Medical Humanities Certificate
This program is available at the following locations:
- Corvallis
- Ecampus
This certificate is available as a standalone program.
The undergraduate certificate in Medical Humanities offers OSU students a multi-disciplinary integrated program to study health, medicine, and the healing professions. The certificate relies on key courses in medical anthropology, literature and medicine, medical history, and biomedical ethics for its core content foundations. Courses from additional different disciplines—biology; ethnic studies; human development; kinesiology; philosophy; psychology; public health; religious studies; sociology; and women, gender, and sexuality studies—can fulfill complementary elective courses. The certificate program emphasizes skills in professional identity, reflective writing, cultural competency, and diversity as a complement to the scientific features of the healing professions. The certificate prepares students to empathize with the sufferings of others, reflect critically on medical knowledge and discourse, create new understandings of the medical experience, and confront moral, psychological, and ethical dilemmas.
Contact Information
For further information, please contact Courtney Campbell, 541-737-5651, ccampbell@oregonstate.edu
Current students in the Medical Humanities Certificate program should contact David Bishop, 541-737-8918, david.bishop@oregonstate.edu
Certificate Code: C868
Upon successful completion of the program, students will meet the following learning outcomes:
- Understand and articulate social and cultural perspectives on the human experience of health care and medicine.
- Develop and apply ethical tools for moral reasoning in health care settings.
- Develop critical thinking skills to enable them to be discerning participants in the future delivery of health care.
- Acquire understanding of diversity and cultural competencies necessary for effective health care delivery.
- Cultivate interpersonal skills including empathy and skillful communication that enhance individualized decision-making processes.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Required Core 1 | ||
| Select a minimum of 10-12 credits from the following: | 10-12 | |
| *BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF RACE | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| WRITING, LITERATURE AND MEDICINE | ||
| *HEALTH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE | ||
| *HISTORY OF MEDICINE PRE-1800 | ||
| *HISTORY OF MEDICINE | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO DISABILITY STUDIES | ||
| *BIOMEDICAL ETHICS | ||
| DEATH AND DYING | ||
| NARRATIVE MEDICINE: BODIES, BEHAVIORS, AND BELIEFS | ||
| Electives 1,2 | ||
| Select a minimum of 15-17 credits from the following: | 15-17 | |
| INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| *BIOLOGICAL AND CULTURAL CONSTRUCTIONS OF RACE | ||
| *ANTHROPOLOGY, HEALTH, AND ENVIRONMENT | ||
| *ANTHROPOLOGY AND GLOBAL HEALTH | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| EVOLUTIONARY MEDICINE | ||
| NEUROANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| *CANCER: SOCIETY'S MALIGNANT SHADOW | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO MOLECULAR BIOLOGY | ||
| *MOLECULAR MEDICINE | ||
| ONE HEALTH IN PRACTICE | ||
| *GENOMES, IDENTITIES AND SOCIETIES | ||
| *HUMAN IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS | ||
| HEALTH COMMUNICATION | ||
| WRITING, LITERATURE AND MEDICINE | ||
| *PESTS, PLAGUES AND POLITICS | ||
| *NATIVE AMERICAN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY | ||
| *FOOD JUSTICE | ||
| *CLIMATE AND HEALTH | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC HEALTH | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM | ||
| +*SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH | ||
| *HIV/AIDS AND STIS IN MODERN SOCIETY | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN DISEASE | ||
| *GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH | ||
| *FOUNDATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH | ||
| *FAMILIES AND POVERTY | ||
| *ENGINEERING FOR GLOBAL HEALTH SOLUTIONS | ||
| *THEORY OF EVOLUTION AND FOUNDATION OF MODERN BIOLOGY | ||
| *HISTORY OF MEDICINE PRE-1800 | ||
| *HISTORY OF MEDICINE | ||
| *STUDIES IN SCIENTIFIC CONTROVERSY: METHODS AND PRACTICES | ||
| HISTORY OF PSYCHOTHERAPY | ||
| *SOCIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY | ||
| *POWER AND PRIVILEGE IN SPORT | ||
| *DISEASE AND SOCIETY | ||
| *INTRODUCTION TO DISABILITY STUDIES | ||
| *BIOMEDICAL ETHICS | ||
| DEATH AND DYING | ||
| *PHILOSOPHY OF BIOLOGY | ||
| *HUMAN TECHNOLOGICAL ENHANCEMENT | ||
| *PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER | ||
| PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY | ||
| PSYCHOLOGY OF DISABILITY | ||
| PSYCHOTHERAPY | ||
| ^PSYCHOLOGY OF ADDICTION | ||
| YOGA AND MENTAL HEALTH | ||
| HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| HEALTH, ILLNESS AND SOCIETY | ||
| DEATH AND DYING | ||
| SOCIOLOGY OF AGING | ||
| *NATURE AND THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE | ||
| *GENDER AND SCIENCE | ||
| GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES ON WOMEN'S HEALTH | ||
| RACE, GENDER, AND HEALTH JUSTICE | ||
| Total Credits | 27 | |
- *
Baccalaureate Core Course (BCC)
- ^
Writing Intensive Course (WIC)
- +
Core Education course. Applies only to students admitted to an OSU undergraduate degree from Summer 2025 onwards
- 1
A minimum of 12 credits for the certificate must be taken at the upper-division (300/400) level
- 2
Courses taken as required core cannot double-count as electives
Certificate Code: C868