global Healthcare Delivery
*Please note that courses with asterisks are Limited Enrollment. Prerequisites and faculty approval are required for students who are not in the Program in Clinical Effectiveness.
If you are a degree student and have taken a course during the academic year that qualifies, let us know.
Summer 2 Electives
- BST 203, Principles of Biostatistics, Part II. This course has a lab at 10:30 – 12:20 OR 1:30 – 3:20.
- BST 214S, Principles of Clinical Trials*
- BST 215, Linear & Longitudinal Regressn
- BST 234, Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis*
- BST 501, Linear and Longitudinal Regression*
- EPI 202, Elements of Epidemiologic Research
- EPI 208, Intro Clinical Epidemiology
- ID 201, Principles of Biostatistics and Epidemiology for Public Health Practice
- HPM 512, Medical Informatics*
- NUT 217, Global Nutrition
*Please note that courses with asterisks are Limited Enrollment. Prerequisites and faculty approval are required for students who are not in the Program in Clinical Effectiveness.
If you are a degree student and have taken a course during the academic year that qualifies, let us know.
Faculty
Dr. Richelle Charles, Director – Global Infectious Diseases Program and Associate Professor, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, HSPH
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr.
Edward Ryan, Co-Director-Global Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Professor Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School
Dr. Rocio Hurtado, Co-Director of Global Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. James Maguire, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Professor Harvard Medical School and previous Chief, Parasitic Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
FAQ
The Program in Global Infectious Diseases is designed for students, public health officers, clinicians, and scientists who are seeking advanced training in infectious diseases that disproportionally affect individuals in resource-limited areas. GID participants must have an undergraduate degree. The Program assumes a core knowledge in biomedicine and public health. Students should have completed or be enrolled in graduate studies in biomedicine and/or public health (Schools of Public Health, Medicine, Graduate Degree Programs in Life Sciences). Post-doctoral clinicians and public health officers are also welcome. International candidates are encouraged to apply. A strong command of the English language is required.
2. What are the dates of the 2023 program?
In 2023, the required IID232 and IID233 will be offered in the afternoons of Summer 1: July 6-July 28, 2023. Other courses that may be used to meet the additional GID course requirements are offered in either Summer 1 (July 6-28, 2023, or Summer 2(July 31-August 18, 2023).
3. What is the deadline to apply?
The deadline to apply is to the HSPH Summer program for Summer 2023 is March 15th. If you have been accepted into the HSPH Summer program for 2023, or you are an existing Harvard Chan School of Public Health student, you can enroll in the Global Infectious Program until June 1st, 2023. Simply enroll in IID232 and IID233, and complete the information here.
4. How much does the program cost?
The Program costs are included in your normal tuition and course enrollment fees for the Summer sessions at HSPH. If you are planning to complete the program in more than one Summer Session, each session requires a new enrollment.
5. What courses qualify toward completion of the Global Infectious Diseases Program.
IID232 and IID233 are core required courses. The remaining 2.5 credits may be fulfilled by taking the following courses also offered during the Summer Sessions.
Summer 1 Electives
- BST 202, Principles of Biostatistics, Part I. This course has a lab at 10:30 – 12:20 OR 1:30 – 3:20.
- BST 215, Linear & Longitudinal Regressn*
- EPI 236, Analytical Clinical Epidemiology*
- EPI 500, Fundamentals of Epidemiology
- EPI 210, Study Design in Clinical Epidemiology*
- ID 505, Epidemiologic Methods for Global Health
- GHP 532, Introduction to Global Healthcare Delivery
*Please note that courses with asterisks are Limited Enrollment. Prerequisites and faculty approval are required for students who are not in the Program in Clinical Effectiveness.
If you are a degree student and have taken a course during the academic year that qualifies, let us know.
Summer 2 Electives
- BST 203, Principles of Biostatistics, Part II. This course has a lab at 10:30 – 12:20 OR 1:30 – 3:20.
- BST 214S, Principles of Clinical Trials*
- BST 215, Linear & Longitudinal Regressn
- BST 234, Research Synthesis and Meta-Analysis*
- BST 501, Linear and Longitudinal Regression*
- EPI 202, Elements of Epidemiologic Research
- EPI 208, Intro Clinical Epidemiology
- ID 201, Principles of Biostatistics and Epidemiology for Public Health Practice
- HPM 512, Medical Informatics*
- NUT 217, Global Nutrition
*Please note that courses with asterisks are Limited Enrollment courses with prerequisites. Faculty approval is required for students who are not in the Program in Clinical Effectiveness.
If you are a degree student and have taken a course during the academic year that qualifies, let us know.
6. Do I need to do everything in one summer?
No. The Global Infectious Diseases Program may be completed in one or more than one Summer Session. If you are planning to complete the program in more than one summer session, each session requires a new enrollment and application.
7. If I complete these courses, can I ever use them toward a degree?
The Global Infectious Diseases Program may be completed by both non-degree and degree students. The Global Infectious Diseases Program is a non-degree program. Students who apply to and are admitted into a degree program within 5 years of completing non-degree credits may have a maximum of 20 non-degree credits counted toward the degree, if allowable.
8. What happens after I am accepted?
You will be guided by our summer programs website: https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/admissions/summer-non-degree-application/ for more information.
9. Whom should I contact with additional questions?
For queries regarding the Summer Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and for questions relating to applying to the Harvard Summer Program and questions about enrolling in the GID Program once you are accepted into the Harvard Summer Program:
Andrea Sabaroff, GID Administrator
617-432-1023
asabarof@hsph.harvard.edu
Note: admission to the GID program is contingent upon admission to the Summer Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Testimonials
“I would recommend everyone who may have any interest about infectious diseases or global health to take it!”
“All round great course. Supportive faculty. Concentrated on the most interesting areas rather than wading through the many possible details and facts.”
“Professors and experts who literally wrote the textbooks.”
Interested in the Global Infectious Diseases Summer Program?
Apply Today!
