The University of Wisconsin will begin offering a certificate program in global health as part of a collaborative effort by professors from various schools within the university next fall.

Cynthia Haq, director of the Center for Global Health, said the global health certificate program is "an important initiative a whole team of people have put together."

The global health certificate program will be offered as a graduate certificate through the Center for Global Health to professional students in health sciences and graduate students in health-related fields.

The nine-credit program mainly concentrates on health issues in developing countries and will be taught by faculty from the schools of Medicine and Public Health, Nursing, Pharmacy, Veterinary Medicine, and International Studies.

Christopher Olsen, professor of public health in the School of Veterinary Medicine and a member on the Steering Committee at the Center for Global Health, said that the interdisciplinary approach UW is taking to the global health certificate is "very unique to this campus."

The certificate program consists of three required courses and either work abroad or in a setting that works with international organizations.

The three required courses are health systems, epidemiology and foundations of global health practice.

Olsen said this program introduces another way for graduate students to grow intellectually.

"[The certificate program] provides a really nice opportunity for graduate students to branch out," Olsen said.

Haq said that she is most excited about the fact that there are many people involved in the program.

"Issues of global health are issues that affect everybody on the planet," Haq said, pointing to HIV/AIDS and the avian flu as issues of particular global concern.

According to Haq, the global health certificate program is a "tremendous opportunity" to contribute to research of major health problems around the world.

Haq said the program is not just about helping other countries.

"It is partly about doing a better job here at home, but we need to be involved abroad," Haq said. "There are things we can learn from other countries."