Major

MHS majors craft a plan of study that includes core MHS classes, electives that meets their particular interests, and an area of concentration. 36 credit hours of course work, distributed as follows:

1. CORE COURSE –‐ One of the following core courses (3 hours):

  • MHS 1920, Politics of Health
  • MHS 1930, Social Dimensions of Health and Illness
  • MHS 1940, Racial & Ethnic Health Disparities
  • MHS 1950, Theories of the Body
  • MHS 2110, American Medicine in the World
  • MHS 2230, Masculinity and Men’s Health
  • ANTH 2342, Biology of Inequality

2. CONCENTRATION –‐ Four courses (12 hours) not used to satisfy the core course or elective requirements in one of the concentrations areas:

  1. Global health: emphasizes social and political determinants of global health disparities, history of global public health concepts and practices, relationship between culture and health, various health systems.
  2. Health policies and economies: emphasizes the economic, legal, and political dimensions of health.
  3. Health behaviors and health sciences: emphasizes biological and social foundations of health.
  4. Inequality, intersectionality, and health justice: emphasizes how diverse structures of inequality intersect and shape health disparities; and considers the role of social justice movements in reducing inequities.
  5. Medicine, humanities and the arts: emphasizes critical inquiry of our most basic ideas about health and medicine.
  6. Critical Health Studies: Students choosing this concentration must propose a set of four courses (12 credit hours) that form a coherent program of study related to critical health studies and receive approval from the director of undergraduate studies.

(Lists of applicable courses are listed in the Catalog)

3. ELECTIVES –‐ Seven courses not used to satisfy the core course or concentration requirements chosen from the catalog (21 credit hours). All MHS and MHS-approved courses may count as electives (except MHS 3880 and 3831). Up to 12 hours from the following list may be counted toward MHS electives: BSCI 1510-1511; BSCI 2520; CHEM 2221-2222 or 5401-5501; NURS 3101-3102; NURS 1601-1602.

4. DISCIPLINARY REQUIREMENT — At least three credit hours from the following courses must be used to satisfy the concentration requirement or electives requirement.

  • ANTH 3143, Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH 3141, Anthropology of Healing
  • ECON 2350, Health Care Policy
  • ECON 3350, Economics of Health
  • HIST 2800, Modern Medicine
  • MHS 3050W, Medicine and Literature
  • PHIL 1008, 1008W Introduction to Medical Ethics
  • PHIL 3608, Ethics and Medicine
  • PSCI 3268, American Health Policy
  • PSY 3635, Health Psychology
  • SOC 3301, Society and Medicine
  • SOC 3304, Race, Gender, and Health
  • WGS 2240, Introduction to Women’s Health