►Master of Arts in Medicine, Health, and Society
►M.D./M.A. in Medicine, Health, and Society
►4 + 1 M.A. Program in Medicine, Health, and Society
►Certificate in Medicine, Health, and Society
Graduate study in medicine, health, and society at Vanderbilt offers an interdisciplinary Master of Arts and a graduate certificate for students interested in studying health-related beliefs and practices in their social and cultural contexts. It is available to graduate and professional students from the six participating Vanderbilt schools (A&S, Divinity, Law, Medicine, Nursing, and Peabody). External candidates are also considered for admission, as are Vanderbilt undergraduates applying through the 4+1 program in the College of Arts and Sciences.
MHS draws on a variety of fields in the social sciences and humanities–anthropology, economics, history, literature, psychology, sociology, philosophy/ethics, and religious studies. It should be of particular interest to students preparing for careers in a health-related profession, but also has much to offer any graduate or professional student interested in examining an important part of human experience from multiple perspectives and developing a critical understanding of contemporary society.
It is expected that students who can devote themselves to the MHS program full time will complete their studies in three terms (i.e., two semesters and one summer or three semesters). However, the length of the program will be flexible to accommodate the needs of different constituencies.
►Master of Arts
Students may choose a thesis option (24 hours of course work + thesis) or non-thesis option (30 hours). The thesis should draw on at least two disciplines.
Requirements include:
· A contract of courses, drawn up in consultation with the MHS Director (or Director of Graduate Studies). The contract must present a coherent course of study and must be formally approved by the student’s adviser and the MHS Director.
· The 3-hour core colloquium, MHS 300, an introduction to graduate-level interdisciplinary work in medicine, health, and society, drawing on the perspectives of anthropology, economics, history, political science and policy studies, philosophy, religious studies, and sociology.
· An additional 21 or 27 hours (depending on the option) of courses approved for the MHS graduate program. At least 6 of these additional hours must be at the 300 level, including independent study, the graduate internship, and graduate service-learning. All students are strongly encouraged to take at least 12 of these additional hours at the 300 level, and to take at least one graduate seminar.
o To ensure breadth, the additional 21 or 27 hours must be distributed among at least three different disciplines.
o To ensure depth, of the additional 21 or 27 hours, at least 3 courses (9 hours) must be in a single discipline.
· A written examination, tailored to the student’s specific course of study, requiring the student to integrate material from the different disciplines. The MHS Director, in consultation with the MHS Curricular Committee, will appoint an examination committee consisting of the student’s adviser and two other faculty members, at least one of whom must be from a field different from the adviser’s. The examination committee will write up the exam, which the student will take during his or her last semester of study (or last summer session) and no later than the week of final exams.
· For students in the thesis track, the examination committee will also constitute the thesis committee and will administer an oral thesis defense.
· Students in the non-thesis option will submit for evaluation by the MHS Curriculum Committee one course paper demonstrating their ability to integrate approaches from different disciplines.
►M.D./M.A. in Medicine, Health, and Society
This program is available to current medical students, who may choose between the thesis and non-thesis options described above. The M.A. may be completed in one year, plus either a summer or two research electives.
►4 + 1 M.A. Program
This program is available only to current Vanderbilt undergraduate students majoring in MHS. Students may choose between the thesis and non-thesis options described above.
►Graduate Certificate (15 hours)
The certificate is available only to current graduate students. Requirements include:
●MHS 300
●An additional four courses drawn from the list of approved courses, of which at least one must be at the 300 level.
●A paper submitted to the MHS curricular committee for evaluation.
