Global Health
Experiential Fellowship
What is GHEF?
The Global Health Experiential Fellowship (GHEF) is an in-person experience for current or recently graduated undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, with opportunity to participate in additional virtual activities prior to and following your time in Uganda. Fellows will be mentored by global health practitioners, including Empower Through Health Directors Dr. Robert Rosenheck (Yale School of Medicine) and Dr. Yang Jae Lee (University of Washington). They will work alongside Ugandan undergraduate and master’s students on high-impact research projects addressing key topics in global health. Fellows have the chance to continue their work after the summer and publish a peer-reviewed publication on their research in a key topic related to global health.
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The fellowship promotes intercultural understanding and equitable global health practice through collaboration, implementation science, and research. It embodies ETH’s belief that sustainable change begins with shared learning, mutual respect, and community partnership. Through GHEF, fellows gain firsthand experience while supporting ETH’s ongoing healthcare delivery and development initiatives. Working alongside Ugandan counterparts, fellows conduct research that addresses healthcare gaps in Eastern Uganda and informs locally driven interventions—such as the Mpunde Education Initiative, which emerged from GHEF findings on school discontinuation.
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A recent review of the Global Health Experiential Fellowship found that both Ugandan and American fellows achieved significant growth in areas of career development, research skills, and cultural exposure. The program's success is highlighted in a paper submitted to the Annals of Global Health journal, co-authored by leaders in global health education such as Dr. Robert Rohrbaugh, Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine; Dr. Robert Rosenheck, Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health at the Yale School of Medicine; Dr. Peter Waiswa, Associate Professor of Public Health at Makerere University; Dr. Adam Brown, Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research; and Dr. Brandon Kohrt, Charles and Sonia Akman Professor of Global Psychiatry at George Washington University. ​
Fellows have the option to participate in the Shared Clinical Learning (SCL) program, formerly known as the GHEF Clinical Week. Hosted at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, this program allows participants to shadow Ugandan physicians, engage in hospital rotations, and gain firsthand experience in healthcare delivery within resource-limited settings. GHEF fellows may join the SCL program before or after their research placement in Mpunde — or extend their stay for additional clinical experience.
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Click the buttons below to view the program calendar, Shared Clinical Learning details, syllabus, and FAQs for next year’s GHEF. Applications for the 2026 Summer Global Health Experiential Fellowship open on October 15, 2025.
Watch GHEF Stories and Daily Life from Uganda
See real moments from the Global Health Experiential Fellowship through our @empowerthroughhealth Instagram Stories — featuring daily life, fieldwork, and trips from our fellows in Uganda.
And watch our past info session to learn more!
As with all ETH projects, equity is a core value of the Global Health Experiential Fellowship. Americans and Ugandans working alongside one another fosters an environment of multicultural collaboration and builds a strong foundation for students from all backgrounds to become future leaders in global health.
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Many global health experiences, such as building a well or repainting a school, do not build your professional skills. ETH focuses on building transferable skills valuable in any profession, but particularly medicine, public health, implementation science, and research.
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Students will obtain hands-on research experience from ETH's network of global health experts. This year, we are very excited to offer mentorship from global health researchers at Yale University and University of Bern.
D​edicated fellows will have the opportunity to continue their work on the research project. Fellows who choose to continue their participation in this process, and who fulfill the requirements for authorship, will be listed as co-authors in a final published manuscript. While publication of research is never a guarantee, we estimate that over 80% of the projects will result in a publication.
Yasmiere Burke
GHEF 2025
"This was my first time working with qualitative research. I think it was amazing to see how stories could cultivate research. Public health in that way is one of my favorite sciences"
Mercy Masika Masitula
GHEF 2025
"I have beenable to gain new experiences and learn about the health dynamics in rural settings. I have made new friends, learnt new research skills and above all my desire to cause impact in local communities has been ignited."
Ethan Chang
GHEF 2024
"I'm so glad I decided to come and that I applied... I've learned a lot while being here, in particular, the Ugandan lifestyle, which is completely different from the lifestyle I know at home."
Lindsey Skole
GHEF 2021
"I learned so much about myself, learned about the world around me, learned so much about the best way to conduct research and make a difference in the world of global health."
Anoop Sunkara
GHEF 2021
"My experience completely changed my persepctive on global health and through conversations with village members I learned the importance of working hand-in-hand with the community you are serving."
Talia Wagner
GHEF 2024
"Coming away from this, I had not done any sort of qualitative research before, so just kind of getting a handle on what that really looks like and doing that sort of research is probably one of the biggest things I’ve learned in the context of this program."