Education

A two-year scholars program that provides advanced training in the theory of bioethics and its application to clinical medicine.

The goal of the program is a rigorous master's level education in the legal, historical, philosophical, and cultural contexts of medicine. Graduates will be able to use their multidisciplinary understanding of medicine in their teaching, advising, and ethical decision making.

This program, available in part- or full-time formats, examines medicine and its ethical implications from the diverse perspectives of the humanities, including philosophy, history, literature, anthropology, and the law.

The goal of this program is a rigorous master's level education in the legal, historical, philosophical, and cultural contexts of medicine. When combined with the Feinberg medical degree, graduates will be able to use their multidisciplinary understanding of medicine in their teaching, advising, and ethical decision making.

The one-year, professional MS degree in health communication is a unique program that will prepare students to solve important problems in healthcare by applying theories, concepts and methods from the communication arts and sciences. The program takes an innovative approach to health communication—bringing together the science of social influence with the science of human centered design.

The goal of this program is to provide a structured curriculum that presents the emerging content and skills healthcare professionals need to become effective quality and safety practitioners and leaders. This is a 12-month, part-time, classroom-based program that does not require Chicago residence; students attend a series of classroom-based intensive sessions at our Chicago Campus and complete the independent study remotely.

The two-year Disability & Employment Research Fellowship, funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research, is designed to develop and train a cadre of scientists capable of leading high-quality studies that will enhance employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

The Health Services and Outcomes Research program offers two graduate certificates--in Methodology or Contemporary Issues--with the goal of providing targeted analytical training and topical instruction to clinicians and researchers. Certificates are self-paced and can be pursued alongside a full-time position. At least five courses must be successfully completed to earn each certificate.

The Health Sciences Integrated PhD Program (HSIP) offers doctoral student training across multiple disciplines within the Health Sciences, spanning from informatics and program evaluation to implementation science and outcomes research. The PhD program builds upon existing master's degree programs in these fields and incorporates new areas of strength in measurement and health behavior. Integration across these programs provides the flexibility for doctoral students to receive rigorous interdisciplinary training in the core content needed for population and health research in the 21st century.

The purpose of the Northwestern University Integrated Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Services and Outcomes Research is to help ensure that adequate numbers of highly trained individuals are available to carry out the nation's health services and outcomes research agenda, in order to improve the quality and safety of healthcare, enhance access and healthcare equity, and appraise the effectiveness of healthcare expenditures. The Integrated Fellowship is designed for professionals with a Medical Degree (MD) or Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) who wish to gain expertise in health services and outcomes research in order to pursue a career focused on research, dissemination and translation of research findings, and scholarly educational activities.

Medical students currently enrolled in the Doctor of Medicine program at Feinberg School of Medicine may apply for the combined MD/MS program. Coursework can assist students with the Area of Scholarly Concentration (AOSC) requirement at Feinberg. Tuition is calculated according to Feinberg's part-time, dual-degree rate.

The Master's Program focuses on the theoretical and practical skills necessary for improving healthcare delivery systems as well as changing the policy landscape of our healthcare system. It is designed for clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals who want to focus their career development on improving healthcare delivery systems, particularly in regard to quality and safety. This is a two-year, part-time, classroom-based program that does not require Chicago residence; students attend a series of classroom-based intensive sessions at our Chicago & Evanston Campus and complete the project remotely.

The HSOR master’s curriculum is designed to prepare students for successful careers in academic medicine and other research organizations. Coursework emphasizes quantitative and qualitative research skills, grant writing, and writing for peer-reviewed journals. There are two options for completing this degree: part-time (two or more years) or full-time (one year).

The Fogarty Global Health Training Program offers opportunities in global health research training for pre- and post-doctoral candidates from the U.S. and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), sponsored by the Fogarty International Center (FIC) and several collaborating Institutes and Centers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of the program is to generate a new cadre of global health researchers, educators, and professionals who will be prepared to address the new challenges in global health. The program will provide fellows with a one year mentored clinical research fellowship in innovative global health research to promote health equity for populations around the world.

Individuals in graduate programs at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine beyond the MD Program have opportunities to share their skills and learn via our global health sites and rotations.

The Master’s in Global Health aims to prepare the next generation of leaders for emerging global issues. The degree can be completed part time and entirely online, allowing students anywhere to access the program while maintaining their personal and professional commitments. The program is designed for clinicians, researchers, epidemiologists, nonprofit administrators, policy analysts, social entrepreneurs, and others who make a meaningful difference in healthcare access and outcomes in the places where it’s needed most. Through multidisciplinary online courses that emphasize both theory and practical application, you'll learn how to improve healthcare outcomes and systems, work effectively in challenging healthcare settings, navigate global regulatory issues, evaluate results, and more.

Our program offers Northwestern University’s McGaw Graduate Medical trainees (residents and fellows) a competency-based global health certificate program to provide them with training in clinical care delivery in resource-limited settings worldwide. The McGaw Global Health Clinical Scholars Program is a two-year certificate program, eligible trainees must complete the following curricular components.

This fellowship is meant to provide a viable career track to post-graduate medical trainees at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine by promoting innovative global health research and education/training programs. The fellowship will provide salary support for one year plus a modest research seed grant for a specific research project for one post-doctoral research fellow per year. The fellow would be expected to commit between 20-25% of their time to global health education programs and mentorship of junior medical trainees at the Center for Global Health including but not limited to teaching one course in Northwestern’s Master of Science in Global Health – learn more here. The remaining 75-80% of the fellow’s time would be dedicated to research and clinical work depending on the priorities of the fellow and his/her department.

The Northwestern University Patient-Centered Intervention and Engagement Training (NU-PATIENT) Faculty Scholars Training Program is an AHRQ-funded career development training grant designed to support the early research career development of junior faculty who will be engaged in comparative effectiveness and patient-centered outcomes research.

The Accelerated Program in Public Health (APHP) is a "4+1" program designed for high-performing Northwestern undergraduate students with public health interests.

An MPH from Northwestern prepares graduates to become boundary spanners between public health and their professional fields, emphasizing data and analytic skills. Graduates will be poised to address complex public health challenges on a local, national, and global scale. Our Master of Public Health (MPH) Program offers a part-time evening program and a full-time yearlong program. MPH students choose to graduate with a generalist degree or they can concentrate in community health research, epidemiology, or global health.

Life Sciences PhD/MPH: In partnership with Driskill Graduate Program in Life Sciences (DGP), the Program in Public Health offers the rare opportunity to earn the MPH degree concurrent with a PhD in the life sciences. Graduates of the program have many career options including university and academic medical center laboratories, CDC research labs and non-governmental agencies such as the Joint Commission. Medical Anthropology PhD/MPH: This program is designed to prepare graduates for leadership in academic and government institutions in positions requiring expertise in bio-cultural approaches to the study of human health and disease. Graduates of the program have gone on to positions in academic departments of anthropology.

The MD/MPH program at Northwestern creates an integrated approach to help students improve both individual and population health. Our MD/MPH Program is structured to meet the needs of our students, including evening MPH classes, a 4 year completion period, and an MD/MPH cohort.

The DPT/MPH program at Northwestern University provides one of only a few opportunities in the country for students to pursue both degrees. The combination of coursework from both programs emphasizes both individual and population health improvement. The dual-degree can be completed in three years, with coursework from both programs completed concurrently. Students will begin MPH coursework during the summer prior to matriculating into the DPT program.

The Master of Science in Biostatistics is a one-year program, providing graduate biostatistics training for students who intend to plan, direct and execute health research and/or analyze health data. Three concentration options address a variety of student goals: Population Health Analytics, Statistical Bioinformatics and Statistical Methods and Practice.

The objective of the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) program is to produce clinical scientists who are skilled in clinical research techniques, competitive in seeking research support and knowledgeable about the complex issues associated with conducting sound clinical research, particularly in translational and clinical epidemiologic patient-oriented studies. The MSCI is part-time and consists of evening courses primarily for medical residents, fellows and junior faculty members who wish to receive formal training in clinical research. Medical professionals in the Chicago area who are not affiliated with Northwestern may also be eligible to enroll.

NUCATS offers a number of educational opportunities, workshops and seminars to support early-career faculty members as they begin their careers in research and learn to teach others these critical skills.

Rick McGee, MD, associate dean for Faculty Recruitment & Professional Development, hosts grant writing groups to support junior faculty working on NIH proposals. Under his guidance, groups of three to five writers meet weekly for two to three months for real-time feedback on proposals as they evolve. To be notified when new groups are forming (typically July, November and March), email Nicole Langford at nicole.langford@northwestern.edu. For questions, feel free to email Rick McGee at r-mcgee@northwestern.edu.

This K12 program supports the research career development of junior faculty who aspire to advancing patient-centered outcomes research within learning health systems and facilitate rapid implementation of evidence into those systems to improve the quality and outcomes of healthcare.