Washington University junior Nicolas Goldstein, a pre-med student with an urban studies major, is learning about his discipline firsthand across the world.

Goldstein spent his first semester in Washington, D.C., and is currently in Oxford, England. Both of these semesters will earn him University credit.

In Washington, he interned at the Summit Health Institute for Research and Education, a non-profit organization whose goal is to end health differences due to race and ethnicity. Besides the internship, Goldstein also took classes at Georgetown University.

“D.C. was a taxing experience with the juggling between work and school, but I found it to also be very, very rewarding,” Goldstein said. “As I try to figure out how I want to balancing being a practicing doctor with academic work, this is all very informative.”

Goldstein enjoyed being in the city because of the political atmosphere of the region.

“Life in D.C. was amazing, especially because the election was in full swing,” Goldstein said. “Current events played a major role in shaping discussion.”

His time in Washington also helped him learn more about many of his interests.

“The semester in D.C. really helped me gain experience about policy-making and all of the people who try their best to influence it,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein learned so much at his internship that when he returned, he was able to write a chapter for a book about a poor community in Washington. The chapter is a part of an independent study course that Goldstein is taking at the University with his major adviser, Carol Camp Yeakey, who is the founding director of the Center on Urban Research and Public Policy.

“It was a lot of work but very interesting and an amazing opportunity,” Goldstein said.

Now at Oxford University, Goldstein is studying public health and the sociology of industrial societies.

“It is very interesting to learn about public health in the U.K. with the national health service while we have all these debates about health care in the U.S.,” Goldstein said.

Both of these programs will supplement Goldstein’s work in both urban health and medicine. He is concentrating on urban health issues.

“I am interested in urban health issues specifically and living in a city brings a whole bunch of public health issues up,” Goldstein said.

He said the urban studies major at the University has accommodated him and has allowed him to pursue these opportunities abroad.

“It is an interdisciplinary major and draws from everywhere. That really allows you to take the major where you want to take it,” Goldstein said.

Yeakey also emphasized the multifaceted qualities of the major.

“While urban studies is an interdisciplinary curriculum, it’s a stand-alone major, but combined with the other majors it simply enriches intellectually whatever other subjects that students go into,” Yeakey said. “Because of his interest in caring for the poor, the needy and poor children in particular, urban studies is a natural fit and a natural companion to his pre-med interest.”

After graduating, Goldstein hopes to complete an M.D.-Ph.D. program.

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