The Forum for International Health and Tropical Medicine (FIHTM) is the global health interest group of Washington University School of Medicine. FIHTM offers students a rich array of international opportunities, broadening their experiences in global health care by participating in diverse clinical and research settings around the world.
Student Opportunities Abroad Program Grants (SOAPs) allow students to participate in an international medical experience during the summer between their first and second years. Students have traveled to Central and South America, Asia and Africa to work on projects from smoking cessation to malnutrition and tuberculosis.
Second-year students take a Spring Break trip to work in rural and urban clinics and learn about local public health infrastructures in countries such as Guatemala and Peru.
Fourth-year students are encouraged to arrange elective rotations abroad; students find a faculty mentor at another university and work with the mentor to define goals and set objectives. Jonathan Mann scholarships allow fourth-year students to participate in clinical rotations at foreign institutions. Students have recently traveled to Ecuador, Brazil, Ethiopia, Malawi, India, China and Vietnam.
FIHTM activities culminate with an annual Global Health Symposium connecting faculty and students. Find other opportunities for fellowships and funding on the Bernard Becker Medical Library website.