Ph.D. in Global Health

This course comprises the main work of this program. In this course the student will learn to independently conduct and plan research. The student will review the literature, and reflect on the direction of the project, being introduced to new methods by the supervisor. Once the student has mastered the technique (s)he will conduct the research independently.

At the end of these courses the student will be able to:

• Conduct innovative research independently
• Appraise the existing scientific evidence
• Identify relevant research questions
• Employ innovative scientific analytic methods
• Assemble data and conduct analysis to respond to specific scientific problems
• Assess scientific research results in the background of published data
• Work in multidisciplinary teams
• Defend the results of their research

This course will provide students with advanced knowledge on major global health issues and challenges, including communicable and non-communicable diseases. These problems will be explored from the perspective of the broad social and environmental determinants of health and disparities, and the Sustainable Development Goals. The incidence, distribution and burden related to those problems across populations and more vulnerable subgroups will be discussed, as well as the necessity and importance of understanding and addressing global health through multidisciplinary frameworks. Up to date original, peer-reviewed papers will be used as a basis for discussions.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• Recognize the major causes of morbidity and mortality around the world (communicable and non-communicable), and how the risk of disease varies with regions.
• Examine the major public health efforts to reduce disparities in global health.
• Validate the effect on interventions on health status of populations using available data.
• Distinguish areas in global where scientific evidence is still limited.

This course will provide students with advanced knowledge on the evidence regarding global health interventions, reflecting on the major issues in international health policy and health systems, including relevant actors and institutions shaping global health, and challenges of measuring the burden and impact of those problems as well as of assessing the benefits of global health interventions, with a focus on most-advanced technological methods and research designs. The gap between evidence and practical policy-making and the interplay between both worlds will be examined as a way to improve and strengthening global health, understanding how to influence the processes that drive large scale change in global health; exploring ways in which health issues reach the top of the agenda; and analyzing how decisions are made by policy-makers. Ethical issues in global health research will also be discussed. Up to date original, peer-reviewed papers will be used as a basis for discussions.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• Distinguish the major actors and stakeholders in global health and the influence of international institutions on global health.
• Describe trends and patterns in health systems, universal health coverage, and health inequities.
• Differentiate the opportunities and limitations of available evidence to deliver interventions in global health.
• Resolve common ethical issues and challenges that arise to address global health issues.

This course will run for the whole duration of the program. In this course, internal and external researchers will give presentations about their research. Students are expected to discuss and analyze the research results presented in the different talks. Students will also present and defend the results they obtain in the course of their research. This is also the platform for students to learn to present their work at conferences.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• Examine critically scientific results
• Present and defend own research results at national and international conferences
• Communicate effectively
• Develop connections with established national and international researchers

This course will provide students with advanced and practical skills to design, implement, manage, and evaluate global health programs and initiatives. Students will explore the critical role of leadership at the core of achieving global health results, building opportunities for global health programs to become efficient, effective, adaptable, and sustainable, increasing their ability to respond effectively within the increasingly complex, interconnected and global influenced social and health environments, becoming effective team leaders who can address those multifaceted challenges maximizing the opportunities for the use of advanced data science and analytics to make positive, transformative change and contribute at a higher level to advancing global health. Students will discuss with both faculty and relevant stakeholders related with their specific project the factors that may facilitate or impede the implementation in “real world” the scientific evidence that may be identified in their individual research projects.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• Select tools and techniques to effectively plan, implement, manage and evaluate global health programs and interventions.
• Design health needs assessments for local and international settings.
• Appraise information, including quantitative and qualitative data and health indicators, relevant to global health projects.
• Communicate, in verbal and/or written form, with team members, including international and/or local staff, to successfully plan and execute projects.
• Formulate evidence into implementation improvements and policy recommendations.

In this course students will learn to generate relevant hypotheses, identify research objectives, propose appropriate methodologies to respond to those objectives, and identify existing sources of data. Students are encouraged to analyze data not only from their own project, but from other topics as well. Scientific results and future directions of research will be discussed. Students will present their own proposals, hypotheses, research objectives and methods of their projects.

At the end of the courses the student will be able to:

• Distinguish relevant research questions in global health
• Appraise limitations of existing evidence and its limitations
• Recognize the roles of professional ethics, integrity, responsibility and accountability
• Demonstrate effective scientific communication skills
• Apply knowledge in a teaching environment, critically evaluating their teaching philosophy

In this course, literature relevant for the PhD program will be introduced by supervisors as well as the PhD students. Critical appraisal skills to identify strong and weak points of the papers will be discussed as well as the implication a paper has on the PhD project to which it is linked. Students are expected to present in-depth analysis of papers relevant to their thesis.

At the end of the courses the student will be able to:

• Appraise and evaluate scientific papers
• Distinguish the implications of scientific papers
• Present scientific research to a scientific community
• Communicate with the scientific community in general

This course is based on knowledge acquired in course PhDGH-705. Students will learn to identify key findings and apply models in global health research. The results will be put into context with existing and newly emerging scientific knowledge. Based on this the students will be expected to develop future scientific proposals to determine the direction in which his/her thesis is leading. The students will present the results they are obtaining in their research projects.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• Formulate appropriate scientific methods to research questions
• Develop autonomously research implementing acquired results
• Assess scientific results in the context of existing scientific evidence
• Communicate new knowledge through original research of publishable quality, which satisfies peer review

This course will run for 2 semesters in Year 2 and will be offered in combination with the PhD in Biomedical Sciences at NU SOM, and teaches students to become more effective genre specific writers. This course highlights key characteristics of science writing and emphasizes the importance of organizing writing around research outcomes, communicating difficult discipline and statistical concepts clearly and effectively for scientific and general audiences. Focused on the writing stages of planning, drafting, and revising tests, this course teaches through engagement with scientific literature and activities based on practical examples and exercises. Students will analyze and produce common scientific writing genres while considering the rhetorical, ethical, and technical aspects of developing and producing texts. This course will also prepare students for the writing of their interim and final PhD theses. Topics include effective writing principles, writing process and anxiety-reduction methods, and the science-specific genres of IMRAD (research reports), grant writing, peer review, ethics in science writing, and writing for general audiences.

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate understanding of rhetorically effective means of communicating science along a continuum.
• Identify appropriate genres and genre conventions to communicate with intra-disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and public audiences.
• Analyze relevant genres and plan strategies to implement specific genre conventions in their own work.
• Evaluate challenges to academic integrity as it applies to the process of writing and publishing their work, and strategies to support it.
• Employ available literature to write grant applications.
• Independently design grant applications.
• Integrate published data into grant applications.

Read the Instructions about the application procedure given in your Personal account.

1. In your Personal account, go to the “My Application Forms” section and click on the link on Step 1. Complete the Application Form, including the Consent Form for personal data processing, and click “Upload”.
2. Proceed to Step 2 to upload the required documents in the specific format.
3. Upload a 3×4 photo to the “Profile” section.

1. To finalize your application, click the “PAY AND SUBMIT APPLICATION” in the “My Application Forms” section of your Personal account. The application fee must be paid online using the only available payment options; no other payment methods are accepted.
2. You may apply for 2 programs - Master's/PhD but if accepted into both, you must choose one.
3. The regular application fee is 15,000 tenge, and the late application fee is 45,000 tenge. The late application period is considered to be the last two weeks before the initially established application deadline. The application fee is non-refundable, regardless of the application outcome or any payment errors.
4. After submission, you cannot make any changes.

• Send the electronic results of your valid IELTS/TOEFL/GRE/GMAT certificates directly to NU through the Test Administrator.

• Upload a scanned copy of your IELTS/TOEFL certificate and enter its unique number in the “Upload IELTS/TOEFL results” section of your Personal account. You can upload multiple certificates, but only the most recent one will be considered.

• Upload a scanned copy of your GRE/GMAT certificate in the “My Application Forms” section (Step 2) when submitting your documents (if required).

• IELTS: NU
• TOEFL iBT: 6762
• GRE: 6496
• GMAT: H6M-R7-93

• NU is not responsible for submitting your test results. You must independently contact the Test Administrator (Test Center) to send your certificate. This process may take at least 7-10 working days.
• Results received after the deadline will not be considered.
• All certificates must be valid at the time of application submission.
• Detailed instructions for submitting IELTS/TOEFL certificates are available in your Personal account.
• IELTS Online, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, and TOEFL PDT results are not accepted.
• Video instructions on how to upload your IELTS/TOEFL results can be found here.

• You earned a degree in a country where English is the official language.
• Your undergraduate or graduate degree was taught in English (confirming document required).
• You are a graduate of NU.

Read the Instructions about the application procedure given in your Personal account.

1. In your Personal account, go to the “My Application Forms” section and click on the link on Step 1. Complete the Application Form, including the Consent Form for personal data processing, and click “Upload”.
2. Proceed to Step 2 to upload the required documents in the specific format.
3. Upload a 3×4 photo to the “Profile” section.

1. To finalize your application, click the “PAY AND SUBMIT APPLICATION” in the “My Application Forms” section of your Personal account. The application fee must be paid online using the only available payment options; no other payment methods are accepted.
2. You may apply for up to 2 Master's or PhD programs but if accepted into both, you must choose one.
3. The regular application fee is 15,000 tenge, and the late application fee is 45,000 tenge. The late application period is considered to be the last two weeks before the initially established application deadline. The application fee is non-refundable, regardless of the application outcome or any payment errors.
4. After submission, you cannot make any changes.

• Send the electronic results of your valid IELTS/TOEFL/GRE/GMAT certificates directly to NU by the Test Administrator.

• Upload a scanned copy of your IELTS/TOEFL certificate and enter its unique number in the “Upload IELTS/TOEFL results” section of your Personal account. You can upload multiple certificates, but only the most recent one will be considered.

• Upload a scanned copy of your GRE/GMAT certificate in the “My Application Forms” section (Step 2) when submitting your documents (if required).

• IELTS: NU, Admissions Department
• TOEFL iBT: 6762
• GRE: 6496
• GMAT: H6M-R7-93

• NU is not responsible for submitting your test results. You must contact the Test Administrator (Test Center) independently to send your certificate, which takes at least 7-10 working days.
• Results received after the deadline will not be considered.
• All certificates must be valid at the time of application submission.
• Detailed instructions for submitting IELTS/TOEFL certificates are available in your Personal account.
• IELTS Online, TOEFL iBT Home Edition, and TOEFL PDT results are not accepted.
• Video instructions on how to upload your IELTS/TOEFL results can be found here.

• You earned a degree in a country where English is the official language.
• Your undergraduate or graduate degree was taught in English (confirming document required).
• You are a graduate of NU.

If you have any issues with the application, email phd_admissions@nu.edu.kz with a detailed description of the problem, your IIN (for citizens of Kazakhstan) and your Applicant ID number.