Fourth-year medical students at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. may enroll in either/both the Global Health Elective, for which students receive funding and credit towards their elective requirement, and in the Advanced Competency in Global Health, which meets the Advanced Competency Elective credit required by the College of Medicine.
Before completing an application, please review the information below.
Application Process Overview: A step-by-step guide for planning and applying for a Global Health Elective.
Global Health Elective Criteria and Requirements: Detailed information on GHE objectives, pre- and post-departure and requirements, etc.
Global Health Training Programs: A list of organizations that provide student placement for global health experiences at international sites
Global Health Elective Report Guidelines: Each student participating in a GHE is required to submit a report of their experience.
Global Health Elective Application and Forms
Current Travel Warnings
Electives will not be approved for countries listed on the "current travel warnings" issued by the U.S. Department of State. Travel to the country must also be safe as determined by the OGH.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may do a GHE during rotations 1-12 except for rotation 11. Rotation 11 is not available for a GHE. The dates to do a GHE during rotation 12 have been adjusted from the standard COM schedule to account for Match Day.
If you are going during rotation 11, contact your residency program as soon as you know where you matched to let them know you will be out of the country and internet access will likely be spotty. It will be important to find out if they need anything from you in the next month because you may not be able to do it while you are abroad. You might want to consider setting up a power of attorney for any documents that must be signed or completed in your absence.
The host site must be in a developing nation (lower, lower middle, or upper middle income). The World Bank provides a list of qualifying countries; however each site will be evaluated individually and presence on this list does not guarantee approval.
We do not give a "blanket" approval for any country, even if it is classified as a developing country. For example, a private, well-equipped hospital for serving middle class and higher (high-resource environment in a low-resource country) would not be approved.
- Complete USAID modules
- Schedule pre-departure meeting
- Submit an OIA application (to provide Supplemental Health Insurance)