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.
- Effective for fall 2025 juniors: Only 4000-level courses taken during a student's last four terms before graduation (fall of junior year or later) fulfill this requirement. For fall 2024 juniors: 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)