Bachelor of Arts in Health, Medicine, and Society

Program Contact: Lauren Sardi 203-582-8215

Health, Medicine, and Society is an interdisciplinary major that draws from courses in the sciences, humanities and social sciences to provide a sociocultural understanding of health and illness. Students will be exposed to a range of topics, including healthcare policy and politics, medical and bioethics, health disparities, global health, and the social and cultural foundations and determinants of health in the United States and around the world. Students will also learn to develop or deepen skills such as empathy, socio-cultural understanding, self-awareness, and an appreciation for diversity that are essential to effective medical care and sound healthcare policies and laws. The major is dedicated to training the next generation of national and international leaders who are informed, thoughtful, ethically motivated, and rigorously prepared for a variety of careers that traverse health policy, the pharmaceutical industry, health management, law, agency work, public health and a multitude of other professions requiring a complex understanding of what is sometimes referred to as medical humanities and medical sociology.

The flexibility of the Health, Medicine, and Society major allows it to complement other programs and minors such as Global Public Health, Anthropology, Health Care Management, and Women’s and Gender Studies, as well as the pre-medical and pre-dental designations.

Students in Health, Medicine, and Society must complete:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
University Curriculum 1		46
Modern Language Requirement		3-6
6 Credits from Interdisciplinary Studies Core:		6
IDS 200	Rise of Disciplinarity	3
IDS 400	Transdisciplinary Project	3
3 Credits from Methods Courses:		3
AN 240	Ethnography: Learning from Others	3
HS 303	Historiography	3
MA 206	Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences	3
MA 275	Biostatistics	3
SO 290	Research Methods	3
SO 382	Studying Social Issues with Statistics	3
3-4 Credits from Science Courses: 2		3-4
AN 104	Bones, Genes and Everything In Between	3
AN 104L	Bones, Genes and Everything In Between	1
AN 250	Forensic Anthropology	3
AN 252	The Science of Human Diversity	3
AN 272	Sh t Happens: a Natural History of Human Waste	3
BIO 101	General Biology I	3
BIO 101L	General Biology I Lab	1
BIO 102	General Biology II	3
BIO 102L	General Biology Lab II	1
BIO 106	Science and Society: Concepts and Current Issues	3
BIO 106L	Science and Society: Concepts and Current Issues Lab	1
BIO 107	Everyday Biology	3
BIO 107L	Everyday Biology Lab	1
BIO 120	The Biology of Beer	3
BIO 125	Cross My Heart: An Introduction to the Human Cardiovascular System	3
BIO 128	Global Health Challenges: a Human Perspective	3
BIO 128L	Global Health Challenges Lab	1
BIO 150	General Biology for Majors	4
BIO 150L	General Biology for Majors Laboratory
BIO 151	Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics	4
BIO 151L	Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics Lab
BIO 161	Introduction to the Biological Aspects of Science and Society	3
BIO 202	Inside Out: An Introduction to Human Form and Function	3
BIO 205	Bioethics	3
BIO 208	Introduction to Forensic Science	3
BIO 208L	Introduction to Forensic Science Lab Science Laboratory	1
BIO 282	Genetics	3
BIO 282L	Genetics Lab	1
BIO 383	Evolution	3
BMS 117	The Human Organism	3
BMS 117L	The Human Organism Lab	1
BMS 162	Human Health and Disease	3
BMS 200	Biomedical Basis and Experience of Human Aging	3
CHE 101	Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biological Chemistry I	3
CHE 101L	Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biological Chemistry I Lab	1
CHE 102	Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biological Chemistry II	3
CHE 102L	Fundamentals of General, Organic and Biological Chemistry II Lab	1
CHE 110	General Chemistry I	3
CHE 110L	General Chemistry I Lab	1
CHE 111	General Chemistry II	3
CHE 111L	General Chemistry II Lab	1
ENV 120	Exploring Your Environment,Foundations of Biology and Chemistry	3
ENV 120L	Exploring Your Environment Lab,Foundations of Biology and Chemistry Lab	1
PHY 101	Elements of Physics	3
PHY 101L	Elements of Physics Lab	1
PHY 105	Physics of Music	3
PHY 105L	Physics of Music Lab	1
PHY 107	Introduction to Astronomy	3
PHY 110	General Physics I	3
PHY 110L	General Physics I Lab	1
PHY 111	General Physics II	3
PHY 111L	General Physics II Lab	1
PHY 121	University Physics	4
PHY 122	University Physics II	4
PS 252	Physiological Psychology	3
PS 354	Sensation and Perception	3
PS 357	Drugs, Brain and Behavior	3
SCI 102	Earth Sciences	3
SCI 102L	Earth Sciences Lab	1
SCI 105	Chemistry and Nutrition	3
SCI 105L	Chemistry and Nutrition Lab	1
SCI 161	Nutrition: an Investigative Experience	3
SCI 261	Natural Disasters	3
WGS 252	The Science of Human Diversity	3
15 Credits from at Least 3 Content Areas: 3		15
Health Policies, Politics, and the Law Content Area:
HSC 220	Health Care Essentials: Structure, Policy and Professionalism	3
HSC 318	Community Nutrition	3
HSC 320	The Environment and Human Health	3
HSC 404	Healthcare Law and Ethics	3
HM 201	Introduction to Healthcare Management	3
HM 320	Introduction to Health Insurance	3
HM 365	Health Care Analysis	3
HM 404	Legal Aspects of Health Care Delivery	3
SW 504	Social Welfare and Social Policy 4	3
WGS 219	Feminist Political Thought	3
WGS 250	Gender and the Law	3
LE 250	Gender and the Law	3
LE 322	Health Care Law	3
PL 337	Human Rights: Theory and Practice	3
PO 219	Feminist Political Thought	3
PO 313	Development, Globalization and Colonialism	3
PO 335	Politics of Race and Ethnicity	3
PO 337	Human Rights: Theory and Practice	3
Social and Cultural Behaviors Content Area:
CJ 333	Drugs, Alcohol and Society	3
GT 263	Aging in Society	3
HSC 210	Introduction to Evidence-Based Health Care	3
HSC 262	Nutrition in Health and Illness	3
HSC 270	Pillars of Public Health: Saving the World on a Population Level	3
HSC 317	Nutrition Across the Life Cycle	3
PS 272	Abnormal Psychology	3
PS 320	Psychology of Sport and Exercise	3
PS 325	Health Psychology	3
SO 263	Aging in Society Of Aging	3
SO 266	Population and Society	3
SO 305	Sociology of Death and Dying	3
SO 333	Drugs, Alcohol and Society	3
SW 511	Human Behavior in the Social Environment I: Theories for Practice for Individuals and Families 4	3
SW 512	Human Behavior in the Social Environment II: Theories for Groups, Organizations and Communities 4	3
Intersectionality and Health Justice Content Area:
AN 210	Gender/Sex/Sexuality	3
AN 230	Sustainable Development	3
AN 242	Cannabis Culture	3
ENV 230	Sustainable Development	3
GT 365	Aging and Social Problems	3
SO 241	Sociology of Race and Ethnicity	3
SO 244	Race, Gender and Class: Social Inequalities	3
SO 280	Sociology of Health and Illness	3
SO 360	Sociology of Mental Health	3
SO 365	Aging and Social Problems	3
SW 507	Issues of Diversity and Oppression 5	3
History, Ethics, and Medicine Content Area:
HSC 215	Complementary and Alternative Medicine - a Health Science Perspective	3
HSC 315	Bioethical Issues in the 21st Century	3
HS 230	The Rise of Modern Science	3
HS 330	History of Western Medicine	3
HS 391	Colonizing the Body	4
HS 394	Doctors, Disease and Death in the Western World	4
PL 222	Bioethics	3
PL 368	Philosophy of Death and Dying	3
Global Health and Communications Content Area:
AN 227	Rites of Passage	3
AN 237	Health and Medicine Around the World	3
AN 243	Ancient Food For Thought	3
BMS 474	Power of Plagues	3
GPH 201	Introduction to Global Public Health	3
SP 105	Introductory Spanish for Health Professions	3
SP 310	Spanish for Health Professions I	3
SP 311	Spanish for Health Professions II	3
Health, Gender, and Sexuality Content Area:
HS 328	Gender in the Non-Western World	3
PS 210	Human Sexuality	3
PS 262	Psychology of Women and Gender (WGS 262)	3
PS 284	LGBTQ Identities and Communities	3
SO 302	Sociology of Sexualities	3
SO 304	Sociology of Gender	3
SO 306	Masculinities	3
WGS 101	Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies	3
WGS 302	Sociology of Sexualities	3
WGS 304	Sociology of Gender	3
WGS 306	Masculinities	3
WGS 395	Feminist Theory and the Body	4
3 Credits from Social and Cultural Electives:		3
CN 210	Chinese Culture and Civilization	3
EN 235	Literature by Women	3
EN 265	Black Writers in and Beyond the US	3
EN 338	American Literature by Women of Color	3
HS 232	The Rise and Fall of the British Empire	3
HS 234	Borders & Battles: Conflict and the Legacy of Empire	3
HS 241	African-American Experiences to Reconstruction	3
HS 242	African-American Experience Since Reconstruction	3
HS 254	Colonial Latin America	3
HS 273	African History and Culture	3
HS 274	Modern India	3
HS 334	Bollywood and History: Constructing India's Past	3
HS 340	Native American History	3
SO 225	Social Problems	3
SO 308	The Immigrant Experience	3
SO 317	Religion and Society	3
3 Credits from Internship/Experiential Learning:		3
PL 320	Thought and Work of Albert Schweitzer (SL: Service Learning)	3
CJ 392	Internship in the Community	3
GT 392	Internship in the Community	3
SO 392	Internship in the Community	3
WGS 392	Internship in the Community	3
Free Electives		34-38
Total Credits		120

¹

All students must complete the University Curriculum requirements.

²

Courses in this area cannot also count in UC Disciplinary Areas. 

³

Courses in this area cannot also count in the UC Disciplinary Areas or in Personal Inquiry.

⁴

Open to anyone in 3+2 MSW in third year or with special permission; SO 211 encouraged as prerequisite.

⁵

Open to seniors only or with special permission; not recommended for MSW 3+2 students unless with special permission.

Upon completing this program, students will demonstrate the following competencies:

• Disciplinary (Specialized Domain) Knowledge is the development of field-specific content knowledge in health and medicine through a social science and humanities framework and through additional experiential learning requirements as part of their studies.
• Recognition of Differences and Equity through acquiring knowledge of how social, cultural and institutional systems are interconnected to shape and upload inequality and how they can utilize intellectual and emotional skills to lessen inequality as informed and responsible members of their communities. Students will also learn to further their appreciation of all forms of human difference.
• Higher-Order Thinking through the disciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge they will obtain in this program, including the ability to understand and apply concepts across multiple disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. Students will be engaging in critical thinking by identifying several underlying structural issues that contribute to differences in health outcomes across local, national and global populations. Students will also develop the capacity to engage in ethical reasoning through their studies in this program to analyze how to address social problems.
• Inquiry and Analysis to develop a social and intellectual curiosity to both question and analyze complex social, structural, historical, political, economic and cultural issues and to challenge previously held assumptions and beliefs.
• Competency in inquiry will occur through an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lens; students will be able to synthesize vast amounts of written and visual information across multiple sources, times and locations.
• Competency in analysis and data skills will be gleaned through rigorous theoretical and methodological training offered through the humanities and social sciences. 

Students will also develop the following knowledge areas:

• Think critically about the reciprocal relationship between health and social, structural, cultural, ideological, political, economic and historical factors.
• Analyze the social and cultural foundations of health and medicine.
• Understand the interpersonal, cross-cultural and institutional contexts of class, status, power and other aspects of identity in the creation and maintenance of health and healthcare disparities. 
• Demonstrate empirical mastery of fundamental concepts and theories from the medical humanities through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary perspectives. 
• Utilize quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore, describe, analyze and explain complex 21st-century health-related policy issues.
• Examine and analyze historical and contemporary health research findings through writing, evaluation and practice.
• Confront and engage with complexities of health care policy and health care reform. 

Shown below is one of many possible paths through the curriculum. Each student’s individual academic plan is crafted in consultation with their academic adviser.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
First Year
Milestones: Earn 30 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher, and meet with your adviser at least once a semester.
Fall Semester
EN 101	Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing	3
FYS 101	First-Year Seminar	3
MA course- UC Foundations Inquiry		3
BIO 150 & 150L	General Biology for Majors and General Biology for Majors Laboratory	4
SO 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
Spring Semester
EN 102	Academic Writing and Research	3
PS 101	Introduction to Psychology	3
MA 141	Calculus of a Single Variable	3
BIO 151 & 151L	Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics Lab	4
WGS 101	Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies	3
Second Year
Milestones: Earn 60 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester to discuss academic, experiential learning, career and co-curricular opportunities.
Fall Semester
CHE 110 & 110L	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Lab	4
HMS: Content Area		3
PL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3
Language at the 101 level		3
University Curriculum course		3
Spring Semester
CHE 111 & 111L	General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Lab	4
HSM: Content Area		3
University Curriculum course		3
Language at the 102 level (satisfies CAS language requirement)		3
Open Elective		3
Third Year
Milestones: Earn 90 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester. Participate in study abroad, complete internship or research opportunities.
Fall Semester
PHY 110 & 110L	General Physics I and General Physics I Lab	4
CHE 210 & 210L	Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Lab	4
IDS 200	Rise of Disciplinarity	3
Open Elective		3
MCI Course		1
Spring Semester
PHY 111 & 111L	General Physics II and General Physics II Lab	4
CHE 211 & 211L	Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Lab	4
MA 275	Biostatistics	3
HMS: Content Area		3
Open Elective		3
Fourth Year
Milestones: Earn 120 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Complete possible minor or double major and prepare for graduation.
Fall Semester
CHE 315 & 315L	Biochemistry I and Biochemistry I Lab	4
HMS internship/experiential learning		3
HMS: Content Area		3
HMS Social & Cultural elective		3
Open Elective		1
Spring Semester
IDS 400	Transdisciplinary Project	3
University Curriculum course		3
Open Elective		3
Open Elective		3
Total Credits		122

Shown below is one of many possible paths through the curriculum. Each student’s individual academic plan is crafted in consultation with their academic adviser.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
First Year
Milestones: Earn 30 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher, and meet with your adviser at least once a semester.
Fall Semester
EN 101	Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing	3
FYS 101	First-Year Seminar	3
BIO 150 & 150L	General Biology for Majors and General Biology for Majors Laboratory	4
CHE 110 & 110L	General Chemistry I and General Chemistry I Lab	4
MCI Course		1
Spring Semester
EN 102	Academic Writing and Research	3
MA 141	Calculus of a Single Variable	3
BIO 151 & 151L	Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics and Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics Lab	4
CHE 111 & 111L	General Chemistry II and General Chemistry II Lab	4
MCI Course		1
Second Year
Milestones: Earn 60 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester to discuss academic, experiential learning, career and co-curricular opportunities.
Fall Semester
CHE 210 & 210L	Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry I Lab	4
SO 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
PS 101	Introduction to Psychology	3
PL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3
Language at the 101 level		3
Spring Semester
CHE 211 & 211L	Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Lab	4
HMS: Content Area		3
WGS 101	Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies	3
Language at the 102 level (satisfies CAS language requirement)		3
University Curriculum course		3
Third Year
Milestones: Earn 90 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester. Participate in study abroad, complete internship or research opportunities.
Fall Semester
PHY 110 & 110L	General Physics I and General Physics I Lab	4
CHE 315 & 315L	Biochemistry I and Biochemistry I Lab	4
IDS 200	Rise of Disciplinarity	3
HMS: Content Area		3
MCI Course		1
Spring Semester
PHY 111 & 111L	General Physics II and General Physics II Lab	4
MA 275	Biostatistics	3
HMS: Content Area		3
University Curriculum course		3
Open Elective		3
Fourth Year
Milestones: Earn 120 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Complete possible minor or double major and prepare for graduation.
Fall Semester
HMS internship/experiential learning		3
HMS: Content Area		3
HMS Social & Cultural elective		3
Open Elective		3
Open Elective		3
Spring Semester
IDS 400	Transdisciplinary Project	3
University Curriculum course		3
Open Elective		3
Open Elective		3
Total Credits		120

Shown below is one of many possible paths through the curriculum. Each student’s individual academic plan is crafted in consultation with their academic adviser.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
First Year
Milestones: Earn 30 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher, and meet with your adviser at least once a semester.
Fall Semester
EN 101	Introduction to Academic Reading and Writing	3
FYS 101	First-Year Seminar	3
MA 110	Contemporary Mathematics	3
WGS 101	Introduction to Women's and Gender Studies	3
PS 101	Introduction to Psychology	3
Spring Semester
EN 102	Academic Writing and Research	3
BIO 101 & 101L	General Biology I and General Biology I Lab	4
SO 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
PL 101	Introduction to Philosophy	3
University Curriculum course		3
Second Year
Milestones: Earn 60 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester to discuss academic, experiential learning, career and co-curricular opportunities.
Fall Semester
HMS Science requirement		3
HMS Content Area		3
University Curriculum course		3-4
Language at the 101 level		3
University Curriculum course		3
Spring Semester
GPH 201	Introduction to Global Public Health	3
HMS methods course		3
HMS Social and Cultural elective		3
Language at the 102 level (satisfies CAS language requirement)		3
Open Elective		3
Third Year
Milestones: Earn 90 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Meet with your adviser at least once per semester. Participate in study abroad, complete internship or research opportunities.
Fall Semester
IDS 200	Rise of Disciplinarity	3
HMS: Content Area		3
HMS: Content Area		3
GPH minor elective		3
Open Elective		3
Spring Semester
Study Abroad		15
Fourth Year
Milestones: Earn 120 credits and a GPA of 2.00 or higher. Complete possible minor or double major and prepare for graduation.
Fall Semester
HMS internship/experiential learning		3
GPH minor elective		3
GPH minor elective		3
GPH minor elective		3
Open Elective		3
Spring Semester
IDS 400	Transdisciplinary Project	3
GPH 301	Capstone in Global Public Health	3
Open Elective		3
Open Elective		3
Open Elective		1
Total Credits		119-120

The requirements for admission into the undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences programs are the same as those for admission to Quinnipiac University.

Admission to the university is competitive, and applicants are expected to present a strong college prep program in high school. Prospective first-year students are strongly encouraged to file an application as early in the senior year as possible, and arrange to have first quarter grades sent from their high school counselor as soon as they are available.

For detailed admission requirements, including required documents, please visit the Admissions page of this catalog.