Courses

The Department of Health Studies offers courses in health policy, global health, epidemiology, and several other health studies areas. Recent special topics courses (HS 397) have included seminars on health communication; health program planning, implementation, and evaluation; health and housing; addiction; global infectious diseases; and climate change and health. Health studies is by definition a multidisciplinary field, and additional health-related courses for the major and minor are offered by departments across the School of Arts and Sciences as well as the School of Business and the School of Leadership Studies.

Health Studies

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  • HS 100 Health Systems and Policy

    Units: 1

    Description
    Examines the U.S. health system and state, federal, and international health policies, including those related to medical and public health service financing and delivery, public and private health insurance, licensure of clinical health professionals, regulation of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, and access to healthcare services (including those for mental health, reproductive health, and end-of-life care).
  • HS 101 Global Health

    Units: 1

    Description
    Examines the history and functions of global health; the links between globalization and health; the social and environmental determinants of health; health and human rights; comparative health systems; global health agencies and organizations; the global burden of disease; and population health interventions.
  • HS 110 Human Development Across the Lifespan

    Units: 1

    Description
    Examines theories related to physical, cognitive, and social development and health during infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging. HS 110 does not apply toward the Health Studies major or minor.
  • HS 200 The Medical Humanities

    Units: 1

    Description
    Explores the interface of medicine, the health professions, and the human condition that includes illness, suffering, and healing; examines the social, cultural, emotional, ethical, philosophical, and psychological dimensions of medicine and health.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 or HS 101

  • HS 219 Human Anatomy with Lab

    Units: 0-1

    Description
    Survey of basic human anatomy, with an emphasis on the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and nervous systems. For students in allied health fields. Does not count toward the Biology major or minor. Students may not receive credit for both BIOL 219 and BIOL 308: Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy.
  • HS 220 Human Physiology with Lab

    Units: 0-1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): Biology elective w/lab (BILB)

    Description
    A study of the human nervous, sensory, skeletal muscle, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and reproductive systems. Emphasis will be placed on forging conceptual links between biology at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organ levels and the function (and dysfunction) of the human body. Three lecture and three laboratory hours per week.

     

    Prerequisites

    CHEM 141 or CHEM 192 and BIOL 200 or BIOL 206

  • HS 250 Epidemiology and Health Research Methods

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): IF-Quantitative Data Literacy (IFQD)

    Description
    Examines the distribution and determinants of population health status; the research process, including identifying a study question, selecting a study approach, designing a study, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting data, and reporting findings; and quantitative and qualitative health research methods, with an emphasis on epidemiologic study designs (such as cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, and experimental studies) and epidemiological analysis.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 or HS 101

  • HS 302 Patients and Providers

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): HCS Law, Phil, Bioethics, Hum (HCSL)

    Description
    Examines the roles of the various professionals involved in providing health services, including diagnostic, therapeutic, and rehabilitation services for inpatients and outpatients; the ways that patients from a diversity of racial/ethnic, sex/gender, age, rural/urban, and other backgrounds access and experience the health system; and the ways that patients and practitioners understand health, healing, illness, disability, and death.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 or HS 101

  • HS 303 Health Ethics

    Units: 1

    Description
    Explores medical and public health ethics using historical case studies and current events.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 or HS 101

  • HS 305 Human Nutrition

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): HS-Natural Science (HSNS)

    Description
    Examines digestion, absorption, transport, and metabolism; the sources and functions of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, and minerals; nutrition, growth, health, noncommunicable diseases, and physical performance; and nutrition across the lifespan.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 or HS 101

  • HS 323 Health Psychology

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): HCS elective (MEDE)

    Description
    The interaction between biological, psychological and social aspects of health. Emphasis on theory, research, and applications in lecture with intensive laboratory component on research design, data analysis and application of health psychology. Two and a half lecture and one and a quarter laboratory hours per week.

     

    Prerequisites

    PSYC 200

  • HS 331 Planetary Health

    Units: 1

    Description
    Evaluates the human health impacts of climate change, environmental pollutants, biodiversity loss, and other global environmental changes; the causes of these problems; and their possible solutions.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 101

  • HS 340 Law and Medicine

    Units: 1

    Description
    Examines the intersection of law and medicine, primarily in medical malpractice litigation and also by looking at other areas of medical jurisprudence including state and federal health care regulation.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100

  • HS 341 Comparative Health Systems

    Units: 1

    Description
    Compares models for financing and delivering healthcare services in diverse countries around the world.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 and HS 101

  • HS 388 Individual Internship

    Units: 0-1

    Description
    Supervised community-based learning in the health field. No more than 1.5 units of internship in any one department and 3.5 units of internship overall may be counted toward required degree units.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 or HS 101

  • HS 395 Independent Study

    Units: 0.5-1

    Description
    In-depth study of a health care topic under the supervision of a faculty member.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 and HS 101

  • HS 397 Special Topics

    Units: 1

    Description
    Covers subject matter not encountered in other health studies courses.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 100 and HS 101

  • HS 400 Senior Capstone

    Units: 1

    Fulfills General Education Requirement(s): IF-Written Communication (IFWC)

    Description
    Integrates and applies multidisciplinary perspectives on health through reflection on personal and professional experiences and goals, examination of the ethics and values of the health professions, and exploration of current public health issues. Available only to senior HS majors.

     

    Prerequisites

    HS 250, senior standing

  • HS 406 Summer Undergraduate Research

    Units: 0

    Description
    Documentation of the work of students who receive summer fellowships to conduct research [or produce a creative arts project] in the summer. The work must take place over a minimum of 6 weeks, the student must engage in the project full-time (at least 40 hours per week) during this period, and the student must be the recipient of a fellowship through the university. Graded S/U.

     

    Prerequisites

    Approval by a faculty member