Transitioning from Healthcare Studies (HCS) to Health Studies (HS)

The Department of Health Studies created in 2021 grew out of an interdisciplinary program in Healthcare Studies. The old BA in Healthcare Studies (HCS) focused on the ethical, legal, business, and political aspects of healthcare service delivery. The new BA in Health Studies investigates the social, cultural, environmental, biological, psychological, ethical, economic, legal, and policy contexts that shape individual and population health.

Catalog Years 2020-21 and older

The Healthcare Studies major required an introductory course in healthcare studies, a statistics course, a course on ethics, a senior capstone experience, and electives selected to fulfill distribution requirements in law, philosophy, and humanities (1 course); research methods, analysis, and communication (2 courses); and applied health studies (2 courses). The Healthcare Studies minor required an introduction to healthcare studies (HCS 100), a course on health and the caring professions (HCS 201), an ethics course, and 2 electives. The HCS program is being phased out and replaced by the Health Studies program. Only students enrolled at UR in or before 2020 are able to major in HCS.

Health Studies Major for Catalog Year 2021-2022

Health Studies majors under this catalog year will complete courses in the core areas of undergraduate public health education: health policy (HS 100), global health (HS 101), and epidemiology (HS 250). Majors will also take courses in statistics and ethics; select 4 electives from 3 lists of health-related courses that present humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences perspectives on health; and complete a two-semester capstone experience.

The major requires completion of 10 units, including:

HS 100 Introduction to Health Studies

HS 101 Global Health

HS 250 Epidemiology and Health Research Methods

Research Methods, one unit chosen from:

BIOL 320 Experimental Design and Biostatistics

BUAD 202 Statistics for Business and Economic

MATH 209 Introduction to Statistical Modeling

Health Ethics, one unit chosen from:

PHIL 265 Bioethics

LDST 377 Ethical Decision Making - Health Care

Humanities Perspectives on Health, one unit chosen from:

ANTH 302 Medicine and Health from a Global/Anthropological Perspective

ANTH 303 Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology

CLSC 210 A History of Early Medicine

HS 200 The Medical Humanities

HS 240 Law and Medicine

HIST 361 Madness and Society in the Modern Era

HIST 390 Food and Power in Africa and Asia

Social Science Perspectives on Health, one unit chosen from:

GEOG 345 Global Sustainability: Society, Economy, Nature

GEOG 370 Geographies of Economic Development and Globalization

HS 201 Health and the Caring Professions

PLSC 365 U.S. Health Care Policy and Politics

PSYC 323 Health Psychology

Natural Science Perspectives on Health, one unit chosen from:

BIOL 199 Molecular Mechanism of Medicine or BIOL 199 Genes, Neurons, and Behavior or BIOL 199 Microbial Stress or BIOL 199 Emerging Infectious Diseases or BIOL 120 Emerging Infectious Diseases

BIOL 220 Human Physiology with Lab

BIOL 322 Cancer Biology and Tumorigenesis with Lab

BIOL 324 Molecular Virology with Lab

BIOL 336 Eco-epidemiology with Lab

BIOL 340 Introduction to Immunology with Lab

BIOL 346 Medical Entomology with Lab

BIOL 354 Biological Basis of Neurodegenerative Diseases with Lab

ENVR 322 The Global Impact of Climate Change

GEOG 260 Foundations of Geospatial Analysis

MATH 304 Mathematical Models in Biology and Medicine

Elective

Choose one from any of the humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences blocks.

Capstone

HS 390 Senior Capstone I

HS 391 Senior Capstone II

Health Studies Minor for Catalog Year 2021-2022

Health Studies minors under this catalog year will complete courses on health policy (HS 100), health and the caring professions (HS 201), and ethics, plus two electives.

The minor requires completion of five units, including:

HS 100 Introduction to Health Studies

HS 201 Health and the Caring Professions

LDST 377 Ethical Decision Making - Health Care or PHIL 265 Bioethics

Two units chosen from:

ANTH 302 Medicine and Health from a Global/Anthropological Perspective

ANTH 303 Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology

CLSC 210 A History of Early Medicine

HIST 199 Health In American History

HIST 361 Madness and Society in the Modern Era

HS 200 The Medical Humanities

HS 240 Law and Medicine

MGMT 355 Health Sector Analysis

PLSC 365 U.S. Healthcare Policy and Politics

PSYC 299 Developmental Disabilities in Children

PSYC 323 Health Psychology

PSYC 331 Behavioral Neuroscience

PSYC 341 Cognitive Neuroscience

PSYC 444 Clinical Case Studies (Foundations of Neuropsychology)

RHCS 102 Interpersonal Communication

SOC 340 Sociology of Health and Illness

Health Studies Major for Catalog Year 2022-2023

Health Studies majors under this catalog year will complete coursework in health policy (HS 100), global health (HS 101), epidemiology (HS 250), and statistics, and will select 5 courses total from 3 lists of health-related courses that present humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences perspectives on health. (No more than 2 courses from the same department other than HS can apply toward the major requirements.) The major is rounded out by a one-semester integrative capstone seminar (HS 400).

The major requires completion of 10 units, including:

HS 100 Health Policy

HS 101 Global Health

HS 250 Epidemiology and Health Research Methods

HS 400 Senior Capstone

Statistical analysis, one unit chosen from:

BIOL 320 Experimental Design and Biostatistics

BUAD 202 Statistics for Business and Economic

MATH 209 Introduction to Statistical Modeling

Humanities Perspectives on Health, one unit chosen from:

ANTH 271 COVID-19 in International Perspective

ANTH 272 Global Women’s Reproductive Health

ANTH 302 Health Inequities in International Perspective

ANTH 303 Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology

ANTH 305 Health and Migration

CLSC 210 A History of Early Medicine

HIST 291 Histories of Public Health and Biomedicine in the Global South

HIST 361 Madness and Society in the Modern Era

HIST 390 Food and Power in Africa and Asia

HS 200 The Medical Humanities

HS 203 Health Ethics

HS 240 Law and Medicine

LDST 377 Ethical Decision Making - Health Care

PHIL 265 Bioethics

Social Science Perspectives on Health, one unit chosen from:

GEOG 345 Global Sustainability: Society, Economy, Nature

GEOG 370 Geographies of Economic Development and Globalization

HS 202 Patients and Providers

MGMT 355 Health Sector Analysis

PLSC 365 U.S. Health Care Policy and Politics

PSYC 323 Health Psychology

PSYC 299/WGSS 279 Women's Health 

SOC 340 Sociology of Health and Illness

Natural Science Perspectives on Health, one unit chosen from:

BIOL 220 Human Physiology with Lab

BIOL 322 Cancer Biology and Tumorigenesis with Lab

BIOL 324 Molecular Virology with Lab

BIOL 336 Eco-epidemiology with Lab

BIOL 340 Introduction to Immunology with Lab

BIOL 344 Behavioral Ecology with Lab

BIOL 346 Medical Entomology with Lab

BIOL 354 Biological Basis of Neurodegenerative Diseases with Lab

ENVR 322 The Global Impact of Climate Change

MATH 304 Mathematical Models in Biology and Medicine

PSYC 331 Behavioral Neuroscience

PSYC 341 Cognitive Neuroscience

Electives

Choose 2 additional courses from the 3 lists above (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences); no more than 2 courses from the same department (except for HS) can apply toward the degree.

Health Studies Minor for Catalog Year 2022-2023

Health Studies minors under this catalog year will complete courses on health policy (HS 100), global health (HS 101), and “patients and providers” (HS 202), plus two electives. The two electives must come from different departments unless both are HS courses.

The minor requires completion of five units, including:

HS 100 Health Policy

HS 101 Global Health

HS 202 Patients and Providers

Two units chosen from:

ANTH 271 COVID-19 in International Perspective

ANTH 272 Global Women’s Reproductive Health

ANTH 302 Health Inequities in International Perspective

ANTH 303 Biopolitics in Medical Anthropology

ANTH 305 Health and Migration

CLSC 210 A History of Early Medicine

ENVR 322 The Global Impact of Climate Change

GEOG 345 Global Sustainability: Society, Economy, Nature

GEOG 370 Geographies of Economic Development and Globalization

HIST 291 Histories of Public Health and Biomedicine in the Global South

HIST 361 Madness and Society in the Modern Era

HIST 390 Food and Power in Africa and Asia

HS 200 The Medical Humanities

HS 203 Health Ethics

HS 240 Law and Medicine

HS 250 Epidemiology and Health Research Methods

LDST 377 Ethical Decision Making - Health Care

MATH 304 Mathematical Models in Biology and Medicine

MGMT 355 Health Sector Analysis

PHIL 265 Bioethics

PLSC 365 U.S. Health Care Policy and Politics

PSYC 323 Health Psychology

PSYC 331 Behavioral Neuroscience

PSYC 341 Cognitive Neuroscience

SOC 340 Sociology of Health and Illness

All Catalog Years

Students are expected to fulfill all prerequisites necessary for courses within the major or minor. Prerequisites do not count toward the minor unless otherwise noted. The grade point average of the coursework comprising the major or minor must be no less than 2.00 with no course grade less than C-. No more than two transfer courses may be applied to the minor requirements. All policies in the catalog apply to Health Studies programs.