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All Global Health majors will participate in a field experience opportunity either in the United States or abroad approved by the Global Health Program.

For Global Health Minors, the field experience is optional

The Global Health Field Experience will focus on issues relevant to global health, including health care, health education, environmental effects on health, infectious disease, mental health, health disparities, medical sequelae of natural disaster or political violence, indigenous healing practices, nutrition, and reproductive health.

Requirements

  • 100 hours at a research, service, clinical or study abroad site.
  • May be domestic or international.
  • May be credit - bearing or non-credit bearing (such as volunteer work) and paid or unpaid.
  • Student may participate in up to 3 experiences to complete their hours. 
  • Students must review and complete all health and safety requirements prior to beginning at their site.
  • Upon completion of hours, students must submit verification. 

Timeline:

  • BA Majors & BS Majors must complete their 100 hour field experience requirement by the end of the quarter they plan to graduate.
  • Honors Thesis Seminar students must complete their 100 hour field experience requirement by the end of Fall quarter during their graduating senior year, prior to enrolling in GLBH 150A (Honors Thesis Seminar I).
  • If Global Health Minors choose to complete the optional field experience requirement, this must be done by the quarter they plan to graduate.

How to Fulfill the Field Experience Requirement:

Step 1: Find a field experience Opportunity! There are two options:

  1. Find a Pre-approved Opportunity
    1. See below.
  2. OR Create your own! Placement must be pre-approved before beginning at site. See details below.

Step 2: Apply or Contact the organization/faculty member to get started.

  • Apply on organization website, or send an email to the organization to inquire if they have volunteer opportunities available.

  • Include your CV/resume and some information about yourself (your passions, career goals, academic information, previous experience) in the email. Read Presenting Yourself as a Professional.

Step 3: Review Health & Safety Information.

Step 4: Participate in your field experience opportunity!

  • 100 hours are needed for field experience requirement (see above)

Step 5: Submit Verification of Field Experience Hours

  • Please view information regarding keeping a log of your hours and how to submit verification to the Global Health Program office upon completion.

Creating your own Field Experience

Students who would like to participate in a field experience that is not in the pre-approved list must fill out the Field Experience Pre-Approval Request Form online prior to beginning the experience.

The organization or site must provide students with:

  • An opportunity to become knowledgeable about aspects of global health and see global health issues in practice.

  • A minimum of 100 hours over a minimum of five weeks (distributed over no more than three programs).

  • Direct contact with clients or those who directly serve clients.

  • Require meaningful, challenging work from the student while serving the agency's clients and goals.

  • On-site orientation, training, and supervision by a designated person in the agency.

What experiences will not be approved?

  • Lab work involving animals does not fulfill the field experience requirement.


 

UCSD Special Programs

Health Frontiers in Tijuana (HFIT)

Health Frontiers in Tijuana (HFiT) Student-Run Free Clinic

The Health Frontiers in Tijuana Undergraduate Internship Program (HFiT-UIP) is a quarterly internship that affords developmental experiences in public health and healthcare for the underserved and is especially appropriate for UCSD Global Health Majors and Minors. Students accepted into this program will participate in the HFiT binational student-run free clinic project located in Tijuana, Mexico, in conjunction with medical and pharmacy students from the University of California San Diego and Universidad Autonoma de Baja California. 

The HFiT Undergraduate Internship Program (HFiT-UIP) is open to Global Health majors and minors, and others upon instructor approval. HFiT offers various leadership opportunities for participants.

Course credit information: Students may enroll a max of three quarters, however only one course can apply towards global health requirements.

Field experience requirement: Each quarter fulfills 50 field experience hours

Submitting Field Verification for hours: Students don't need to keep a log of hours, one quarter fulfills 50 hours, two quarters of participation fulfills the 100 hour requirement. If you're enrolled in GLBH 111 for both quarters, upon completion of the courses and once grades have posted, please send us a message in the VAC letting us know you have completed your field experience with HFIT.

HFiT Clinic’s Goals:

  • To provide education, research, mentorship, and service opportunities in global health and other disciplines
  • To serve as an incubator for student-led research 
  • To provide access to care for vulnerable persons
  • To deliver evidence-based medicine in a low-resource setting  
How do I learn more and apply to HFiT? 
  • Visit this website for further information and the link to the online application
QUESTIONS? 

Asylum Seekers Clinic

 

shelter.clinic.1.jpg shelter.clinic.2.jpg

The Asylum Seeker Medical Screening and Stabilization Program provides UCSD Global Health students with an opportunity to gain experience medically screening the underserved population of asylum seekers temporarily housed by the Jewish Family Service of San Diego and Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego.

  • This is a pre-approved field experience opportunity for Global Health Majors and Minors! Students do not receive academic credit for this volunteer opportunity.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be accepted into the Asylum Seeker Medical Screening and Stabilization Program, you must be able to commit to at least one shift a week for at least five weeks and provide:

Contact: ghpadvising@ucsd.edu for questions.

Pre-Approved Domestic Field Experience Opportunities 

List of pre-approved experiences

Pre-Approved International Field Experience Opportunities 

  • Students participating in International Field Experiences should visit the Pre-departure Health and Safety page and obtain UCSD travel insurance (free) prior to departure.
  • Fill out the Global Health Program Field Experience Funding Request Google Form in order to request your field experience funding. The deadline is Wednesday, April 30th, 2025.

 Fill out the Google Form in order to request your field experience funding. The deadline is Wednesday, April 30th, 2025.

Study Abroad

  • Visit the Global Health Study Abroad page
    • Pre-approval is required before beginning your international experience with a program not listed as satisfying field experience on this page.
  • Please note: A program must have a field work component to count towards the Global Health Field Experience Requirement. Some programs offer opportunities to fulfill the field experience requirement and receive course credit, while others may only offer non-credit bearing field experience options.

For Study Abroad Advising, review pre-approved Global Health Programs, visit First Steps to get started or schedule an appointment:

Non Credit-Bearing International Field Experience Opportunities

These opportunities below typically do not provide course credit toward majors, minors or GEs - only 100 hours toward the field experience requirement.

Atlantis

Atlantis is a non-credit bearing 1 to 10-week shadowing program with programs in Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Ecuador and Uruguay, United Kingdom, Croatia, Germany, Malta, Panama and Chile. This program is designed to help prepare students for healthcare fields by providing shadowing experiences

  • 25 hours of shadowing per week and it is strictly observational
  • Summer Session: 2-10 weeks
  • Winter Session: 1, 2, or 3 weeks
  • March Session: 1 week
  • Price Range: ~$1,100-$3,480 (depending on duration)Program Fees do not include $500 registration fee

Child Family Health International (CFHI) - multiple locations

CFHI is a global family of health professionals and students working at the grassroots level. They provide community-based Global Health Education programs (internships, clinical electives, away rotations, externships) for health science students. Programs connect local health professionals with students transforming perspectives about self, global health, and healing.

  • 2-16 week non credit-bearing Global Health Immersions Programs available
  • 20+ programs in 9 countries
  • Programs in English and Spanish
  • Some programs include lessons in intensive medical Spanish (beginner through intermediate level)
  • Price Range: Depends on specific program and duration, ~$2290-2835 for month long program
    • Scholarships available
    • Over 50% of student program fees are invested in host communities

Interested in learning more about CFHI Programs? See what other Global Health students have said about their experiences:

InterAmerican Center for Global Health (CISG)

CISG offers specialized practicum opportunities for students interested in global health. Students will be placed in a practicum site that aligns with their personal interests. Students may choose from the following practicum sites.

*Intermediate Spanish Speaking Level Required

CISG Practicum Programs are designed to develop experiential and contextual skills of collaborative interdisciplinary work in real-life situations related to the field of global health. Practicum programs are designed to meet students' program competencies and personal/career interests. Participants will work alongside CISG local partners and local populations as part of their practicum in Costa Rica. Participants will be able to explore the inherent challenges towards health equity and sustainable development while participating in efforts to improve the overall well-being of the communities they work with. An essential part of this undertaking is to rely on the proper support to accomplish a comprehensive reflective process. CISG provides such support through an extensive team of local supervisors distributed among several local organizations and institutions, in addition to our in-house preceptors. Both parties are in charge of monitoring the participants' progress towards desired goals. 

Kaya Volunteer

  • Medical volunteer opportunities in developing countries
  • non credit-bearing - volunteer experience
  • Placements available range from hospitals, rural field clinics, home visits, nutrition, health education and public health research in all fields of health and medicine
  • Examples of duties: providing hands-on care to patients, working in a community educating people on how to stay healthy and prevent the spread of disease, or working in a lab conducting vital research
  • Programs will differ in price, duration, and location
  • Example: Global Health Placement in Rural Nepal
    • Medical students can gain valuable insight by shadowing experienced staff, discussing diagnosis and treatment and providing an extra pair of hands where you have the relevant training and experience under the watchful eye of a local health professional
    • Duration: 2-26 weeks
    • Price: $1,514 for two weeks
    • Mon-Fri 6-8 hours per day
  • For more information, visit Kaya Volunteer

Linguistic Horizons

Linguistic Horizons fosters globalization and foreign language learning through immersive study abroad and internship abroad programs.

Destination: Sacred Valley of the Incas, PERU

Customized International Field Work Experience for Global Health Students.

Unite For Sight

Unite For Sight offers a global health volunteer abroad experience in our high quality healthcare delivery programs. Participants come from diverse backgrounds and have a variety of interests in public health, medicine, international development, social entrepreneurship, and the social sciences. They support and learn from the partner clinics’ talented medical professionals who are social entrepreneurs addressing complex global health issues.

Locations of Year-Round Health Care Delivery: Ghana, Honduras, and India (volunteer for 7 days, 15 days, 20 days, 4 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks, or more)

Fellows support, assist, and learn from Unite For Sight's talented local partner doctors who have provided care to more than 2.2 million patients living in poverty during the past decade, including 95,000 sight-restoring surgeries.

Additional Pre-Approved sites:

*Please note the experience must have a health specific focus for the particular trip, if you’re unsure, please submit a field experience pre-approval request

Descriptions:

Amazon Promise: A U.S.-based, non-profit organization founded to provide desperately needed medical and dental care to remote populations living in the Upper Amazon Basin of Northeastern Peru.

Cross Cultural Solutions: Spend your volunteering abroad alongside healthcare professionals who are working to provide quality care to their patients. Choose from 10 countries with global health programs.

Experiential Learning Abroad: ELI partners with hundreds of local organizations in countries on five continents to provide volunteer opportunities. Programs can last from a week to a year.

Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC): The Summer International Health Fellowship (SIHF) is a four to eight week immersion and service program designed for undergraduate students pursuing health professions and recent graduates interested in medical school, nursing school, or physician assistant studies.

Foundation for Sustainable Development: By working directly with on-site FSD staff, local organization supervisors, and members of the community, program participants design or support projects that reflect the host community's priorities.

Global Medical Training (GMT): Global Medical Training is an International Humanitarian Organization that provides free medical-dental services to medically deprived communities in Central American countries.

Global Volunteer Network-Bamboo: Bamboo currently works with over 30 projects in countries including Thailand, Cambodia,Vietnam, Costa Rica, Peru, and more. Project types vary massively from teaching English to installing water purification systems.

Hands on Peru: Hands on Peru works to improve global public health by engaging young professionals from around the world in hands-on projects in their community public health center “CESAPU” (Centro de Salud Pública). This project is designed for students and professionals who are seeking a sustainable platform to make an impact in global health.

International Medical Aid Internships: International Medical Aid (IMA) is a non-profit organization that provides healthcare volunteer and internships programs for undergraduate students, graduate students, residents, and practitioners in the areas that need it the most: East Africa, South America and the Caribbean.

International Volunteer Programs Association: Use this website to search for the perfect program for your volunteering abroad.

International Volunteer HQ: Choose from a variety of programs such as childcare, teaching, or healthcare.

One Heart Source: A pre-Health internship designed for university undergraduate and postgraduate students aged 18-25 who are pursuing a career in health related fields.

Projects Abroad (Volunteer Projects): Select a program matching your interests and choose how long you’d like to go. Most programs require no previous experience.

Streetscapes Community Project: Located in Cape Town, the project employs chronic street people in rehabilitative work opportunities. It offers those with progressive drug and alcohol addictions a chance to rebuild their lives and to regain their dignity. The project addresses needs holistically by focusing on health, accommodation, finding purpose and building a community and social networks around our beneficiaries. 

Students for International Development: The program exposes interns to multiple dimensions of global health: primary care delivery, public health promotion, facility administration, medical anthropology, and understanding social determinants of health. Interns are placed in a clinical capacity at health facilities that SID has built, or partnered with, to deliver health services to low-income communities in Western Kenya.

Volunteering Solutions: Healthcare and Medical volunteer abroad programs in different countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Tanzania, South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Peru, and Costa Rica. These medical mission trips are suitable for medical students, healthcare practitioners, pre-med & pre-nursing students as well as aspiring medical professionals.Volunteers can choose to dedicate a minimum of 1 Week to a maximum of 6 months, as per convenience. (Only hours spent working in a healthcare volunteer/internship setting can be used towards field experience hours. Tourism activities do not count towards the field experience requirement).

Additional Resources

You can use the following sites to search for opportunities (receive pre-approval before beginning):

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of activities can count towards hours?

What counts towards hours:

  • Hours spent on site (not including travel time)
  • Orientations and meetings to prep 
  • Trainings & Outreach

Guidelines for Trackings Hours:

  • Keep a log of hours to be signed by site supervisor upon completion of hours

hours

Does field experience have to be credit-bearing?

Field Experience does not have to be credit-bearing to fulfill the major or minor requirement. Students who complete their Field Experience for course credit can apply the credit towards one of their Major Medical Social Sciences Elective of Minor Electives.

Additional information on creating an independent study course can be found here.

How do I track my hours?

Track your hours using the Global Health Field Experience Log.

Exceptions:

If you're participating in the Health Frontiers in Tijuana Internship (HFIT):

You don't need to keep a log, two quarters of participation fulfills the 100 hour requirement. If you're enrolled in GLBH 111 for both quarters, upon completion of the courses and once grades have posted, please send us a message in the VAC letting us know you have completed two quarters. If you're not enrolled for credit, please have your supervisor submit a letter/email of verification to the Global Health office, additional details here.

What are some other resources for finding experiences?

Are there any funding resources?

All Field Experience is self-funded. Planning a Global Health Field Experience or project requires that you determine what resources are necessary to accomplish your goals and what resources you have available. You should be thinking about funding for your project early in the planning process. 

The amount of money that you have and how you choose to spend it will affect every aspect of your experience in the community. You will need enough money to travel to and from the project site, live safely, and implement a feasible project plan within the negotiated time frame. 

Expenses to consider when traveling internationally to complete field experience include: 

  • Plane tickets
  • Room and Board Plan
  • International Health Insurance
  • Ground transportation
  • Food

Other Funding Opportunities:

Additional Resources: