Director: Jefferson Gatrall
The Medical Humanities major offers a broad and flexible curriculum, drawing on the humanities, social sciences, the arts, biomedical sciences, and the caregiving disciplines. Majors take core courses in Bioethics, Medical Anthropology, and Literature and Illness and fulfill further requirements through a choice of offerings in psychology, history, sociology, religious studies, child advocacy, and biology. Majors also pursue personal academic and career goals through coursework in 4 tracks of electives. In their final year, all Medical Humanities majors work one-on-one with a faculty supervisor to create a capstone experiential learning project, one that may involve placement in healthcare institutions or health-related organizations in New Jersey and New York City.
The Medical Humanities major gives students a competitive edge in the healthcare industries, the fastest growing sector in the economy today. Medical Humanities majors acquire a knowledge base in diverse healthcare fields as well as the transferable job skills that employees value highly: writing, oral communication, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making. Medical Humanities graduates find employment opportunities in hospitals, insurance carriers, universities, pharmaceutical companies, nursing facilities, physicians’ offices, retirement communities, and outpatient centers. They also continue their studies at the postgraduate level, from medical and law school to a range of interdisciplinary PhD programs in the humanities and social sciences.
Unless otherwise noted, 120 credits of coursework is required for a baccalaureate degree with a minimum 2.0 overall GPA, and a minimum 2.0 major GPA.
Degree Requirements Overview
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| SEEDS General Education Requirements | 31-33 | |
| New Student Seminar | 1 | |
| Major Requirements | 40 | |
| Free Electives | 48-46 | |
| Total Credits | 120 | |
Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| MEDH 101 | Introduction to the Medical Humanities | 3 |
| ANTH 180 | Health and Healing in Cross Cultural Perspective | 3 |
| MEDH 204 | Philosophical Issues in Biomedical Ethics | 3 |
| or PHIL 204 | Philosophical Issues in Biomedical Ethics | |
| MEDH 301 | Medicine, Literature and Illness | 3 |
| MEDH 491 | Capstone Project in the Medical Humanities | 3 |
| Human Biology Requirement | ||
| Complete 1 course from the following: | 4 | |
| Physical Anthropology | ||
| The Biology of Human Life | ||
| Principles of Biology: Introduction to the Cell | ||
| Social Sciences Requirement | ||
| Complete 1 course from the following: | 3 | |
| Child Abuse and Neglect | ||
| Introduction to Psychology | ||
| Sociology of the Family | ||
| Humanities Requirement | ||
| Complete 1 course from the following: | 3 | |
| History of Public Health in the United States | ||
| Special Topics in the Medical Humanities | ||
| Body and Soul | ||
| Language, Power, and Medicine: The Spectrum of Health | ||
| Electives | ||
| Complete 15 credits from the list below. | 15 | |
| Total Credits | 40 | |
Electives
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| MEDH 391 | Special Topics in the Medical Humanities | 3-9 |
| Caregiving, Aging Studies and Disability Studies | ||
| ANTH 105 | Introduction to Disability Studies, Rights, and Culture | 3 |
| ANTH 205 | Disability in US Popular Culture | 3 |
| ANTH 350 | Anthropology of Aging and the Aged | 3 |
| ARTH 280 | Introduction to Art Therapy | 3 |
| MUTH 100 | Introduction to Music Therapy | 2 |
| RELG 218 | Death, Dying and Afterlife | 3 |
| RELG 232 | Body and Soul | 3 |
| PSYC 268 | Psychological Aspects of Aging | 3 |
| Communication and Advocacy | ||
| CHAD 201 | Literacy in Child Advocacy and Policy | 3 |
| CMST 160 | Introduction to Health Communication | 3 |
| CMST 367 | Health Communication Theory | 3 |
| FREN 121 | Intermediate French | 3 |
| NURS 420 | Transprofessional Communication Collaboration | 3 |
| NURS 450 | Nursing Scholarship | 3 |
| SPAN 105 | Spanish for Health Practitioners I | 3 |
| SPAN 106 | Spanish for Health Practitioners II | 3 |
| SPAN 107 | Spanish for Health Practitioners III | 3 |
| WRIT 351 | Language, Power, and Medicine: The Spectrum of Health | 3 |
| Human Biological and Psychological Well-Being | ||
| ANTH 101 | Physical Anthropology | 4 |
| BIOL 110 | The Biology of Human Life | 4 |
| BIOL 111 | Emerging Diseases | 3 |
| BIOL 112 | Principles of Biology: Introduction to the Cell | 4 |
| BIOL 113 | Principles of Biology: Organisms and Diversity | 4 |
| PSYC 227 | Psychological Aspects of Human Sexuality | 3 |
| PSYC 302 | Health Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 320 | Developmental Psychology I | 3 |
| PSYC 332 | Psychological Foundations of Personality | 3 |
| PSYC 354 | Clinical Psychology | 3 |
| PSYC 402 | Systems of Psychotherapy | 3 |
| Community and Public Health | ||
| ANTH 330 | The Anthropology of Food and Nutrition | 3 |
| ANTH 423 | Community and Health | 3-4 |
| ANTH 440 | Medical Anthropology | 3 |
| CHAD 202 | Cultural Competencies in Child Welfare | 3 |
| CHAD 210 | Child Abuse and Neglect | 3 |
| HLTH 102 | Introduction to Public Health | 3 |
| HLTH 204 | Social and Behavioral Aspects of Health | 3 |
| SOCI 104 | Sociology of the Family | 3 |
| SOCI 240 | Statistics for Social Research | 4 |
| SOCI 309 | Sociology of Health and Illness | 3 |
New Student Seminar
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Students in the Adult Learner program must take GNED 100. | ||
| Complete one course from the following. Some courses may be restricted by major. Consult with an academic advisor. | 1 | |
| Pathways to Success | ||
| Freshman Seminar in Chemistry | ||
| First Year Seminar | ||
| Adult Academic Success Seminar | ||
| New Student Seminar | ||
| Freshman Seminar in Health and Physical Education | ||
| Pathways to Adult Learning | ||
| New Student Seminar | ||
| New Student Experience for Mathematical Sciences | ||
| Freshman Seminar for Music Majors | ||
| Introduction to Nursing | ||
| Freshman Seminar in Political Science and Law | ||
SEEDS General Education Requirements
Click here for a listing of courses that fulfill the SEEDS requirements.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Foundations | ||
| Effective Writing I | ||
| Complete one Effective Writing I course. | 3 | |
| Effective Writing II | ||
| Complete one Effective Writing II course. | 3 | |
| Interactive Communication | ||
| Complete one Interactive Communication course. | 3 | |
| Quantitative Reasoning | ||
| Complete one Quantitative Reasoning course. | 3 | |
| Political and Civic Life | ||
| Complete one Political and Civic Life course. | 3 | |
| World Languages | ||
| Complete two sequential classes in one World Language when starting at the Beginner I or Beginner II level. Complete one class when starting at the Intermediate/Advanced Level. | 3-6 | |
| Exploration | ||
| Complete one course from four different Exploration categories. | 12 | |
| Analyzing Cultures and Societies | ||
| Creative Expression | ||
| Ethical Inquiry | ||
| Historical Thinking | ||
| Literary and Artistic Analysis | ||
| Scientific Reasoning | ||
| Total Credits | 30-33 | |
Recommended Roadmap to Degree Completion
This recommended degree plan is provided as an outline for students to follow in order to complete their degree requirements within four years and 120 credits. This plan is a recommendation and MUST be used in consultation with their academic advisor. Important note: Students should be aware this plan assumes no pre-requisite coursework is required. If pre-requisite coursework is needed, students may have additional requirements to fulfill which do not appear on the plan.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| MEDH 101 | 3 | ANTH 180 | 3 |
| New Student Seminar | 1 | Major Requirement: Social Sciences | 3 |
| SEEDS: Effective Writing I | 3 | SEEDS: Effective Writing II | 3 |
| SEEDS: Interactive Communication | 3 | SEEDS: Quantitative Reasoning | 3 |
| SEEDS: Exploration 1 | 3 | SEEDS: Exploration 2 | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| MEDH 204 or PHIL 204 | 3 | MEDH 301 | 3 |
| ANTH 101, BIOL 110, or BIOL 112 (Fulfills SEEDS: Exploration 3 - Scientific Reasoning) | 4 | Major Requirement: Humanities | 3 |
| SEEDS: World Language 1 | 3 | SEEDS: World Language 2 | 3 |
| SEEDS: Political and Civic Life | 3 | SEEDS: Exploration 4 | 3 |
| Free Elective | 1 | Free Elective | 3 |
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Major Elective 1 | 3 | Major Elective 3 | 3 |
| Major Elective 2 | 3 | Major Elective 4 | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| Major Elective 5 | 3 | MEDH 491 | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| Free Elective | 3 | Free Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total Credits 120 | |||