University of California San Francisco
UCSF School of Medicine UCSF Medical Center

Global Health Pathway

The Global Health Pathway engages trainees to become equitable, sustainable partners in global health clinical practice, as well as cultivate skills and knowledge relevant to decreasing health inequities and disparities locally and internationally. The pathway is designed for residents and fellows interested in a deeper look at Global Health, seeking project mentorship, and contact with GH faculty. The pathway course is also offered to 4th year medical students. The multiple disciplines and levels of experience foster innovative scholarship.

2

Weeks

33

Sessions Led by Local and international experts

38

GME and ume participants in 2025-26
Pathway Mission
  • Achieve competency in core and specialty-specific GH topics
  • Receive exposure to GH mentorship and awareness of potential career paths
  • Make reasonable attempts to contribute to scholarship in this discipline
  • Be afforded opportunities for safe and supported field experiences
  • Act in a manner befitting UCSF that respects cultural norms, ethical principles, international partnerships, and is cognizant of power and political dynamics.

GH Pathway Highlights described in text in the next section

Program Expectations and Pre-Requisites
  • Online GHS 101 Introduction to Global Health Course Pre-Requisite
  • Attendance of the September course
  • Attend 3 WIPS (works in progress session) and/or check-ins  (conferences) with directors throughout the year
  • Project design and completion with close faculty mentorship that will be presented at a local, regional, national or international conference
Pathway Highlights

Didactics and practical training for sustainable global health practice, in clinical skills and beyond that is led by local and international global health experts

Guidance for planning and executing a mentored international and local research projects.

A community of practice with like minded individuals from multi-disciplinary and inter-professional fields from all levels of GME training and fourth year medical students

Introducing the Asylum Medicine Track within the Global Health Pathway 2025-2026!

The Asylum Medicine track provides longitudinal training in forensic medical and mental health evaluations with a trauma-informed approach, preparing participants to independently perform evaluations while building core competencies in migrant healthcare, community engagement, and clinical advocacy.

About the Course

The course will be a mixture of concepts, implementation, and research skill, and will focus on participants developing shared language around global health practice, knowledge in diseases relevant to populations worldwide, practical skills in global health projects and decolonizing our approach to global health.

The course is designed for students, residents and fellows interested in a deeper look at Global Health, project mentorship, and engaging a community of practice in global health.

"I really appreciated the range of speakers from such diverse paths in the global health field. Getting to see the different forms a global health career can take really broadened the way I am thinking about my future career.  I know few residencies are able to make space for courses like this but I think having time to think critically and creatively about our career paths will fend off burn out and pay off in the long run."
Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a cost to participate in the GH Pathway?

  • No, the GME Pathways Program, which includes the GH Pathway, is offered free to our UCSF trainees and students.

What is a Legacy Project?

  • The project work requirement in the pathways program is based on the principle that program participants need to engage in and produce scholarly work. All scholars (unless exempted by their Residency Program Director), with their mentor’s review and consent, are expected to present their projects (abstract and poster format) at a conference before graduating. Ideally, the project proposal would be based on international work. If the resident’s program/department is unable to accommodate international work by the scholar, the project can be accomplished without travel, for example by completing an in-depth literature review with analysis of future directions for specific research.
  • Some examples of the types of projects students can complete are:
    • Write a Fulbright Scholarship GH project Application
    • Do a formal literature review on a GH topic (background for future project)
    • Design a healthcare education intervention
    • Design a survey for an international partner
    • Analyze data for an existing research project
    • Manuscript for publication
    • Program Evaluation
    • Education Module
    • Short Film
    • Survey Tool
    • Production of policy documents
    • Collaborative project across disciplines and schools 

Do I need to have a project and mentor identified before the course?

  • Scholars should try to identify a mentor and develop ideas for a project proposal during the summer months before the course begins. We encourage you to use the UCSF Global Research Projects database as resources that can help you identify a mentor and current projects they are working on. If you need advice about finding a mentor or a letter of introduction please contact:

What about funding for project work and related travel?

  • UME Students who are interested in receiving funding for research and/or research related travel, please check the quarterly grants information to review the exact deadlines. Please note that the deadline for the application occurs the quarter before the work abroad is planned.
  • Residents who are interested in funding opportunities may discuss this with their residency program directors to identify resources in their departments. In addition, the Resident Research Training Program has several funding opportunities for research and/or research related regional travel to present UCSF-related work.

I’m a Deep Explore student. Why should I take this course/pathway?

  • In addition to receiving 4 weeks towards your Deep Explore project time, this course would be very helpful in gaining mentoring to help you execute your projects that are oriented toward global health. There are three additional features we like to highlight.  Residents and fellows also participate in this program, which provides students with a unique opportunity to interact with others crafting a career in global health. Second, the course partners with other departments to host Works in Progress sessions that provides additional feedback on projects and challenges. Third, this course is an instrumental step in becoming more integrated and connected to the global health community at UCSF. ​​​​​
"Incredible collection of world renown speakers and thought provoking topics. I felt lucky to be a part of this program."
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Helpful Resource

Resources for Finding Projects and Mentors:

Global Health and Travel Resources:

Global Health Events at UCSF And Beyond