Master’s Degree in Medicine, Health and Society
Medicine, Health and Society is an interdisciplinary field of research that critically examines the social foundations of health. Graduate students learn about health-related beliefs and practices in their political, social and cultural contexts. The Center integrates scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences in order to teach students how to approach questions from multiple perspectives.
The MA in Medicine, Health and Society provides students with the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills that future healthcare professionals require. The field of contemporary health care is increasingly shaped by the realization that social, environmental, personal, and structural factors are as essential basic biologic processes to understanding patients’ illness and suffering. Social and cultural aspects of illness and health are a growing component of pre-health education. Students who have completed the MA degree have gone on to professional degree programs in medicine, law and public health. Other recent graduates have accepted positions in research and healthcare consulting.
The graduate program in Medicine, Health and Society accepts applications from external candidates, Vanderbilt undergraduates applying through the combined BA/MA (4+1) program, as well as graduate and professional students from the six participating Vanderbilt schools (A&S, Divinity, Law, Medicine, Nursing, and Peabody). Application instructions are available.
