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Study Abroad Courses

China

PHSB 689: Public Health in China

Faculty Member

Yan Hong Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences
School of Rural Public Health
Phone: 979-862-1700
Email: yhong@srph.tamhsc.edu
General Course Description

This seminar is designed for graduate students with strong interest in global health. Over the past 30 years, China has experienced fast economic growth and emerged as a major player in the global community. The public health system in China has also undergone a series of substantial reforms from state-owned health care system to marketization of healthcare and to reintroduction of universal healthcare. Meanwhile, rapid economic growth and societal transition has resulted in changing epidemiological profiles. For example, more than 80% of deaths in China are attributed to chronic conditions compared to 20% in less than 50 years ago; the child obesity rate is increasing at a faster rate than that in U.S. Thus China becomes an ideal site to understand the social determinants of health and to compare public health systems. Students will attend lectures delivered by faculty in Nanjing Medical University, take field trips to various public health agencies and organizations, and visit sites of historical, economic and cultural significance for the maximum exposure to global public health experience.

More information can be found by downloading the course syllabus.
Credit 3 credits. Talk to your advisor about your selection of electives. Note: This course is highly intensive. We'll start course activities the next day you arrive in China. Keep in mind that there is 13-hour time difference between Beijing time and U.S. Central Time. Plus, the flight from U.S. to China is more than 20 hours. If you are not physically fit for such an international trip and intensive summer course, you may not be the ideal candidate for this course. Pre-requisites: All SRPH students who have completed PHPM 601 Rural Public Health System and PHSB 604 or PHSB 603 (Social Determinants of Health) are eligible to apply. Exceptions can be obtained only from the instructor.

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Costa Rica

Costa Rica Biomedical Science Semester

Faculty Member Donald J. Brightsmith
General Course Description

Required "core" courses and tropical rain forest. Key electives and a weekend at the beach. Top flight faculty and volcanoes. This program offers an unbeatable combination for students working towards a degree in Biomedical Sciences and Pre-Meds, Pre-Vets, and others who want to have the semester of a lifetime while still advancing their degree plan.

More information about the Costa Rica Biomedical Science Semester can be found here.
Credit

A total of 12 credit hours are offered for this program. Pre-Med and Pre-Vet students as well as all majors are encouraged to apply. Students will enroll in the following courses:

  • VTPB 489: Biochemical Processes II (3 credit hours)
  • VTPB 409: Immunology (3 credit hours)
  • BIMS 481: Seminar in Biomedical Science (1 credit hour Writing course)
  • VTPB 489: Conservation Medicine (3 credit hours)
  • VTPB 485: Directed Studies (2-3 credit hours)
  • Spanish course offered by CPI Costa Rica (3 credit hours)

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Germany

VTPP 948: Veterinary Medicine in Europe: Past, Present, and Future

Faculty Member Jeremy S. Wasser
General Course Description This elective course is offered to veterinary students who have completed either their first or second years of our DVM curriculum. By the end of this elective students will have had a four week long, immersive experience in the world of German and Dutch veterinary medical training and practice. They will have had the opportunity to live and work with German and Dutch veterinary students, round with them in the clinics in two of the five German veterinary schools and at the school in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and listen to special lectures by European authorities in the fields of veterinary medical history and European concerns and issues in veterinary medical education and practice. Our students will return to Texas from this experience with a far broader understanding of the global nature of veterinary medical practice in the 21st century and why an internationalist approach to training and practice are important.
Credit A total of 4 credit hours are offered for this program. Students will enroll in the following course:

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VTPP 401: History of Human and Veterinary Medicine in Europe

Faculty Member Jeremy S. Wasser
General Course Description This course is offered to students majoring in the life sciences (broadly defined and including BIMS, BMEN, ANSC, BIOL, GENE, and other majors) and who have completed 55 hours of academic coursework or more by the end of the semester prior to the start of the program. VTPP 401 is offered during a 3-week long wintermester study abroad, a 5-week long program offered during Summer 2, and as part of the Germany Bioscience Semester study abroad in the spring. Along with a descriptive survey of some of the key events and figures in the development of human and veterinary medical practices in Europe dating from antiquity to the present, this course will also explore the historical backgrounds of several issues of modern-day biomedical concern including animal rights, the ethics of human experimentation and the application of biomedical research for military purposes. The course will be directed toward undergraduate students at the junior/senior level who are planning postbaccalaureate training in biomedical science as either clinical (M.D., D.V.M, D.D.S.) or research (M.S., Ph.D.) professionals.
Credit VTTP 401: (4 hrs) History of Human and Veterinary Medicine in Europe

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Italy

BIMS Study Abroad

Faculty Member James Herman, Jon Hunter, and Shannon Washburn
General Course Description

Biomedical Science majors have the opportunity to take two courses while studying in Padova, Italy. BIMS students will attend lectures (labs) with first year veterinary students at the University of Padova. Students will complete a physiology and special topics course in six weeks.

Check out this video of Dr. Maya Scott speaking about the Study Abroad program at the University of Padua
Credit
  • Biomedical Physiology I (VTPP 423)
  • Famous Italian Medical Scientists (VTPP 485)

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Veterinary International Leadership Program (VILP)

Faculty Member Jim Herman, Jon Hunter, and Shannon Washburn
General Course Description The Veterinary International Leadership Program (VILP) is a four year international studies program for students in the veterinary professional curriculum. VILP is an educational partnership between Texas A&M, Tufts, and the University of Padova. Each year, twenty veterinary students are selected for the program: 8 incoming vet students to TAMU, 4 incoming vet students to Tufts, and 8 first year vet students at the University of Padova. These students attend six week workshops each summer for the first three years of the program and then complete clinical assignments during the fourth summer. The schedule for these workshops is as follows: First Summer - Physiology Workshop in College Station, Second Summer - General Pathology Workshop in Padova, Third Summer - Public Health and Food Safety Workshop in Padova, and Fourth Summer - Clinical Assignments in College Station.

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Mongolia

Mongolia Conservation Genetics and Medicine

Faculty Member Jan Janecka & Christine M Budke
General Course Description

Students will conduct noninvasive genetic surveys for snow leopards and other carnivores, monitor prey animals such as argali, ibex, picas, and marmots, collect field samples. Students will also examine the health of both wild and domestic animals, collaborate with international colleagues, and interview local communities. They will be completely immersed in Mongolian culture.

More complete information can be found at http://studyabroad.tamu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=12004
Credit VIBS 489/689 or WFSC 489/689: Applied Conservation Genetics in the Gobi/Desert Ecosystem (3 hrs)

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Peru

Peru 1

Faculty Member Donald J. Brightsmith
General Course Description

ABS Field School in the Peruvian Amazon introduces students to the social and biological realities of conservation and research in Latin America.

More complete information can be found at http://studyabroad.tamu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=11163
Credit

A total of 4 credit hours are offered for this program. Students will enroll in one of the following courses:

  • WFSC/RPTS/VTPB 489: ABS Amazon Field School
  • WFSC/RPTS/VTPB 689: ABS Amazon Field School (Graduate)

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South Africa

South Africa Conservation Medicine

Faculty Member Alice Blue-McLendon
General Course Description

This course is offered to students in the DVM curriculum who would like to participate in a study-abroad trip to South Africa to learn about conservation medicine. Students will learn how African species are managed at wildlife parks and games preserves. Student will become familiar with certain aspects of hoofstock medicine including common diseases and preventative medicine. Students will gain direct experience with many aspects of chemical immobilization including skills needed, drugs and darting equipment. Students will assist in the immobilization of animals during this trip.

More complete information can be found at http://studyabroad.tamu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=11993
Credit
  • VTPP 948: Conservation Medicine and Management for Veterinary Students (4 hrs)
  • VTPP 985: Directed Studies (1-4 hrs)

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VTPB 948 - Introduction to Conservation Medicine in Africa

Faculty Member Dr. James Derr and Dr. Linda Logan
General Course Description:

You will leave this experience with a new found appreciation for the role of veterinarians in large landscape wildlife conservation medicine and return to the U.S. with newly developed skills to apply to wildlife health and sustainability issues across the State of Texas.

Wildlife experts will guide participants through activities including animal restraint, administering drugs, field surgery and darting. Other experiential learning could include interaction with crocodiles, buffalo, and rhinos.

More information can be found about the Africa Wildlife Conservation and Health course at http://studyabroad.tamu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=17170
Credit 4 Credits

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