Medical Humanities an Health Science

About the Major

The Medical Humanities and Health Studies program prepares you to understand the broader role and determinants of health and medicine in today’s world. Humanities courses raise questions of how human beings deal with health, medical intervention, illness, and death. You will gain insight into the social, economic, and cultural contexts of health, illness, and health care. This degree prepares students for a wide array of career paths.

Skills and abilities this major develops include: effective communication, health care knowledge, public speaking, research, and problem solving (IU School of Liberal Arts, 2017).

Complementing Interests

IInvestigative

SSocial

CConventional

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Opportunities After Graduation

A degree in medical humanities can be applied to a variety of fields, making employment outlook difficult to track, but with numerous possibilities. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook (2017), health care occupations as a whole are projected to grow at 19% through 2024. Employment through 2024 for community health workers is expected to grow by 13%, while 10% growth is expected for social and community service managers, and 13% growth is expected for health educators.

The average starting salary for IU School of Liberal Arts graduates from IUPUI was $35,992 for the May 2017 graduating cohort. The median starting salary for liberal arts graduates was $48,961 for the class of May 2018 according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE, 2019).

(This section is intended for informational purposes, not prediction of actual salary.)

Medical humanities majors often pursue advanced degrees in the following areas: dentistry, medicine, pharmacy, public health, health administration, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, nursing, law, and physician assistant studies.

Quick Facts

Sample Coursework

Perspectives on health, disease, and healing
Health economics
Applied health care ethics
Sociology of death and dying
Health communication
History of medicine and public health
Anthropology of aging

Possible Careers

Medical scribe
Medical sales
Nurse*
Physician assistant*
Public health educator
Rehabilitation counselor*
Wellness program director

*These career options require additional training or education.

Where could I work?

Community Health Network
Eskenazi Health
IU Health
Nonprofit organizations
Nursing and residential care facilities
Offices of physicians

Where to Get More Information

IU School of Liberal Arts

Bureau of Health Professions

American Society for Bioethics and Humanities

Arts, Humanities, and Human Services Cluster

This major is part of the Arts, Humanities, and Human Services (AHHS) cluster. The AHHS cluster is the academic home of University College students pursuing majors in art and design, education, general studies, journalism, liberal arts, and social work. The AHHS cluster partners with students on their academic advising and career plans to guide them into their degree-granting schools.

Learn about the AHHS cluster

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