Medical Humanities - Health Studies Program

The Minor

Official Description

The interdisciplinary minor in medical humanities and health studies seeks to promote an increased awareness of the humanistic, social, and cultural dimensions of health care and health care systems. It provides an exciting opportunity for students to work in close conjunction with faculty who have strong teaching and research interests in the area of health care. A survey of the relevant issues to be addressed during the course of study in the minor includes human values and ethics in decision making; the idea of preventive and holistic health and health care; patient care as an art form and scientific endeavor; the relation among ecology, economy, and health care; the relation between cultural and social systems and health and health care; the connection between health care systems and good health; the role of the provider-client relationship, especially in the areas of communications skills and the humanistic dimensions of patient care; and the role of the consumer in the health care system.

The minor entails successful completion of a minimum of 15 credit hours, distributed as follows:

Required Core Course:

MH301 Perspectives on Health, Disease and Healing (3 cr)

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

Electives:
A minimum of 3 credit hours must be completed from each of the two following areas:

Humanistic Perspectives on Health Care:

Communication Studies - C392 Health Communication (3 cr.)
Communication Studies - G410 Health Provider-Consumer Communication (3 cr.)
English - L431 Topics: Literature and Medicine (3 cr.)
History - H364 History of Medicine & Public Health (3 cr.)
History - H374 History of Science and Technology II (3 cr.)
Philosophy - P393 Biomedical Ethics (3 cr.)
Religious Studies - R384 Religion and Health (3 cr.)
Sociology - R327 Sociology of Death and Dying (3 cr.)

Social Scientific Perspectives on Health Care:

Anthropology - A337 African American Health Care (3 cr.)
Anthropology - A460 Diseases and Human Evolution (3 cr.)
Anthropology - B370 Human Variation (3 cr.)
Anthropology - B480 Human Growth and Development (3 cr.)
Anthropology - E421 The Anthropology of Aging (3 cr.)
Anthropology - E445 Medical Anthropology (3cr.)
Economics - E387 Health Economics (3 cr.)
Geography - G410 Medical Geography (3 cr.)
Sociology - R285 AIDS and Society (3 cr.)
Sociology - R321 Women & Health (3 cr.)
Sociology - R381 Social Factors in Health and Illness (3 cr.)
Sociology - R382 Social Organization of Health Care (3cr.)
Sociology - R410 Alcohol, Drugs, and Society (3 cr.)
Sociology - R415 Sociology of Disability (3 cr.)
Sociology - R485 Sociology of Mental Illness (3 cr.)

Other Electives:
The remaining three credit hours of electives may come from the courses above or the following courses:

Medical Humanities/Health Studies - MH492 Topics in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (3 cr.)
Medical Humanities/Health Studies - MH498 Readings in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (1-3 cr.)
Nursing - S474 Applied Healthcare Ethics (3 cr.)
SPEA - H316 Introduction to Environmental Health (3 cr.)
SPEA - H320 Introduction to Health Administration (3 cr.)
SPEA - H322 Principles of Epidemiology (3 cr.)
SPEA - H354 Health Economics (3 cr.)
SPEA - H420 Health Policy (3 cr.)

Note: Other courses may be accepted upon approval of the Medical Humanities and Health Studies Committee. See Health Studies Committee chairperson for information.

Required Exit Course:

MH495 Capstone: Independent Project or Seminar in Medical Humanities and Health Studies (3 cr.)

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I learn more about planning a Minor in Medical Humanities - Health Studies?

E-mail MH-HS Lead Student Advisor, Judi Izuka-Campbell

View course offerings by semester at the Office of the Registrar website

Contact Information
Medical Humanities - Health Studies Program
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
425 University Boulevard, Cavanaugh Hall Room 406
Indianapolis, IN 46202-5140
(317) 274-4740

Medical Humanities - Health Studies Program

IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI IU School of Medicine

The Minor

Official Description

Frequently Asked Questions

IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI
IU School of Medicine