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Undergraduate

Bachelor's Degree Programs
Medical Humanities and Health Studies

Major in Medical Humanities and Health Studies

The Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS) Program offers an interdisciplinary curriculum to prepare undergraduates to understand the broader role and determinants of health and medicine in today’s world.  Humanities courses raise questions of how human beings deal with health, medical intervention, illness and death.  Social science courses provide insight into the social, economic and cultural contexts of health, illness and health care. Students benefit from the wealth of faculty in Liberal Arts and across the IUPUI campus who have strong teaching and research interests in the area of health care. 

An academic foundation in MHHS can be valuable to students pursuing virtually any career path, including but not limited to social/ economic research, medicine, allied health professions, dentistry, health law, medical social work, nursing, public health, and public policy studies.  Our graduates have directly gone on to pursue degrees in pharmacy, medicine, occupational therapy, and other health professions, as well as law and graduate school programs.

Students completing the Medical Humanities & Health Studies B.A. program will achieve the following:

Know

  • That human experiences of physical and mental health, disease, illness and healing are defined within the context of social, cultural, economic, historical, religious, and legal contexts, and
  • How these factors impact the perception, delivery and effectiveness of medicine and health care.

Understand

  • The human dimensions as well as the socio-cultural, economic and ethical complexites that arise both in illness and health care practice, and
  • How the humanities and social sciences can be used to apply more effectively the life science and technological advances that address health issues.

Be able to

  • Use the humanities and social sciences ( e.g., literary narrative, bioethical considerations, socio-economic and historical analysis) to understand the human experience of health, illness and healing;
  • Critically read, evaluate and interpret multiple sources of information and competing perspectives to understand health problems and issues more thoroughly, and
  • Present such analyses in forms using the conventions and standards of the appropriate academic disciplines.

This program offers both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science Degree.

The Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS) requires satisfactory completion of the following:

  • A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for a B.A. degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts.
  • A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C) is required for graduation.
  • A minimum of 26 credit hours must be completed after formal admission to IUPUI.
  • A minimum of 21 credit hours of major coursework must be completed in residence in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Course work completed on an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program counts as residential credit.
  • A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each major course.
  • Once a course has been applied toward one requirement, it cannot be used to satisfy a second requirement, except where explicitly stated otherwise. In addition, except in cases of variable title courses, internships, and other special courses, no course will be counted more than once toward graduation.
  • Completion of one of the following tracks: Medical Humanities, Health Social Science, or the Individualized Track.

IUPUI General Education Core

A list of accepted courses in the IUPUI General Education Core can be found at http://go.iupui.edu/gened.

Core Communication (6 credits)

  • ENG-W 131: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I (3 credits) or ENG-W 140: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry: Honors (3 credits) completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) sections of ENG-G 131 have been designated for students whose first language is not English.

  • COMM-R 110: Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits)

Analytical Reasoning (6 credits)

  • College math from List A (3 credits)
  • List A or List B (3 credits)

Cultural Understanding (3 credits)

  • A world language course is recommended

Life and Physical Sciences (6 credits)

  • A laboratory science component is required

Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences (9 credits)

  • Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
  • Social Science (3 credits)
  • Additional Arts & Humanities or Social Science (3 credits)

Transfer students entering IUPUI from another public university in Indiana who have completed the transferable general education core at their home campus will not need to complete the IUPUI General Education Core.

Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Competencies

First-Year Experience (1-3 credits)

  • SLA-S 100: First Year Success Seminar
  • Other: First Year Seminar from another school at IUPUI

Transfer students with 18 or more credit hours are not required to take this course.

Writing Proficiency (3 credits), completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher, chosen from the following:

  • ENG-W 230: Writing in the Sciences
  • ENG-W 231: Professional Writing Skills
  • ENG-W 270: Argumentative Writing

Transfer students may satisfy the writing proficiency by completing course work equivalent to ENG-W 231, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 270, or GEWR-UN 200 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher at another campus or institution.

Transfer students with 80 or more transfer credits may petition for exemption from the Writing Proficiency requirement.  Petition available in the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, Cavanaugh Hall room 401.

Analytical Proficiency (3 credits), chosen from the following: 

  • ECON-E 270: Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics and Business
  • PHIL-P 208: Causality and Evidence
  • PHIL-P 265: Introduction to Symbolic Logic
  • PHIL-P 365: Intermediate Symbolic Logic
  • POLS-Y 205: Analyzing Politics  
  • SOC-R 359: Introduction to Sociological Stats

Analytical Proficiency is in addition to the Analytical Reasoning area in the IUPUI General Education Core. Analytical Proficiency courses may be shared with major requirements if applicable.

Life and Physical Sciences Laboratory

One laboratory science course is required, but may be part of the coursework taken in the IUPUI General Education Core.

Arts and Humanities (3 credits) - Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement

100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines

  • Africana Studies (AFRO)
  • American Studies (AMST)
  • American Sign Language (ASL) excluding World Languages courses
  • Classics (CLAS) excluding World Languages courses
  • Communication Studies (COMM-R, excluding COMM R-110, and COMM-T only)
  • East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) excluding World Language courses
  • English-Creative Writing or Writing and Literacy (ENG-W), excluding courses in the Writing Proficiency area.
  • English Literature (ENG-L)
  • Film Studies (FILM)
  • Folklore (FOLK) excluding FOLK-F 101
  • German (GER) excluding World Language courses
  • History (HIST) excluding HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
  • Latino Studies (LATS)
  • Museum Studies (MSTD)
  • Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
  • Philosophy (PHIL)
  • Religious Studies (REL)
  • Spanish (SPAN) excluding World Language courses
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WOST) excluding WOST-W 105
  • World Languages and Cultures (WLAC)

Social Sciences (3 credits) - Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement

100 or 200 level course chosen from the following disciplines

  • Africana Studies (AFRO)
  • Anthropology (ANTH)
  • Communication Studies (COMM-C and COMM-M only)
  • Economics (ECON)
  • English-Linguistics (ENG-Z)
  • Folklore (FOLK)
  • Geography (GEOG)
  • Global and International Studies (INTL)
  • History (HIST): only HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
  • Journalism and Public Relations (JOUR)
  • Latino Studies (LATS)
  • Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
  • Political Science (POLS)
  • Psychology (PSY)
  • Sociology (SOC)
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WOST)

World Language and Perspectives (0-14 credits) - This requirement may be satisfied in one of the following ways:

  1. Completion of second-year proficiency in a single world language.
    1. Languages include:
      1. American Sign Language (ASL)
      2. Arabic (NELC-A) 
      3. Chinese (EALC-C)
      4. French (FREN)
      5. German (GER)
      6. Japanese (EALC-J)
      7. Spanish (SPAN)
    2. Second-year proficiency is demonstrated by:
      1. passing the full second-year sequence of courses in a single language or
      2. completing a third or fourth-year course1
  2. Completion of third-semester proficiency in a single world language and one course in History selected from HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, or HIST-H 114.
  3. Completion of first-year proficiency in a single world language; one history course selected from HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, or HIST-H 114; and one course selected from the Global History and Perspectives list:
    1. ANTH-A 104: Intro to Cultural Anthropology
    2. CLAS-C 213: Sport and Competition in the Ancient World
    3. EALC-E 232: China Past and Present: Culture in Continuing Evolution
    4. ENG-L 245: (The Empire Writes Back) Intro to Caribbean Literature
    5. GEOG-G 130: World Geography
    6. HIST-H 108: Perspectives on the World to 1800
    7. HIST-H 109: Perspectives on the World since 1800
    8. HIST-H 113: History of Western Civilization I 
    9. HIST-H 114: History of Western Civilization II
    10. INTL-I 100: Intro to International Studies
    11. LATS-L 228: An Interdisciplinary Look at U.S. Latino/a Identities
    12. POLS-Y 217: Introduction to Comparative Politics 
    13. POLS-Y 219: Introduction to International Relations
    14. REL-R 212: Comparative Religions
  4. Non-English native speaker with approved waiver.

Courses in World Language and Perspectives may also satisfy General Education Core Cultural Understanding. 

        1 Students interested in receiving credit for lower-division language courses, see the section ‘‘Special Credit for Foreign Language Study.’’

Advanced Courses

Students are required to have 42 credit hours in 300-400 level coursework including courses in their major. Of the 42 advanced credits, 9 credit hours must be 300-400 level coursework outside the first Liberal Arts major field of study and from the School of Liberal Arts. Students seeking dual degrees are exempt from completing 9 credits hours in 300-400 level coursework outside their major and from the School of Liberal Arts.

Major Requirements(30 credits)

Common Core Courses (6 courses/ 18 credit hours):

  • MHHS-M 301: Perspectives on Health, Disease, and Healing (3 credit hours)
  • MHHS-M 495: Independent Project/ Seminar in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (3 credit hours)

Two Medical Humanities Core Courses (6 credit hours), chosen from the following:

  • COMM-C 392: Health Communication
  • ENG-L 431: Topics in Literary Study: Illness Narrative or MHHS-M 492: Topics in Medical Humanities and Health Studies-Narrative Medicine
  • HIST-H 364: History of Medicine and Public Health
  • PHIL-P 393: Biomedical Ethics
  • REL-R 384: Religion, Ethics, and Health
  • REL-R 395: Religion, Death and Dying

Two Health Social Science Core Courses (6 credit hours), chosen from the following:    

  • ANTH-E 445: Medical Anthropology
  • ECON-E 307 or 387: Health Economics Issues
  • GEOG-G 410: Medical Geography
  • REL-R 368: Religion and Healing
  • SOC-R 381: Social Factors in Health and Illness – or – SOC-R 382: Social Organization of Healthcare

Choose one of the following tracks:

Medical Humanities Track- Core plus four courses (12 credit hours) of Humanities Electives

Humanities Electives, choose four courses (12 credit hours) from the following:

  • COMM-C 392: Health Communication
  • COMM-C 400: Health Provider-Consumer Communication
  • ENG-L 431: Topics in Literary Study: Illness Narrative
  • HIST-H 364: History of Medicine and Public Health
  • HIST-H 373: History of Science & Technology I*
  • HIST-H 374: History of Science & Technology II*
  • HIST-H 418: History of International Humanitarian Assistance
  • MHHS-M 390: A Body of Law: Medicine, Humanities & Law
  • MHHS-M 410: Addiction Narratives
  • MHHS-M 420: Culture of Mental Illness – Literary Representations
  • MHHS-M 492: Topics in Medical Humanities and Health Studies: Such as-Ethics and Policy of Organ Transplantation, Finding Frankenstein, Motherhood in Medical Humanities, Narrative Medicine
  • PHIL-P 383: Topics in Philosophy: Such as-Death, Dying, & Immortality; Ethics, Autonomy, & Consent; Reproductive Ethics
  • PHIL-P 393: Biomedical Ethics
  • REL-R 323: Yuppie Yogis and Global Gurus
  • REL-R 368: Religion and Healing
  • REL-R 383: Power, Sex and Money
  • REL-R 384: Religions, Ethics, and Health
  • REL-R 395: Religion, Death and Dying

*    Work in these courses must include a relevant health/medicine component.  Please see an MHHS Faculty Mentor prior to selecting this course for an elective.

Health Social Science Track- Core plus one 3 credit hour Methods course plus three courses (9 credit hours) of Health Social Science Electives

Methods courses, one course (3 credit hours) from the following:

  • ANTH-E 404: Field Methods in Ethnography
  • COMM-C 325: Interviewing Principles and Practices
  • COMM-G 310: Introduction to Communication Research
  • ECON-E 270: Introduction to Statistical Theory in Economics
  • GEOG-G 311: Introduction to Research Methods in Geography
  • GEOG-G 338: Introduction to Geographic Information Systems
  • HIST-H 217: The Nature of History
  • SOC-R 351: Social Science Research Methods
  • SOC-R 359: Introduction to Sociological Statistics

Social Science Electives, choose three courses (9 credit hours) from the following:

  • ANTH-B 370: Human Variation
  • ANTH-B 468: Bioarchaeology
  • ANTH-B 474: Forensic Anthropology, Archaeology & Taphonomy
  • ANTH-B 480: Human Growth and Development
  • ANTH-E 391: Women in Developing Countries *
  • ANTH-E 411: Wealth, Exchange, and Power in Anthropological Perspective *
  • ANTH-E 421: The Anthropology of Aging
  • ANTH-E 445: Medical Anthropology
  • ECON-E 307: Current Economic Issues: Health Economics Issues
  • GEOG-G 410: Medical Geography
  • MHHS-M 390: A Body of Law: Medicine, Humanities & Law
  • MHHS-M 410: Addiction Narratives
  • MHHS-M 420: Culture of Mental Illness – Literary Representations
  • MHHS-M 492: Topics in Medical Humanities and Health Studies: Such as-Ethics and Policy of Organ Transplantation, Finding Frankenstein, Motherhood in Medical Humanities, Narrative Medicine 
  • SOC-R 300: Applied Topics in Sociology-Aging and Society (only this title)
  • SOC-R 320: Sexuality & Society 
  • SOC-R 321: Women and Health
  • SOC-R 327: Sociology of Death and Dying
  • SOC-R 381: Social Factors in Health and Illness
  • SOC-R 382: Social Organization of Health Care
  • SOC-R 385: AIDS in Society
  • SOC-R 410: Alcohol, Drugs and Society
  • SOC-R 415: Sociology of Disability
  • SOC-R 485: Sociology of Mental Illness

*    Work in these courses must include a relevant health/medicine component.  Please see an MHHS Faculty Mentor prior to selecting this course for an elective.

Health Topics Track- Core plus four courses (12 credit hours) chosen in consultation with an academic advisor.  Health related topics may include areas such as Global Health, Women's Health, and similar topics.

Open electives
Candidates for a degree in the IU School of Liberal Arts must complete the IUPUI General Education Core requirements, the baccalaureate competencies, and the requirements of their major department. Usually, students will still need to complete additional hours in order to reach the graduation requirement of 120 credit hours. These remaining credit hours are known as open electives.

Accelerated Second Degree: The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are waived for undergraduate students whose first major is outside the School of Liberal Arts and whose second major is a Bachelor of Arts degree from the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Students are only required to complete the courses in their major of choice in Liberal Arts. The IUPUI General Education Core or the Indiana transferable general education core must be successfully completed. Students must complete the degree outside Liberal Arts in order to have the Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies waived for degree completion. The Liberal Arts baccalaureate competencies are only waived for students who actively pursue and complete another degree program outside of Liberal Arts.

 

The Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (MHHS) requires satisfactory completion of the following:

Degree Requirements

  • A minimum of 120 credit hours is required for a B.S. degree in the IU School of Liberal Arts.
  • A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 (C) is required for graduation.
  • A minimum of 40 credit hours must be at the 300-400 level.
  • A minimum of 26 credit hours must be completed after formal admission to the IUPUI.
  • A minimum of 21 credit hours of major coursework in residence in the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI. Course work completed on an IU-administered or IU co-sponsored Overseas Study program counts as residential credit.
  • A minimum grade of C (2.0) is required in each major course.

IUPUI General Education Core

A list of accepted courses in the IUPUI General Education Core can be found at http://go.iupui.edu/gened.

 Core Communication (6 credits)

  • ENG-W 131: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry I (3 credits) or ENG-W 140: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry: Honors (3 credits) completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher

English for Academic Purposes (EAP) sections of ENG-G 131 have been designated for students whose first language is not English.

  • COMM-R 110: Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 credits)

Analytical Reasoning (6 credits)

  • College math from List A (3 credits)
  • List A or List B course (3 credits)

Computer science course is recommended

Cultural Understanding (3 credits)

Life and Physical Sciences (6 credits)

  • A laboratory science component is required

Arts/Humanities and Social Sciences (9 credits)

  • Arts & Humanities (3 credits)
  • Social Science (3 credits)
  • Additional Arts & Humanities or Social Science (3 credits)

Transfer students entering IUPUI from another public university in Indiana who have completed the transferable general education core at their home campus will not need to complete the IUPUI General Education Core.

Liberal Arts Baccalaureate Competencies

First-Year Experience (1-3 credits)

  • SLA-S 100: First Year Success Seminar
  • Other: First Year Seminar from another school at IUPUI

Transfer students with 18 or more credit hours are not required to take this course.

Writing Proficiency (3 credits), completed with a grade of C (2.0) or higher, chosen from the following:

  • ENG-W 230: Writing in the Sciences
  • ENG-W 231: Professional Writing Skills
  • ENG-W 270: Argumentative Writing

Transfer students may satisfy the writing proficiency by completing course work equivalent to ENG-W 231, ENG-W 230, ENG-W 270, or GEWR-UN 200 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher at another campus or institution.

Transfer students with 80 or more transfer credits may petition for exemption from the Writing Proficiency requirement.  Petition available in the Miriam Z. Langsam Office of Student Affairs, Cavanaugh Hall room 401.

Computer Proficiency (0-3 credits)

Computer science and computer technology courses intended to develop the student’s problem-solving ability and promote the understanding and use of logical structures of thought. Computer courses must focus on programming or data manipulation. Below is a list of accepted courses (see advisor if you have questions about a course not on this list):

  • BUS-K 201: Computers in Business
  • CSCI 23000: Computing I^ (pre-requisite or co-requisite: MATH 15300)
  • CSCI-N 200: Principles of Computer Science^
  • CSCI-N 201: Programming Concepts^
  • CSCI-N 207: Data Analysis Using Spreadsheets^
  • CSCI-N 211: Introduction to Databases^
  • ENGR 19700: Introduction to Programming^
  • INFO-I 101: Introduction to Informatics^
  • INFO-I 210: Information Infrastructure^
  • SPEA-V 261: Computers in Public Affairs

Note: courses with ^ listed by them may be shared with the IUPUI General Education Core Analytical Reasoning List B requirement.

Arts and Humanities (3 credits) Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement

100 or 200 level course from the following disciplines.

  • Africana Studies (AFRO)
  • American Studies (AMST)
  • American Sign Language (ASL) excluding World Languages courses
  • Classics (CLAS) excluding World Languages courses
  • Communication Studies (COMM-R, excluding COMM-R 110, and COMM-T only)
  • East Asian Languages and Cultures (EALC) excluding World Language courses
  • English-Creative Writing or Writing and Literacy (ENG-W), excluding courses in the Writing Proficiency area.
  • English Literature (ENG-L)
  • Film Studies (FILM)
  • Folklore (FOLK) excluding FOLK-F 101
  • German (GER), excluding World Language courses
  • History (HIST) excluding HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
  • Latino Studies (LATS)
  • Museum Studies (MSTD)
  • Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
  • Philosophy (PHIL)
  • Religious Studies (REL)
  • Spanish (SPAN) excluding World Language courses
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WOST) excluding WOST-W 105
  • World Languages and Cultures (WLAC)

Social Sciences (3credits) Courses in one’s first major field of study cannot be used to fulfill this requirement

100 or 200 level course from the following disciplines.

  • Africana Studies (AFRO)
  • Anthropology (ANTH)
  • Communication Studies (COMM-C and COMM-M only)
  • Economics (ECON)
  • English-Linguistics (ENG-Z)
  • Folklore (FOLK)
  • Geography (GEOG)
  • Global and International Studies (INTL)
  • History (HIST) excluding HIST-H 105, HIST-H 106, HIST-H 108, HIST-H 109, HIST-H 113, HIST-H 114
  • Journalism and Public Relations (JOUR)
  • Latino Studies (LATS)
  • Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS)
  • Political Science (POLS)
  • Psychology (PSY)
  • Sociology (SOC)
  • Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WOST)

International Dimension (6 credits)

2 courses chosen from the list below.

  • AFRO-A 152: Introduction to African Studies
  • AFRO-A 303: African Diaspora Studies
  • ANTH-A 104: Cultural Anthropology
  • CLAS-C 101: Ancient Greek Culture
  • CLAS-C 102: Roman Culture
  • CLAS-C 209: Med Terms in Greek & Latin
  • ECON-E 303: International Economics
  • JOUR-J 414: International Newsgathering
  • ENG-L 245: Caribbean Literature
  • ENG-L 301: English Literature Survey I
  • ENG-L 302: English Literature Survey II
  • ENG-L 348: 19th Century British Literature
  • GEOG-G 110: Human Geography
  • GEOG-G 130: World Geography
  • HIST-H 108: Perspectives on World to 1800
  • HIST-H 109: Perspectives on World 1800 to present
  • HIST-H 113: Western Civilization I
  • HIST-H 114: Western Civilization II
  • HIST-H 227: African Civilizations
  • INTL-I 100: Introduction to International Studies
  • INTL-I 300: Topics in International Studies
  • PHIL-P 307: Classical Philosophy
  • PHIL-P 314: Modern Philosophy
  • PHIL-P 334: Buddhist Philosophy
  • PHIL-P 349: Philosophies of China
  • POLS-Y 217: Comparative Politics
  • POLS-Y 219: Introduction to International Relations
  • REL-R 212: Comparative Religions
  • REL-R 257: Introduction to Islam
  • WLAC (any course offered by World Languages and Cultures, excluding American Sign Language and English Interpreting courses)

Additional courses may be accepted with approval from Associate Dean of Students.

Life & Physical Science

At least 30 credit hours of Science, Math, or Computer Science coursework is required, to include at least one course with a laboratory component. Only 15 credits of 100-level coursework may be used to satisfy this requirement. All courses in the IUPUI General Education Core Life & Physical Science list are accepted, along with advanced coursework in the disciplines below:

  • Anthropology (ANTH-B 370, 426, 468, 474)
  • Biology (BIOL)
  • Chemistry (CHEM)
  • Computer Science (CSCI)
  • Economics (ECON-E 335 and 470)
  • Forensic & Investigative Science (FIS)
  • Geography (GEOG-G 336, 337, 338, 436, 438, 439, 488)
  • Geology (GEOL)
  • Informatics (INFO-I 101 or higher)
  • Kinesiology (HPER-P 391 and HPER-P 409)
  • MATH (MATH-M 118 or higher)
  • Physics (PHYS)
  • Public Health (PBHL-B 300, 325, 385, 420, 430; PBHL-E 322)
  • Psychology (PSY-B 301, 305, 307, 320, 398)
  • Statistics (any 200-400 level Statistics course)

Additional courses may be accepted with approval from Associate Dean of Students.

Advanced Courses

Students are required to have 40 credit hours in 300-400 level coursework including courses in their major.

Major Requirements

Core Courses (3 courses/9 credit hours):

  • MHHS-M 301: Perspectives on Health, Disease, and Healing (3 credit hours)
  • MHHS-M 495: Independent Project/ Seminar in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (3 credit hours)
  • Any 200-400 level Statistics course (ECON-E 270, PBHL-B 300, PSY-B 305, SOC-R 359, SPEA-K 300, STAT 30100, SWK-S 372) ~additional courses may be accepted with approval from Medical Humanities and Health Studies program chair

Medical Humanities Core Courses (2 courses/6 credit hours), chosen from the following:

  • COMM-C 392: Health Communication
  • ENG-L 431: Topics in Literary Study: Illness Narrative
  • HIST-H 364: History of Medicine and Public Health
  • PHIL-P 393: Biomedical Ethics
  • REL-R 384: Religion, Ethics, and Health

Health Social Science Core Courses (2 courses/6 credit hours), chosen from the following:   

  • ANTH-E 445: Medical Anthropology
  • ECON-E 307 or 387: Health Economics Issues #
  • GEOG-G 410: Medical Geography
  • REL-R 368: Religion and Healing
  • SOC-R 381: Social Factors in Health and Illness or SOC-R 382: Social Organization of Healthcare

Medical Humanities & Health Studies Electives (3 courses/9 credit hours), chosen from the following:

Note: electives must be upper-level MHHS courses (not MHHS-M 301 or MHHS-M 495), or come from at least two 2 different departments/disciplines. Courses may not be shared with the Medical Humanities or Health Social Science Core. MHHS-M 492 may be repeated for credit up to 3 times.

  • ANTH-B 370: Human Variation
  • ANTH-B 468: Bioarcheology
  • ANTH-B 474: Forensic Anthropology
  • ANTH-B 480: Human Growth and Development
  • ANTH-E 391: Women in Developing Countries *
  • ANTH-E 411: Wealth, Exchange, and Power in Anthropological Perspective *
  • ANTH-E 421: The Anthropology of Aging
  • ANTH-E 445: Medical Anthropology
  • COMM-C 392: Health Communication
  • COMM-C 400: Health Provider-Consumer Communication
  • ECON-E 307: Current Economic Issues: Health Economics Issues #
  • ^ENG-L 431: Topics in Literary Study: Illness Narrative
  • GEOG-G 410: Medical Geography
  • HIST-H 364: History of Medicine and Public Health
  • HIST-H 373: History of Science & Technology I*
  • HIST-H 374: History of Science & Technology II*
  • MHHS-M 390: A Body of Law: Medicine, Humanities & Law
  • HIST-H 418: History of International Humanitarian Assistance
  • MHHS-M 410: Addiction Narratives
  • MHHS-M 420: Culture of Mental Illness – Literary Representations
  • MHHS-M 492: Topics in Medical Humanities and Health Studies
  • ^PHIL-P 383: Topics in Philosophy: Death, Dying, & Immortality *; Ethics, Autonomy & Consent*; Reproductive Ethics *
  • PHIL-P 393: Biomedical Ethics
  • REL-R 323: Yuppie Yogis and Global Gurus
  • REL-R 368: Religion and Healing
  • REL-R 383: Power, Sex, and Money *
  • REL-R 384: Religions, Ethics, and Health
  • SOC-R320: Sexuality & Society
  • SOC-R 321: Women and Health
  • SOC-R 327: Sociology of Death and Dying
  • SOC-R 381: Social Factors in Health and Illness
  • SOC-R 382: Social Organization of Health Care
  • SOC-R 385: AIDS and Society
  • SOC-R 410: Alcohol, Drugs and Society
  • SOC-R 415: Sociology of Disability
  • SOC-R 485: Sociology of Mental Illness

^Variable title “Topics” courses except MHHS-M 492 are limited to the titles listed above.

*Work in these courses must include relevant health/medicine component. Please see the Medical Humanities and Health Studies program chair prior to selecting this course as an elective.

Medical Humanities and Health Studies Courses

Open Electives

Candidates for a degree in the IU School of Liberal Arts must complete the IUPUI General Education Core requirements, the baccalaureate competencies and the requirements of their major department. Usually, students will still need to complete additional hours in order to reach the graduation requirement of 120 credit hours. These remaining credit hours are known as electives.