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The Health Studies Minor at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges brings together courses and faculty members in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities to guide students through the biomedical, cultural, ethical, and political questions that relate to health issues on local, regional and global scales.  Our Colleges value the intersection of public health and social justice, and this new course of study will allow students to approach these vital issues with greater knowledge and understanding. 

Given its multidisciplinary structure, the health studies minor will give scientific context to students in the social sciences and humanities who are interested in health policy, public health, law, medical ethics, social services, or health education.  The minor also complements the curriculum for traditional science majors by providing important social and behavioral dimensions for those students planning to go into medicine, nursing, physical therapy, psychology and other clinical fields.

This is a Bi-College minor, and courses will be taught by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ and Haverford College across many disciplines. When approved by the Co-Directors, selected courses for the minor may also be taken at Swarthmore College, University of Pennsylvania and while studying abroad.

Minor Requirements

The minor consists of a total of six courses, five of which must be outside of the student's major, and must include the following:

• Introduction to Health Studies (HLTH B/H115).A multidisciplinary introductory course taught by two faculty members from different academic divisions that must be taken before enrolling in the Health Studies Capstone Seminar.
• Three core courses from a list approved by the Co-Directors.  Two of these courses must be elected from a Department outside of the student's major and at least two of the courses should be at the non-introductory level.  Students must take one course in each of three areas:
  • M track: Mechanisms of disease and the maintenance of the health body (M)
  • R track: Cultural and Literary Rrepresentations of Health and Illness (R)
  • S track: Responses of familial, social, civic and governmental Structures to issues of health and disease (S)
• One additional course, outside the student's major.  Students may choose either a core course (C) or one selected from a list of approved affiliate courses (A), which deal with health issues, but not necessarily as their primary focus.
• HLTH B398. Health Studies Capstone Seminar. A capstone course organized around a theme, such as vaccines, AIDS, drug abuse, disability, migration etc.  Students will analyze current literature addressing the theme from their own disciplinary perspectives and will develop research proposals and collaborative projects.

Core Courses--Please Visit Haverford's Health Studies Web Page for Updates

• HLTH B115/H115: Introduction to Health Studies
• HLTH B398: Senior Seminar

Track M

• HLTH H215: Sacrifice Zones: Empires, Epidemics, and Climate Changes
• HLTH H319B: Metabolic Disorders
• ANTH H338A: The Anthropology of Addiction
• BIOL B201: Genetics
• BIOL B215: Biostatistics with R
• BIOL B255: Microbiology
• BIOL B352: Immunology (not offered in 2025-26)
• CHEM B242: Biological Chemistry
• CHEM H222A: Organic Biological Chemistry
• PSYC B209: Clinical Psychology
• PSYC B231: Health Psychology

Track R

• HLTH B275: Global Eugenics
• HLTH B303: Sexual and Reproductive Health
• HLTH H214B: Memoirs of Illness and Disability
• HLTH H215A: Sacrifice Zones: Empires, Epidemics, and Climate Changes
• HLTH H304B: Critical Disability Studies: Theory and Practice
• HLTH H305A: The Logic and Politics of Global Health
• HLTH H319B: Metabolic Disorders
• ANTH H265A: Medical Anthropology
• ANTH B237: Environmental Health
• ANTH B210: Medical Anthropology
• ANTH B322: Anthropology of Bodies
• ANTH B357: Narratives of Illness, Healing, and Medicine
• ANTH H336B: Science, Technology, Medicine, Power
• ENGL H226B: Disability and Literature
• HIST B337: Topics in African History.  Topic: Social and Medical History of Medicine in Africa

Track S

• HLTH B275: Global Eugenics
• HLTH B303: Sexual and Reproductive Health (not offered in 2025-26)
• HLTH H215A: Sacrifice Zones: Empires, Epidemics, and Climate Changes
• HLTH H304B: Critical Disability Studies: Theory and Practice
• HLTH H305A: The Logic and Politics of Global Health
• HLTH H319B: Metabolic Disorders
• ANTH B210: Medical Anthropology
• ANTH B322: Anthropology of Bodies
• ANTH B357: Narratives of Illness, Healing, and Medicine
• ANTH H265A: Medical Anthropology
• ANTH H336B: Science, Technology, Medicine, Power
• ECON B217: Health Economics
• ENVS H222A: Heat and Health: Design Action Lab
• HIST B337: Topics in African History.  Topic: Social and Medical History of Medicine in Africa
• PSYC B231: Health Psychology
• PSYC B331: Health Behavior and Context

Affiliate Courses

• BIOL H312D: Development & Evolution 0.5 credits
• MATH H203A: Statistical Methods and Their Applications
• PEAC H201A: Applied Ethics of Peace, Justice and Human Rights
• SOC B265: Quantitative Methods
• WRPR H120A: Evolutionary Arguments
• WRPR H135A: Health and Humanities