By Julie FrenchThe Daily Northwestern

Northwestern’s global health minor has seen a surge in popularity since its introduction three years ago, making course registration increasingly competitive. Administrators say more faculty are needed to meet the demand.

“It’s such an insanely popular minor that it’s hard to get into the classes,” said Weinberg sophomore Rachel Berkowitz.

Berkowitz declared a global health minor a year ago but has not been able to take any core classes.

There are now 197 global health minors, according to Greg Buchanan, a program coordinator in the office of International Program Development. When the program began in spring 2004, there were 14 global health minors. The number jumped to 88 by spring 2005.

Classes on mental health, disabilities and local engagement have been added this year to meet demand, Global Health Co-director Devora Grynspan said. All program minors must complete four core classes and three electives. The new offerings count toward core requirements.

“We know that students complain about not being able to get into our classes,” Grynspan said. “We really need more courses and more faculty.”

Weinberg Dean Daniel Linzer has been “incredibly supportive” of the minor, providing funding for classes, she said. There are now seven options available for core requirements.

Global health professors come from a wide range of departments, such as philosophy, anthropology and political science. This can make it harder to attract faculty, Grynspan said.

“Northwestern is small, so faculty have a lot of work,” she said. “Global health takes them away from their own department. We have to be careful not to overburden faculty.”

Lecturer Mark Sheldon, who teaches a course in global bioethics, said teaching a global health course complemented his bioethics work in the philosophy department.

“The people who run the program thought it would be of interest to students, and it’s of interest to me,” he said. “There are a number of real issues, and these are students who want to do something about those issues.”

But long wait lists often force students to wait until their junior or senior year to take core classes like Sheldon’s.

Weinberg senior Jessie Pinchoff said she noticed the competitive class registration, but she has not “had problems because as a senior they try to get us in,” she said.

The global health minor also requires students to have health experience abroad, and most choose to do an NU public health program. NU’s programs are in Beijing, Mexico City, Paris and South Africa. These programs are not limited to global health minors, but about 50 percent of students who participate have declared the minor, Grynspan said.

These programs don’t accept everyone who applies, she said, but limited space has not yet kept students from completing the minor.

“We want to keep the size of our programs under control because otherwise the quality suffers,” Grynspan said.

A new program will begin in Uganda in spring 2008, and there are plans to expand the China program to Shanghai, Grynspan said.

Global health minors such as Weinberg sophomore Shirley Bochman keep in mind how popular the programs are when they apply. Bochman said she originally wanted to apply to the China program but chose Mexico City.

“It’s a lot less expensive, a little bit closer to home, and it’s less popular than the China (program),” she said.

Both the international public health programs and the global health minor have been more popular than expected, Grynspan said. A global health major might be possible, she added, and a few Weinberg students are currently pursuing individually-designed glob#al health majors.

“It grew very fast, and I imagine that it will grow more,” she said. “I think it would be a popular major, but we have to be sure we have enough faculty.”

Reach Julie French at [email protected].