Medical Humanities

Interdisciplinary Minor

Doctor working with patient.

Do know the term medical humanities? You’ll also hear it called health humanities.

Broadly, this is the study of the human factors affecting healthcare practices. That study involves history, literature, sociology, psychology, anthropology and religion. It also includes analyses of debates surrounding medicine and health research, including philosophy, economics and law.

At the College, our medical humanities program is comprehensive. We study thehuman dimensions of medicine and health and we contextualize that by applying such fields as women’s and gender studies.

Students who choose this minor take just two required classes (Introduction to Medical Humanities and a one-credit capstone course or a healthcare internship). In addition, they can choose from a wide array of course options, including:

  • Biomedical Ethics
  • Medical Anthropology
  • Environmental Psychology
  • Aging and the Family
  • Disease, Medicine and History
  • Characteristics of Students with Intellectual Disabilities
  • Positive Psychology: Optimizing Psychological Well-being

The knowledge you gain in this program is broadly applicable. It can support careersin medicine, women’s health, public health or psychology. In addition, the minor can help prepare you for non-medical professions such as occupational, speech, physical, artor music therapy. So, if you’d like to better understand the doctor-patient relationship, racial disparitiesin medical treatment or the ethics of stem-cell research, consider this program.

“This minor offered many of my favorite courses at the College, including several required by my special education major. I was also able to have an internship at MUSC where I observed occupational therapists interacting with patients. That experience and the connections I formed will prove valuable after graduation.

— Maddie Geis