Requirements of the HSOC Major (14 cu)

The HSOC major has four components:

• Core coures
• HSOC Department electives
• Concentration courses
• Capstone course

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 Department Electives (3 cu)

• This requirement is fulfilled by courses with the "AHSM" course attribute tag in Path@Penn. We also keep a running list of department electve courses on the list at this link

III. Concentration (6 cu)
     A student selects one concentration and creates a combination of six courses to fulfill the concentration requirement.  These courses may be pre-approved courses or petitioned courses.  Please check the page for your concentration for the rules governing your concentration.

     The concentrations are

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

IV. Capstone Research Seminar (1 cu)  

• A capstone research project is a 20+ page paper of independent research.
• Every HSOC major does a capstone research project by taking a capstone seminar or independent study
• A capstone seminar is any 4000-level HSOC/STSC course (*Except STSC 4000*) -- all of these courses focus on the writing of 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 count to fulfill this requirement
• HSOC 4400 (by application only) satisfies this requirement

Want advice from other HSOC majors about courses and concentrations? Contact the HSOC-SAB