Minor in Medical Humanities
Program Learning Outcomes for the Minor in Medical Humanities
Upon completing the minor in Medical Humanities, students will be able to:
- Describe the historical, literary, artistic, and ethical domains of medicine.
- Analyze and evaluate complex texts relating to the social and cultural aspects of medicine through close reading and critical interpretation of arguments, metaphors, and images.
- Explain the history of racism and anti-racism in health and medicine.
- Explain how disability shapes the healthcare experience for patients.
- Conduct independent research and communicate their own arguments about medical humanities in research papers, class presentations, and discussions.
Requirements for the Minor in Medical Humanities
Students pursuing the minor in Medical Humanities must complete:
- A minimum of 6-7 courses (18-21 credit hours), depending on course selection, to satisfy minor requirements.
- A minimum of 3 courses (9 credit hours) taken at the 300-level or above.
- A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) from study abroad or transfer credit. For additional program guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
The courses used in the Medical Humanities program examine the social, cultural, ethical, and aesthetic dimensions of medicine in contemporary and historical contexts, and are open to all undergraduate students at Rice from all backgrounds.
The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this minor. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the minor’s academic advisor, or where applicable, the Program Director. (Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the minor's Official Certifier). Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the Minor in Medical Humanities | 18-21 | |
Minor Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirement | ||
| MDHM 201 | INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL HUMANITIES 1 | 3 |
| Elective Requirements | ||
| Select 4 courses from the Electives list below | 12 | |
| Practicum 1 | ||
| Select 1 from the following: | 3-6 | |
| MEDICAL MEDIA ARTS LAB 2 | ||
| HEALTH, HUMANISM AND SOCIETY SCHOLARS MEDICAL HUMANITIES PRACTICUM 1 (1 YR SEQUENCE) and HEALTH, HUMANISM AND SOCIETY SCHOLARS MEDICAL HUMANITIES PRACTICUM 2 (1 YR SEQUENCE) | ||
| HEALTH, HUMANISM AND SOCIETY SCHOLARS MEDICAL HUMANITIES PRACTICUM (ONE SEMESTER) | ||
| SPANISH PROFESSIONAL PRACTICUM I 3 | ||
| Total Credit Hours | 18-21 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | Students must complete the core course before they complete the practicum. The core course and the practicum may not be taken concurrently. |
| 2 | Students may take ENGL 386/FILM 381 as either an elective or the practicum, but it will not count toward both requirements. |
| 3 | Students may take SPAN 323 as either an elective or the practicum, but it will not count toward both requirements. |
Elective Requirements
To fulfill the elective requirements for the Medical Humanities minor, students must complete a total of 4 courses (12 credit hours) from the following Rice departmental course offerings. Students must fulfill the elective requirements by completing coursework from at least 2 different subject codes (i.e., ANTH, ENGL, etc.), and must take a minimum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) at the 300-level or above.
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Elective Requirements | ||
| Select 4 courses from the following: | 12 | |
| Anthropology | ||
| SOCIAL LIFE OF DNA | ||
| ETHNOGRAPHIES OF CARE | ||
| CITY/CULTURE | ||
| ILLNESS, DISABILITY, AND THE GENDERED BODY | ||
| GLOBAL HEALTH JUSTICE: HEALTHCARE INEQUALITIES IN CONFLICTS | ||
| MEDICAL ANTHROPOLOGY | ||
| BODY, TECHNOLOGY, AND ENHANCEMENT | ||
| ANTHROPOLOGY OF REPRODUCTION | ||
| BLACK FEMINIST SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY STUDIES | ||
| ANTHROPOLOGY OF RACE, ETHNICITY AND HEALTH | ||
| ANTHROPOLOGY, PSYCHIATRY, AND MADNESS | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS 1 | ||
| Asian Studies | ||
| GENOMIC GOVERNANCE IN ASIA | ||
| Biosciences | ||
| CONCEIVING AND MISCONCEIVING THE MONSTROUS IN FICTION AND IN ART, IN MEDICINE AND IN BIOSCIENCE | ||
| EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY AND THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE | ||
| English | ||
| TOPICS IN CREATIVE WRITING 1 | ||
| INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES | ||
| LITERATURE AND MEDICINE | ||
| MEDICINE AND MEDIA | ||
| MEDICAL MEDIA ARTS LAB 2 | ||
| TRANSLATIONAL HUMANITIES METHODS: MEDICINE, ENVIRONMENT, RACE, TECHNOLOGY | ||
| Environmental Studies | ||
| TOPICS IN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE | ||
| JUSTICE IN THE FOOD SYSTEM | ||
| CULTURES AND MEDIA OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH | ||
| First-Year Writing Intensive Seminar | ||
| GRAPHIC MEDICINE | ||
| THE DEVIL AND THE WORLD: THE IMAGE OF THE DEVIL IN WESTERN CULTURE | ||
| German Studies | ||
| GERMAN FILM (IN ENGLISH) | ||
| POLITICS OF THE FLESH IN GERMAN LITERATURE, THOUGHT AND FILM | ||
| Health Sciences | ||
| CONSUMER HEALTH AND THE MEDIA | ||
| VIOLENCE IN AMERICA: A PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE | ||
| DISPARITIES IN HEALTH IN AMERICA | ||
| History | ||
| RACE AND MEDICINE IN AMERICAN HISTORY | ||
| THE BODY IN GLOBAL HISTORIES OF MEDICINE | ||
| ENVIRONMENT, MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN LATIN AMERICA | ||
| HISTORY OF SENSATION | ||
| DISABILITY AND U.S. LAW | ||
| HISTORIES OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN ASIA | ||
| HISTORY OF MEDICINE: FROM ART TO SCIENCE | ||
| Humanities | ||
| WHAT IS AN (AB)NORMAL BODY? | ||
| Latin American and Latinx Studies | ||
| WRITING TO HEAL: U.S. LATINE NARRATIVES ON MENTAL HEALTH | ||
| Medical Humanities | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS 1 | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO DISABILITY STUDIES | ||
| IMMUNITY IN MEDIA, SCIENCE, AND CULTURE | ||
| ETHICAL DEBATES IN MEDICINE: DIGNITY AND WELFARE | ||
| RESPONSIBLE AI FOR HEALTH | ||
| Philosophy | ||
| ETHICS IN PANDEMICS | ||
| DEATH AND DYING: METAPHYSICS AND ETHICS | ||
| MEDICAL ETHICS | ||
| PHILOSOPHY OF SEX AND LOVE | ||
| THE PHILOSOPHY OF MEDICINE | ||
| ADVANCED TOPICS IN ETHICS | ||
| Religion | ||
| THE COLORS OF LIFE AND THE END OF LIFE | ||
| KNOWING BODY/GLOWING MIND: BUDDHIST ARTS OF CONTEMPLATION AND ANALYSIS | ||
| MEDICINE AND THE MUSEUM: CLINICAL AESTHETICS AND THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON | ||
| SEMINAR ON THE END OF LIFE | ||
| DEMONS, MENTAL ILLNESS AND MEDICINE | ||
| THE HUMANITIES OF CARE & END OF LIFE | ||
| RELIGION AND SCIENCE | ||
| Sociology | ||
| SOCIOLOGY OF MENTAL HEALTH | ||
| MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY | ||
| HEALTH DISPARITIES IN THE UNITED STATES | ||
| SOCIAL AUTOPSIES: HOW SOCIETY KILLS US | ||
| GENDER AND HEALTH | ||
| Spanish | ||
| SPECIAL TOPICS: ADVANCED SPANISH II 1 | ||
| SPANISH PROFESSIONAL PRACTICUM I 3 | ||
| CURRENT HEALTHCARE ISSUES IN LATINE COMMUNITIES | ||
| DISABLED BODIES: ILLNESS AND LITERATURE IN LATIN AMERICA | ||
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | ANTH 477, ENGL 203, MDHM 238, and SPAN 322 are special topics courses, and not all sections are eligible to be applied towards the minor requirements as an Elective course. Please see a minor advisor for more information. |
| 2 | Students may take ENGL 386/FILM 381 as either an elective or the practicum, but it will not count toward both requirements. |
| 3 | Students may take SPAN 323 as either an elective or the practicum, but it will not count toward both requirements. |
Policies for the Minor in Medical Humanities
Program Restrictions and Exclusions
Students pursuing the minor in Medical Humanities should be aware of the following program restriction:
- As noted in Majors, Minors, and Certificates, i.) students may declare their intent to pursue a minor only after they have first declared a major, and ii.) students may not major and minor in the same subject.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. The Office of Academic Advising maintains the university’s official list of transfer credit advisors on their website: https://oaa.rice.edu. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s transfer credit advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Program Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the minor in Medical Humanities should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guidelines:
- No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing may apply towards the minor.
- Requests for transfer credit will be considered by the program director (and/or the program’s official transfer credit advisor) on an individual case-by-case basis.
- Transfer credit received via the articulation of approved exam credit, such as advanced placement (AP) credit, international baccalaureate (IB) credit, or A-level credit will not be considered towards minor requirements.
Distribution Credit Information
The determination of distribution credit eligibility is done initially as part of the new course creation process. Additionally, as part of an annual roll call coordinated each Spring by the Office of the Registrar, course distribution credit eligibility is routinely reviewed and reaffirmed by the Dean’s Offices of each of the academic schools.
Faculty and leadership in the academic schools are responsible for ensuring that the courses identified as distribution-credit-eligible meet the criteria as set in the General Announcements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they meet graduation requirements by completing coursework designated as distribution-credit-eligible at the time of course registration.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Medical Humanities website: https://medicalhumanities.rice.edu/
Opportunities for the Minor in Medical Humanities
Academic Honors
The university recognizes academic excellence achieved over an undergraduate’s academic history at Rice. For information on university honors, please see Latin Honors (summa cum laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude) and Distinction in Research and Creative Work. Some departments have department-specific Honors awards or designations.
Distinction in Research and Creative Work
Students completing the minor in Medical Humanities are eligible to apply for the university honor Distinction in Research and Creative Work. If awarded, Distinction will be noted on the student's transcript upon graduation and on commencement materials. All applications for Distinction will be judged by a committee of faculty affiliated with the program in Medical Humanities. Work deemed to be "above and beyond" expectation will be considered for Distinction..
- Applications for Distinction must be submitted to the Director of Medical Humanities on or before the last day of classes in the spring semester by 5:00 pm.
- As part of the application for Distinction, students must submit a single-authored research or creative work, created for a Medical Humanities class, that represents the substantive output of a semester's work (length will vary by discipline).
- The student's project does not have to be completed nor in its final format to apply for Distinction. All final research and creative work materials will be due on the last day of final examinations.
- Applications must include a 1-page letter of support from a sponsoring faculty advisor.
- Applications are available on the Medical Humanities website at: https://medicalhumanities.rice.edu/distinction-research-and-creative-work
Annual Best Essay Competition
Students who take any approved Medical Humanities core course or elective course may submit an entry to the annual Best Essay competition. For details, see: https://medicalhumanities.rice.edu/annual-essay-competition
Experiential Learning
Advanced students in the Medical Humanities minor have the opportunity to conduct experiential learning and research in our practica, enroll in internships at Houston-area hospitals, archives, and community partner institutions, and take a multi-institution seminar, co-taught by researchers and clinicians in the Texas Medical Center, University of Houston, University of Texas School of Public Health, and Rice.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Medical Humanities website: https://medicalhumanities.rice.edu/
See https://humanities.rice.edu/student-life for tables of fellowships, prizes, and internships/practica that may be relevant to this minor.