Medical and Health Humanities
Program Details
Gain a deep understanding of the social, cultural, and historical factors that shape health and medicine with Xavier's Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Medical and Health Humanities.
This distinctive interdisciplinary program equips you with a strong liberal arts background focused on the human experience within healthcare contexts. Whether you're pursuing a career as a physician, nurse, medical researcher, social worker, or healthcare administrator, a major in Medical and Health Humanities will help you become a compassionate, ethical, and effective healthcare professional. This program also pairs well with most other majors at Xavier, including another humanities discipline or a science major.
Curriculum
The sample course sequence below illustrates class offerings for the Medical and Health Humanities major. Consult the official Xavier University course catalog for detailed registration and advising information.
Fall
- THEO 111: Theo. Foundations............ 3cr.
- Intro to Medical and Health Humanities............ 3cr.
- ENGL 101: English Composition............ 3cr.
- Second Language I............ 3cr.
- MHH Science Elective............ 3cr.
- CORE 101: Goa I............ 0cr.
Spring
- CORE 100: First Year Seminar............ 3cr.
- Mathematical Perspectives............ 3cr.
- Comparative Healthcare Systems............ 3cr.
- Second Language II............ 3cr.
- General Elective or Second MHH Science Elective............ 3cr.
- CORE 102: Goa II............ 0cr.
Fall
- MHH Critical Hlth St. Elec............ 3cr.
- Lit and Moral Imag............. 3cr.
- PHIL 100: Intro to Ethics............ 3cr.
- Scientific Persp. Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
Spring
- MHH Critical Hlth St. Elec............ 3cr.
- Quantitative Reasoning Flag............ 3cr.
- Historical Perspectives............ 3cr.
- Oral Comm Flag............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
Fall
- MHH History of Medicine Elective............ 3cr.
- MHH Narrative Expression Elective............ 3cr.
- Theological Persp. Elective............ 3cr.
- Social Science Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
Spring
- MHH Bioethics Elec/(E/RS) Elective............ 3cr.
- Upper-Level MHH Elective............ 3cr.
- PHIL 200: Phil Persp. Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
Fall
- Upper-Level MHH Elective............ 3cr.
- Diversity Flag............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
Spring
- Upper-Level MHH Seminar............ 3cr.
- Creative Persp. Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
- General Elective............ 3cr.
Sample Courses
- Epidemics in America (HIST 237) — This course examines the causes and consequences of the spread of epidemic disease in the American past. Topics will include historical understandings of health, healing, and the human body; societal and/or governmental responses to disease; disease and social identities; and the long-term consequences of epidemics
- Doctors in Literature & Culture (ENGL 335) — From the fictional Dr. Frankenstein and Dr. House to representations of historical doctors John Hunter and Josef Mengele, our post-enlightenment world has demonstrated its obsession with the fine line that divides (or fails to divide) medical mavericks of genius from the insane, the unscrupulous, and even the criminal. By considering representations of doctors in literature (novels, stories, poetry), visual arts (graphic novels, illustrations, television, film), music, and history, we will query the religious, philosophical, and socio-cultural rationale behind our long-standing fascination with—yet anxiety about—medicine, doctors, and the human bodies they treat. In doing so, we will consider how issues of racial, gendered, and national oppression; religious and philosophical attitudes toward death, technological advances around the human body; and the hubris of scientific knowledge have impacted our representations of the links between doctors and villains, between the medical genius and the medical madman.
- Theology and Trauma (THEO 416) — This course explores the intersection of trauma and theology. In an increasingly traumatic world, this course will help students to think deeply about theological questions of the human person, God, evil, suffering, salvation, and the possibility of hope and healing. Specifically, this course begins with the exploration of the theoretical and clinical studies of trauma. Then the course moves through trauma’s illumination of the human condition. Third, this course investigates the nature of God as understood through the experience of trauma and post-trauma. This course finishes with focusing on the role of communities, salvation, and hope as aspects of post-trauma healing
Outcomes
High Student Success Rate
98% of Xavier students are working, volunteering or in graduate school within six months of graduating (Class of 2023).
High Medical School Acceptance Rate
Xavier students have a high acceptance rate to medical schools, with a 5-year average of 86% compared to the national average of 40%.
Professional Development
Our Career Development Office enriches your professional development and advances your long-term goals. From individual career counseling sessions to professional development workshops to an employer database, you have access to valuable resources to help you flourish.
Student Clubs
We offer 160+ student clubs and organizations that help you cultivate a campus community that’s uniquely yours. As a student in the Medical Humanities major, you might be interested in:
- Institute for Healthcare Improvement Chapter — This student-led organization is dedicated to improving healthcare quality and safety through workshops, seminars and discussions. Students from various healthcare disciplines (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, etc.) come together to foster collaboration and teamwork.
- Pre-Med Student Association — The Pre-Med Student Association is a club for students interested in pursuing a career in the health professions. The club works to unite, educate and empower future health professionals by bringing in speakers and providing information about careers and insight from upperclassmen. There is also a Pre-Dental Society for students planning a career in dentistry.
- Women in Healthcare — This club supports women in healthcare majors by creating opportunities for social, educational and personal growth.
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Stand out as a healthcare professional
Develop the critical thinking, communication, and empathy skills needed to excel in the healthcare industry.
Pursue innovative research
Collaborate with faculty on original research projects, like exploring the impact of social determinants of health or analyzing historical medical practices.
Tailor your degree to your interests
Customize your curriculum with a wide range of electives, including bioethics, the history of medicine, disability studies, and narrative medicine.
Graduate With Honors
Are you looking for an academic challenge? The University Scholars Honors Program offers incoming students a more challenging curriculum and close support from professors while completing their undergraduate degree. Acceptance into the program is highly selective and includes a $2000 travel grant.
Medical and Health Humanities Major at Xavier University
Immerse yourself in an interdisciplinary program that explores the historical, philosophical, literary, linguistic and religious dimensions of health and medicine. Through courses in medical history, medical racism, disability studies, bioethics, and narrative medicine, you'll gain a deep understanding of how cultural and social contexts shape individual health and well-being.
Xavier University’s College of Arts and Sciences challenges students to develop an integrated understanding of humanity, the world, and God by pursuing the questions raised in Xavier's core and departmental curricula. The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest and largest college at Xavier University. The college provides an excellent liberal arts education in the Jesuit tradition that prepares students for careers, professional or graduate school, and life in a global society.
Xavier University is a private university located in Cincinnati, Ohio, providing a liberal arts education in the Jesuit Catholic tradition. Founded in 1831, the University is the sixth-oldest Catholic university in the nation. It has been ranked among the top 10 master's-level universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report for the past two decades. The Princeton Review names it one of the "Best 385 Colleges in America."