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Global Health Electives & Programs

The UNC School of Medicine policy requires all medical students undertaking global health travel to complete pre-travel requirements and receive written approval at least eight weeks prior to their departure. Failure to do so may result in cancellation of your program, funding, and course credit (where applicable).

You are encouraged to choose a program at one of UNC’s approved international sites. Other sites will require OGHE approval. Request a meeting with OGHE to discuss any and all options.  We will work with you and your faculty advisor to find the best possible program.

OGHE Sponsored-Programs

Migrant Farmworker Health Service-Learning, Western NC

Open to all Medical and Public Health students, and Resident Physicians (Group program)
Seminar in Migration and Health (16* weeks on Fridays, Spring 2026 – dates and time TBA) taught by Dr. Laura Villa Torres (SPH):
Explore the complexities of the migrant experience in the Americas ; prerequisite for MHSL Tucson experience. *MD students may or may not be required to attend the classes – check with OGHE

Group Travel Experience to Western NC May 30-June 6, 2026 (tentative dates)

Applications for Summer 2026 Group Program will be available in mid-October, 2025.
Summer 2026 Program  Info Session: Monday, October 27, 12-1 pm in Roper 4302 (with pizza)
Recording of the 2025 Info Session (second half)

Migrant Health Service-Learning, Tucson, Arizona

(Note: this program is currently on hiatus and we are running the Farmworker program)

Open to all Medical and Public Health students, and Resident Physicians (Group program)
Seminar in Migration and Health (16* weeks on Fridays, Jan 8-April 25, 2025 2:30-4:10 pm) taught by Dr. Laura Villa Torres (SPH): Explore the complexities of the migrant experience in the Americas and at the US/Mexico border; prerequisite for MHSL Tucson experience.  *MD only students will need to attend at least 8 of 16 most relevant class sessions (ask OGHE for details)
Group Travel Experience to Tucson, AZ,  (currently no upcoming dates)

Program Info
  • October 2023 article on Expanding Global Health Experiences: MHSL & Bolivia

Applications for this program are not currently being accepted.
Summer Program  Info Session: TBA if the program runs in the future
Recording of the 2024 Info Session (second half)

Clinical Spanish Immersion in Bolivia (CIES) –Multiple Locations

Open to all Medical and Public Health students, and Resident Physicians individually (or in a group summer).
4-6 week Clinical/Language Experience partnering with CIES clinics in various locations in Bolivia.

Program Info
  • August 2024 article on Bolivia and Peru cohort programs
  • October 2023 article on Expanding Global Health Experiences: MHSL & Bolivia

Applications for Summer 2026 Group Program will be available in mid-October, 2025.
Summer 2026 Program  Info Session: Monday, October 27, 12-1 pm in Roper 4302 (with pizza)
Recording of the 2025 Info Session (first half)

Spanish Language and Clinical Placements in Cusco, Peru

Open to all Medical students, and Resident Physicians individually or in a group.

Program Info
  • August 2024 article on Bolivia and Peru cohort programs

Late Spring/Summer/early Fall applicants should apply for the February 15 funding deadline for this program.
Late Fall/early Spring applicants should apply for the September 15 funding deadline for this program.

Nagoya University (Japan) Summer Program

Nagoya University is again offering a summer program for a select number of UNC medical students. “Bridging Community Medicine and Innovations in Japan” (July 6-14, 2026)

For more information see the links below about the 2024, 2025 and upcoming 2026 program. 

Interested UNC SOM applicants need to submit a CV, a one-page motivation letter (statement of purpose/interest), and one letter of recommendation to oghe@med.unc.edu by March 1, 2026. OGHE will review the applications and select the two participants from UNC by March 16, 2026. The program covers economy airfare, but participants are responsible for an $850 fee, which covers accommodation and arrangement fees. Flights will be booked by Nagoya University and must adhere to specific arrival and departure dates. If you choose flights outside these specified dates for your additional personal stays before or after the program, they cannot be accommodated within the program’s coverage. For additional information/questions contact oghe@med.unc.edu or visit Roper 3319. 

OGHE Exchange Programs

University of Navarra Medical School, Spain

Designated for MS4s / clinical rotation. The School of Medicine at the Universidad de Navarra has a significant international dimension that is enhanced each year through exchange agreements with universities in other countries. The Medical School’s global recognition is also strengthened by its affiliation with the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE), the Association of Medical Schools in Europe (AMSE), and its Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited teaching hospital – Clinica Universidad de Navarra (CUN).

La Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH)

Designated for MS4s/ clinical rotations/research rotations possible upon request. Cayetano Heredia University located in Lima, Peru is considered one of the top medical schools in Peru, and is one of the major producers and publishers of scientific research in the country. Founded in 1961 by a group of professors and students from the medical school of the four-century-old National University of San Marcos in Lima, Cayetano Heredia University has established numerous agreements and collaborative arrangements with leading institutions from all over the world.

King’s College London (Cardiology)

(information coming soon) To find out more about the program, contact OGHE.

UNC Global Partner Sites

UNC has many global sites where faculty/students/residents have a history of clinical and research projects.  See the links below to see some of these connections.  Contact OGHE if you have questions on specific types of projects and/or if you want to explore one of the sites below for a global health experience/elective. See the Past Participants Chart for information on students who have participated in the past.

UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID)

IGHID investigators have sites and projects in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Liberia, Malawi, Vietnam, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia.

Clinical/Research Opportunities with UNC Project Malawi

MED 423 (Medicine, Malawi) – Clinical course/rotation in Malawi for International Medicine.  For other possible specialty courses in Malawi or to inquire about research opportunities, contact OGHE.
For rotations in Malawi, students must be in Individualization phase and commit to a minimum rotation of 4 weeks. Rotations are only approved for the months that the Malawi medical students are active. (They are not usually available in Dec, the first ½ of January, July, and August – but check for availability.)

UNC Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Ecology Lab (IDEEL)

IDEEL is a platform for collaborative interdisciplinary global health research for UNC Faculty Members.

UNC Center for Women’s Health Research

The CWHR mission is to improve the health of women through research that affect women only or predominately.

UNC Affiliated Global Sites

These are programs/sites that UNC medical students have participated on in the past as global health experiences/electives.

Child Family Health International (CFHI), world wide

Designated for MS1 (summer after MS1) and MS4 (GH elective rotation).  Child Family Health International (CFHI) is a global family of committed professionals and students who work at the grassroots level to promote the health of the world community. CFHI has multiple projects in numerous countries across the globe in primary care, pediatrics, maternal and child health, and more.

Visit the CFHI site to learn more about these individual programs, their location specific specialty offerings, the application process, and costs.  Once you decide you would like to do a CFHI program, contact OGHE for approval and SOM requirements. See the Past Participants Chart for information on students who have participated in the past.

View CFHI’s expanded elective portfolio and see the locations and descriptions below:

Community-Based Education Global Scholars Program with the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda

Designated for MS1s or MS4s/community health. Community-Based Education Global Scholars Program is a 3 -week program based in Burera District, Northern Rwanda designed for students who are enrolled in advanced health science degrees in Nursing, Medicine, and Public Health, among other related fields. This program convenes advanced health science students to UGHE in Butaro, Rwanda to have an immersive, hands on community based learning experience.

Duke Sanford Global Health Policy Fellowship in Geneva

Designated for MS1s/ Global Health Policy & Development. Designed to equip students to take on the pressing global health challenges of our time, the Global Health Fellows Program will provide students with both an academic and experiential perspective on how inter-governmental institutions, public-private partnerships, and non-governmental organizations shape global health policy. By combining internships and an intensive course on global health issues, the program is a unique opportunity to learn first-hand how global health policy is formulated and implemented. View the website for more details.

Himalayan Health Exchange, India

Designated for MS1s or MS4s/community health/mobile healthcare unit/wilderness medicine. Himalayan Health Exchange’s (HHE) expeditions combine service, education and adventure to provide care to the underserved populations in select, remote areas of Indo-Tibetan Borderlands. Each trip combines service with team members providing care while also experiencing the land, its natural environment, people and culture.

 

Other Programs/Locations

UNC Medical Students can propose their own Global Health experiences to the Office of Global Health for approval.  Students should reach out to OGHE for information on the requirements and paperwork and start the planning process early (especially if they are enrolling in an elective for credit)..  Students in the past have participated in clinical, public health and/or research experiences in a range of places such as Australia, India, Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Puerto Rico and Vietnam, etc.  Watch some second year students present about some of their independent experiences from summer 2025 (UNC login required).