Meeting the challenges of global health and refugees: The development of graduate courses in humanitarian assistance

There is increasing need for relief organizations that provide humanitarian assistance to the victims of war and civil strife, natural disaster and complex humanitarian emergencies. Still there remain few graduate programs which train public health professionals in humanitarian action. This paper examines the experiences of professors from a College of Public Health through the development of a concentration of courses to benefit the practitioner. Utilizing the results of a needs assessment, courses were developed and designed in an online format. Courses in the Humanitarian Assistance Graduate Certificate Program cover an array of topics vital to training and preparedness in humanitarian action and utilize training materials from many of the most prominent aid delivery organizations. Additionally, courses engage students and create a virtual “community” through synchronous and asynchronous discussion, table top exercises, case studies and virtual “field trips” to foster online learning and instill the importance of collaboration in aid delivery. Results highlight the importance of an online certificate program in humanitarian assistance. While still in its infancy, the Certificate in Humanitarian Assistance has enrolled both traditional students and students from government organizations, the US military, and NGOs focused on humanitarian assistance. Enrolled students are located around the globe and bring a wealth of practical knowledge that benefit a collaborative, online learning environment. Based on the success of this certificate program, future initiatives will market the program to organizations active in aid delivery and systems will be implemented to track students as they progress through the program and garner employment.