Medical Humanities

Do you want to study the human side of illness, death and medicine? Interested in a health career? Examine fundamental and far-ranging questions about health and illness, from personal health struggles to global medical systems with a major in Medical Humanities!

In the Medical Humanities program, you will investigate the human experience of health and illness. Learn the principles and real-world applications of bioethics, compassionate care, narrative medicine, arts-based therapies, public health, health policy, and patient and disabilities rights advocacy. Explore how different social contexts, belief systems, historical traditions, and literary works shape our understanding of what it means to be sick and how health care should be practiced.

The program offers a broad and flexible curriculum. You will study Bioethics, Anthropology of Health, and Literature and Illness, as well as choose courses in disciplines such as Psychology, History, Sociology, Religious Studies, Child Advocacy and Biology. You can pursue your personal academic and career goals through coursework a range of health-related electives as well as a capstone experiential learning project.

The Medical Humanities major gives you a competitive edge in health-care industries. You will acquire a knowledge base in diverse health-care fields as well as transferable job skills that employers value highly: writing, oral communication, critical thinking and ethical decision-making. 

See the curriculum.