Graduate Interdisciplinary Field Courses

The SMPH Office of Global Health currently offers three faculty-led interdisciplinary field courses:

Ecuador>>

Thailand>>

India>>

Guatemala>>

Understanding and promoting health takes more than medicine.  A myriad of determinants contribute to well-being and conversely disease, including the fact that the health of humans, animals, and their shared ecosystems are interdependent on one another (“One Health”).  Additionally, people of different cultures define health and view disease in many different ways, and understanding cultural influences is critical to optimizing health and healthcare.  The Global Health faculty-led field courses introduce students to the healthcare systems, challenges to and determinants of health and well-being, community interactions, and the impact of culture on health and disease in the respective countries.

The field courses are offered through International Academic Programs (IAP) Study Abroad program, and students apply through studyabroad.wisc.edu. (See links to specific country experiences above.)

To learn more about the offered field courses, please see our recorded information session about the winter 2025 and summer 2026 field courses or take a look at the slides from the session!

All faculty-led field course students are required to participate in a preparatory course. Please contact SMPH Office of Global Health for more details: smphglobalhealth@hslc.wisc.edu. 

Are field experience costs subject to tuition remission?

For students who have teaching or research assistant positions eligible for tuition remission, please note that most field experience costs (including the Program Fee charged by the UW International Academic Programs) are NOT considered tuition and therefore NOT eligible for tuition remission.  Tuition for an independent study field experience (course number 699) may be eligible. Please discuss all tuition remission questions with the UW Division of Business Services.