HSOC Major Requirements

The HSOC major has four components (14 cu):

  • Core courses
  • HSOC departmental electives
  • Concentration courses
  • Capstone seminar
     

I. Core Courses (4 cu)

  • Foundation Requirement (1 cu)HSOC 0480 or HSOC 0490 (Required in order to declare the HSOC major)
  • Quantitative Methods (1 cu):  HSOC 2002/SOCI 2000 or HSOC 2202/SOCI 2220
  • Core Discipline - Historical (1 cu): HSOC 0400 or HSOC 1401 or HSOC 1411
  • Core Discipline - Intro to Medical Anthropology (1 cu): HSOC 1382/ANTH 1238 OR Medical Sociology (1 cu): HSOC 1222/SOCI 1110 
     

II. HSOC Departmental Electives (3 cu)

  • Follow this link for the list of courses offered by department faculty that fulfill this part of the major. Departmental electives provide a range of critical perspectives and topics characteristic of the Health and Societies major.
  • Find these courses on Path@Penn through the "AHSM" course attribute tag.
     

III. Concentration (6 cu)

Each HSOC major selects a concentration and then designs an individualized program of six (6) courses from across the university that advances their learning goals. Courses may be petitioned for the concentration or selected from a pre-approved list (each concentration has a course attribute code used to search for classes in Path@Penn).

  • Bioethics and Society
  • Disease and Culture
  • Global Health
  • Health Care, Markets and Finance
  • Health Policy & Law
  • Public Health
  • Race, Gender and Health
     

IV. Capstone Seminar: 4000-Level Course (1 cu)  

  • A capstone seminar enables students to produce a 20+ page paper of original, independent research.
  • Every HSOC major takes a capstone seminar; a capstone independent study, uncommonly, can be taken as an alternative to the seminar.
  • A capstone seminar is any 4000-level HSOC/STSC course (*Except STSC 4000*) -- all of these courses focus on researching and writing a capstone paper.
  • The independent study option to complete the capstone is HSOC 4999 and requires a project plan, advisor, and department approval.
  • Only 4000-level courses taken during a student's last three terms before graduation (spring of junior year or later) fulfill this requirement.
     

Want advice from other HSOC majors about courses and concentrations? Contact a member of the HSOC Student Advisory Board (SAB)