In 1996, in affiliation with Columbia University Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Faculty of Health Sciences instituted a four-year M.D. degree program to graduate doctors with special skills in primary care and community, preventive, and population-based medicine. The program has been expanded to become the Medical School for International Health (MSIH), and the MSIH is fully accredited as the second medical school of BGU to operate under the auspices of the Israeli Council for Higher Education. The curriculum concentrates on these areas of medicine as they impact on problems of international health and is designed to address emerging issues in healthcare worldwide. Graduates of the MSIH will have the skills to treat individuals and promote health and prevent diseases in populations.

With the resources of two of the world’s leading educational institutions, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Columbia University, MSIH serves as a medial vanguard for academic programs for students to address population needs and global health concerns. The MSIH aims to promote excellence in students who wish to be at the forefront of a new kind of medical education that addresses the need for physicians who are sensitive to personal and population needs, community issues, and global concerns. The program emphasizes critical knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable practitioners to deliver and manage health care for diverse populations in a culturally sensitive, cost-effective manner.  The MSIH has identified the following core areas and specific competencies that are integral to the practice of International Health and Medicine in which graduates of the school can expect to gain proficiency.