Application deadline: TBA
The Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences within the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University offers a graduate summer study abroad program in Cuba. This two-week course addresses how the Cuban government has prioritized the development of universal health care, with a special emphasis on the efforts to strengthen primary health care and to articulate it with more complex levels of care. Combining lectures by local experts with site visits, the class contextualizes and analyzes programs to prevent infant mortality and to prevent and control infectious diseases such as polio, malaria, tuberculosis, dengue, and HIV. Moreover, it enables students to explore these public health initiatives from within the economic and political context in which they developed.
Learning objectives:
a) Analyze the development of the Cuban health system within its economic and political context.
b) Analyze the efforts of the Cuban health system in reaching universal health coverage.
c) Identify the achievements of the Cuban health system in maternal and child health and in the elimination and control of infectious diseases.
The three-credit course takes place in collaboration with the National School of Public Health (ENSAP) in Havana and is fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).
Non-Tulane students and graduate students from allied fields (anthropology, sociology, geography, etc) are encouraged to apply.
Students are housed just blocks from the Malecón in a boarding house in Havana’s historic Vedado neighborhood. They share double-occupancy rooms with other program participants. The program cost includes two daily meals (breakfast and dinner).
The course includes regular site visits to local medical facilities and patients’ homes in and around Havana. These excursions vary from year to year but may take students into the rural areas surrounding the city.
Students pay standard summer rates for 3 credits at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, as well as an extra fee to cover program costs in Cuba. The price of the 2020 program will depend on the number of students enrolled.*
The program fee includes shared room and two meals a day, visa, specialized tours and outings, and farewell dinner. It does not include Airfare to/from Havana, incidental costs, and extra meals and expenses. Program staff will advise students about purchasing airfare directly to Havana. Because Cuba requires all visitors to have international healthcare coverage, medical insurance is included in the ticket price for all flights originating from the U.S.
Students may be able to find external grants or fellowships to defray the cost of attending the Public Health in Cuba program. They are encouraged to explore the following sources:
The UNC-Chapel Hill Funding Information Portal
Non-Tulane students who plan to use federal financial aid should contact their Financial Aid Offices early to discuss the payment process.
Graduate students interested in applying must be in good academic standing and have at least a current cumulative grade point average of 2.5. Fluency in Spanish is an asset. The program recommends that students have at least 3-years of college-level Spanish training or heritage speaker status. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis. Please contact the Program Manager for more information.
Non-Tulane students and graduate students from allied fields (anthropology, sociology, geography, etc) are encouraged to apply.
Non-Tulane students should confirm with their home university that their credits will transfer.
The application will be available through the Tulane Office of Study Abroad in late November 2019. Note: Non-Tulane students will be required to created an account. Please review all application requirements carefully.
Application deadline: TBA. Students will be notified of acceptance the week following the deadline.
For questions about this program, contact gchb@tulane.edu or 504-988-5391.
Faculty director: Dr. Arachu Castro, Samuel Z. Stone Chair of Public Health in Latin America, Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
Graduate Teaching Assistant: Hannah Kaufman
Due to current regulations, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control only approves student travel to Cuba if students are (1) registered in a degree-seeking program and (2) the credits earned in Cuba count towards that degree. (i.e. You must be a current university student who will not have graduated on or before May/June 2019 to apply to this program. That does not include high school students, staff, or faculty from outside institutions; no exceptions. This program only accepts graduate students at this time.)
*The range is approximately $2,700-$3,700. Students will be notified of the final price with their acceptance.
