Programs

Department of Tropical Medicine

The programs in Tropical Medicine provide a foundation in parasitology, vector biology and infectious diseases etiology and treatment as well as the epidemiology and prevention of existing and emerging tropical diseases.

The Department of Tropical Medicine offers the following degrees:

• The MS in Tropical Medicine is a professional degree which provides a foundation in parasitology, vector biology, and infectious diseases of public health significance.
• The MPH&TM degree which is a professional degree that prepares public health practitioners to plan and evaluate disease control and prevention programs, physicians to better treat and evaluate tropical diseases, and students to pursue medical school and other medical professions. The MPH&TM has a clinical track for physicians.
• The PhD in Tropical Medicine provides advanced coursework and basic and applied research in tropical diseases and their control.
• The Tropical Medicine Diploma is a non-degree course in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Travelers’ Health that prepares physicians for the Travelers’ Health exam.

Tropical medicine is the choice of students who enjoy basic biology and immunology and like laboratory work and medical diagnostic studies.  Many students who enter this program continue further in a medical or doctoral degree programs.  This program also attracts physicians and clinicians who desire to work in tropical medicine to prevent and control vector-borne and tropical infectious diseases.

Background

Those who enter tropical medicine programs have a background in biological sciences and laboratory sciences. Physicians and other health care providers pursue the clinical track in the MPH&TM.

Careers

Graduates work for governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, disease control programs, and diagnostic parasitology, academic, and biomedical research laboratories.