2024-25 Catalogs

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BA in Health Humanities

Degree Program Description

Societies are increasingly confronted with an array of complex issues related to health, including medical privacy, rural healthcare, addiction, aging, disability access, and the ethics of new technologies and treatments. Health Humanities explores the cultural, historical, economic, and demographic factors that impact health, healthcare, and health policy. A broad, interdisciplinary field, Health Humanities unites practicing health professionals, traditional humanities scholars, artists, writers, and humanities and social science students, as well as pre-health and health professions students. This major focuses on health and healthcare delivery in their cultural, historical, aesthetic, and political contexts with the aim of developing clinical empathy skills necessary for patient-centered care; a holistic understanding of health issues and ethics; and culturally informed communication skills.

Health Humanities prepares students for health-oriented postgraduate programs as well as for diverse careers in healthcare delivery and leadership. This program prepares students for an array of roles in government, the healthcare industry (including marketing, sales, medical research, consulting, and insurance), civic engagement, and administration in the private and public sectors. The curriculum is designed to train students to meet emerging challenges in our healthcare system as well as changes in medical education. This program is dedicated to training the next generation of national and international health leaders—from doctors and health professionals to economists, technological designers, health journalists, and policymakers.

Major Program Requirements

In addition to University, general education, and College of Arts and Science requirements, students must also meet the following major program requirements. All major requirements in the College of Arts and Science must be completed with grades of C- or higher unless otherwise indicated. Students must take 21 of the required 30 credits in the College of Arts & Science.

Foundation Courses:18
Required Courses 12
HLTH_HUM 1000Introduction to Health Humanities3
COMMUN 4530Health Communication3
ENGLSH 2000Studies in English (Literature & Medicine)3
or PHIL 2440 Medical Ethics
P_HLTH 2200Introduction to Public Health and Health Promotion3
Creative Practice (choose one course for 3 credit hours) 3
ART_VS 1020Introduction to Visual Studies3
ART_VS 1050Drawing: Materials and Methods3
ART_VS 1100Ceramics for Non-Majors3
ART_VS 2030Context and Culture3
ART_VS 2600Digital Photography3
ENGLSH 1500Creative Writing: Introduction to Creative Writing3
ENGLSH 2100Writing About Literature3
THEATR 1400Acting for Non-Majors3
THEATR 2220/DST_VS 2820Immersive Theatre3
3000/4000-level approved writing intensive course3
Capstone:3
A 4000-level capstone experiential course requiring an academic or creative project or an experience that allows to integrate knowledge gained through prior coursework and learn professional skills (e.g. study abroad, service learning, or internship for a minimum of 3 credits.) Must be approved by the program director.
Concentration Areas:6
Choose at least 6 credit hours within one of the following four concentration areas.
Community Health and Society
ANTHRO 3560/3560WPlagues and Peoples3
HLTH_SCI 2400/2400H/2400WContemporary Health Issues3
HLTH_SCI 3700Health Care in the United States3
HIST 3550Science and Medicine in Ancient and Medieval Europe3
H_D_FS 2300Multicultural Study of Children and Families3
POL_SC 4390United States Health Politics and Policy3
PUB_AF 4175Early Childhood Policy3
P_HLTH 3910WPublic Health Communication - Writing Intensive3
P_HLTH 3310Social and Behavioral Health Theory and Practice3
P_HLTH 3460Introduction to Public Health and Emergency Preparedness3
P_HLTH 3560Public Health and Environmental Justice 3
P_HLTH 3620Public Health Promotion and Program Planning3
P_HLTH 3960Public Health, Drugs and Policy3
P_HLTH/WGST 4420Gender, Culture, and Politics: Gender in the Heartland3
P_HLTH 4620Climate Change and Human Health3
P_HLTH 4630Health and Human Migration 3
SOCIOL 3440Sociology of Health3
SOCIOL 4450Research Practicum in Health, Place, and Community 3
WGST 3850Gender and the Politics of Representation (Disability & Sexuality in U.S. Culture)3
WGST 3960/P_HLTH 3965Strategies for Effective Peer Education1
Global Health
ANTHRO 3560/3560WPlagues and Peoples3
ANTHRO 4360Medical Anthropology3
HLTH_SCI 2400/2400H/2400WContemporary Health Issues3
HLTH_SCI/P_HLTH 3400Global Health Care Systems between HLTH_SCI 3400 and P_HLTH 3400, only one may count in the concentration area and elective major requirements3
HIST 2590Epidemics and Society3
P_HLTH 3960Public Health, Drugs and Policy3
P_HLTH 4620Climate Change and Human Health3
WGST/P_HLTH 2050Gender and Public Health3
WGST 3960/P_HLTH 3965Strategies for Effective Peer Education1
WGST/P_HLTH 4420 Gender, Culture, and Politics (Gender in the Heartland)3
History, Narrative and Ethics
ANTHRO 4580Evolutionary Medicine3
HLTH_SCI 2850/2850HInclusion and Equity in Health Care3
HLTH_SCI 2900/2900HHealth Care In Missouri3
HLTH_SCI 4410Humanism and Health Literacy3
HLTH_SCI 4420Health Literacy, Decision Making and Behavior Changes3
HLTH_SCI 4480Clinical Ethics3
PHIL 1150Introductory Bioethics3
PHIL 4400The Nature of Scientific Inquiry3
POL_SC 4390United States Health Politics and Policy3
SOC_WK 4395Death, Grief and Loss3
WGST 3850Gender and the Politics of Representation (Disability & Sexuality in U.S. Culture)3
Identity and Health
ANTHRO 2580Evolution of Human Sexuality3
HLTH_SCI 2850/2850HInclusion and Equity in Health Care3
HLTH_SCI/P_HLTH 3400Global Health Care Systems between HLTH_SCI 3400 and P_HLTH 3400, only one may count in the concentration area and elective major requirements3
HLTH_SCI 4430Health Care Across the Lifespan3
P_HLTH 3860Autism Spectrum Disorder and Public Health 3
P_HLTH/WGST 4420Gender, Culture, and Politics: Gender in the Heartland3
SOCIOL 3440Sociology of Health3
SOCIOL 4450Research Practicum in Health, Place, and Community 3
WGST/P_HLTH 2050Gender and Public Health3
WGST 2960Sexual Health Education and Advocacy3
WGST 3850Gender and the Politics of Representation (Disability and Sexuality in U.S. Culture)3
WGST 3960/P_HLTH 3965Strategies for Effective Peer Education1
WGST 4600Women and Health3
WGST/P_HLTH 4610Race, Gender, and Health: An Intersectional Examination of Health Inequalities3
Electives:6
Choose 6 additional credit hours from any of the above concentration areas.

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Semester Plan

Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester. A student's actual plan may vary based on course choices where options are available.

First Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
ENGLSH 10003American Government/History (Social Science)3
HLTH_HUM 10003Behavioral Science Course3
SSC 11502Creative Practice Course3
Biological/Physical/Mathematical Science Course3Math/Quantitative Reasoning Course3
Humanities Course (gen ed)3General Elective3
 14 15
Second Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
PHIL 24403P_HLTH 22003
Biological/Physical/Mathematical Science Course3Biological/Physical/Mathematical Science Course3
Humanities Writing Intensive Course (gen ed)3Health Humanities Concentration Course3
Social Science Course3Second Language Course4
General Elective3Social Science Course3
 15 16
Third Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
COMMUN 45303A&S Diversity Intensive Course3
Behavioral Science Course3Health Humanities Elective Course (A&S)3
Health Humanities Concentration Course (A&S)3Humanities Course (gen ed)3
Second Language Course4Second Language Course4
General Elective3General Elective3
 16 16
Fourth Year
FallCreditsSpringCredits
Health Humanities Elective Course (A&S)3Health Humanities Capstone Course3
Humanities Course (gen ed)3General Elective4
Upper-Level Writing Intensive Course3General Elective3
General Elective3General Elective3
General Elective3 
 15 13
Total Credits: 120

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Degree Audit

The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree. 

MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.

Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.

Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.

For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.

Major and Career Exploration

The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.

  • If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.

  • If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major

  • If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.

For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.

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