Public Administration & Policy Certificate Program in International Health and Human Rights
The Graduate Certificate in International Health and Human Rights is a program for students and professionals who hope to gain practical knowledge in the fields of health and human rights. The primary objective of the program is to provide professionals and students with a framework for understanding health and human rights as a single issue area and for advocating that access to quality health care is a human right – regardless of wealth, power, status, standing or tradition.
The certificate program in health and human rights requires the completion of five courses, including three required courses and two electives. The required courses include (1) HPM645 Global Health, (2) RPOS568/RPAD 568 Foundations of Human Rights, and (3) HPM 586/RPOS 586 Health and Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach. The Global Health course is an offering in the School of Public Health and the Foundations of Human Rights course will be an offering in Rockefeller College. The Health and Human Rights course focuses on the intersection of these two traditional issues areas. The required courses will be offered at least annually. The elective courses can be selected from a list of offered courses at UAlbany or the partner institutions in the Capital Region (including Albany Law School, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and Union Graduate College). Students can transfer one of the elective courses from a non-partner institution if proof of completion can be shown (up to 3 credits).
There will be two tracks that students can follow through the certificate program. Track one is geared towards traditional students and track two is designed for professionals who are not able to take courses during the fall or spring semesters of the academic year.
The first track will involve taking courses, both core and electives, during the regular semester. These classes will be completed over their allotted fifteen week time period and credit will be given at the end of that period. After completing the three core courses at UAlbany, students will have the option to complete two elective courses at the partner institutions or at UAlbany. Although it is preferred that UAlbany students take courses offered at partnering institutions to gain breadth, the two electives can be taken at UAlbany to complete the certificate.
The second track will involve taking courses outside of the traditional academic year. Professionals working full time (e.g., doctors, lawyers, and public health workers) often cannot spend 10-15 weeks in a residential program. Moreover, we believe that demand for this program will come from professionals located around the globe. Therefore, the certificate courses will be offered during summer sessions and online. This will allow professionals, both local and at a distance, to take a combination of online and on-site courses. Students will only be allowed to take a maximum of two online courses.
