The Faculty of Medicine is pleased to unveil the website for the McGill School of Population and Global Health (SPGH).
First announced in early 2017, the School is the coming together of the Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health; the Institute for Health and Social Policy; McGill Global Health Programs; The McGill AIDS Centre; and the Biomedical Ethics Unit. These well-renowned units will unite to innovate and expand by building on and leveraging existing strengths.
The proposal for the School, which was first approved in 2016, highlights various ways the School will transform the areas of population health related to policy and research at the local and global levels. An overarching goal/philosophy is to assemble interdisciplinary and intersectoral expertise while simultaneously breaking down silos.
The SPGH will work to create synergies, promote novel research and elevate education. Contextual knowledge translation creates a driving force for the School’s initiatives. Essentially, this means moving new knowledge more rapidly into operational policies, programs and practices, validating the hard work that goes into such efforts.
In addition to the existing graduate programs, the proposal includes implementing a cutting-edge Doctorate of Public Health, offering training in practice-relevant interdisciplinary research (PhD) and research-informed practice (DPh). A new undergraduate program in population health is also part of the future plans for the SPGH— an inter-faculty undergraduate minor in population health and practical professional programs will be created, as well as online offerings. Options in global health within existing MScPH and PhD (epidemiology) programs have also been part of the move forward.
These methodologically strong programs have a focus on policy development through data-driven science—a major identifier that differentiates the School’s approach.
We hope to use this website launch as an opportunity to inform and educate the McGill community about the School well before its official launch, expected in 2018.
It has been proven that McGill graduates go on to do great things and it all starts with the fertile training ground found at the Faculty of Medicine—an ideal foundation on which to build the SPGH.
September 6, 2017