Medical Humanities and Health Studies Minor

Increase your awareness of the human, social, and cultural dimensions of health care, through the 15-credit hour interdisciplinary minor in Medical Humanities and Health Studies. It provides an exciting opportunity for you to work in close conjunction with faculty who have strong health- and medicine-focused teaching and research interests.

Relevant issues you may address in a minor

  • Human values and ethics in medical/health decision making
  • Concepts of preventive and holistic health
  • Patient care as an art form and scientific endeavor
  • Influence of resources, ecology, and economy upon health care
  • Role of the provider-client relationship, especially in the areas of communication skills and other human dimensions of patient care
  • Significance of historical, cultural and social systems in health care

Core Required Courses (6 credits)

MHHS-M 301 Perspectives on Health, Disease and Healing

The course utilizes the humanities and social science disciplines to provide students with a broader understanding of the many facets of health and disease, suffering and dying, as well as the art and science of healing.

MHHS Upper-Level Course

In addition to MHHS-M 301, the minor requires a second upper-level MHHS course. Students may take any 3-credit hour MHHS 3XX- or 4XX-level course to fulfill this requirement. This growing list of courses includes:

  • MHHS-M 325 Ancient Medicine, Medical Terminology
  • MHHS-M 390 A Body of Law: Med., Humanities & Law
  • MHHS-M 410 Addiction Narratives
  • MHHS-M 420 Culture of Mental Illness
  • MHHS-M 425 Black Health & the Humanities
  • MHHS-M 492 Topics: (Topics # can be used up to 3 times)
    • Finding Frankenstein    Narrative Medicine
    • Playwriting & Medicine    Dramatic Literature & Medicine
    • Ethics & Policy in Organ Transplantation
    • Motherhood in Medical Humanities

Electives (9 credits)

Choose one course from the list of Humanistic perspectives courses, and one from Social Science perspectives courses. The third elective may be selected from either the list or from other electives. Choose no more than one (1) course from any one department or discipline.

Humanistic Perspectives

  • COMM-C 392 Health Communication
  • COMM-C 400 Health Provider-Consumer Communication.
  • EALC-E 397 Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • ENG-L 478 Illness Narrative
  • HIST-H 364 History of Medicine & Public Health
  • HIST-H 418 History of International Humanitarian Assistance
  • PHIL-P 393 Biomedical Ethics
  • REL-R 368 Religion and Healing
  • REL-R 384 Religion, Ethics and Health
  • REL-R 395 Religion, Death and Dying

Social Science Perspectives

  • ANTH-B 370 Human Variation
  • ANTH-B 474 Forensic Anthropology, Archaeology & Taphonomy
  • ANTH-B 480 Human Growth & Development
  • ANTH-B 486 Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH-E 421 Anthropology of Aging
  • ANTH-E 445 Medical Anthropology
  • ANTH-A 460 Topics: Anthropology of Food & Nutrition
  • ECON-E 387 Health Economics
  • GEOG-G 410 Medical Geography
  • SOC-R 321 Women & Health
  • SOC-R 381 Social Factors Health/Illness
  • SOC-R 382 Social Organization of Health Care
  • SOC-R 385 AIDS and Society
  • SOC-R 410 Alcohol, Drugs, & Soc
  • SOC-R 415 Sociology of Disability
  • SOC-R 485 Sociology of Mental Illness

Other Electives

  • MHHS-M 201 Intro to MHHS
  • NURS-S 474 Health Care Ethics
  • PBHL-H 316 Environmental Science & Health
  • PBHL-H 322 Principles of Epidemiology
  • PBHL-H 354 Health Economics
  • PBHL-H 420 Health Policy

Ready to enroll?

Please apply for the MHHS minor at least one semester before you plan to graduate. Submit online the School of Liberal Arts declaration form.

More Info

Contact Judi Campbell, program advisor and faculty mentor