Degree Requirements
All students are required to complete overall degree requirements in addition to their major. Please see Degree Completion Requirements for full details for students entering in the 2024-2025 catalog year.
Those students who started at Hiram prior to the 2024-2025 academic year will follow the Degree Requirements outlined in your catalog of record.
Major Requirements
The biomedical humanities major consists of three required components:
Medical Humanities Core (16-20 credits)
These courses examine questions of human values in health and quality of life through study of humanistic methods and materials, consider the roles and limitations of bioethical principles, and explore the ways individuals understand and respond to one another.
Health and Human Sciences Core (32 credits)
These courses enable students to explore the form and function of living systems and to develop the theoretical and conceptual background for empirical research and data analysis.
Experiential Learning & Capstone (3 credits)
Each component is detailed below:
I. Medical Humanities Core (16-20 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| A. Required Introductory Course | 4 | |
| INTRO TO MEDICAL HUMANITIES:IM | ||
| B. Select At least three of the following Medical Humanities electives, at least one of which must have an ES designation: | 9-12 | |
| DISABIL/ILLNESS US FILMS:IM:ES | ||
| WOMEN, MEDICINE, MEDIA:CA | ||
| LITERATURE AND MEDICINE:IM | ||
| SEM: (Special Topics Seminars) | ||
| MENTAL HEALTH & SELF LOVE/CARE | ||
| GLOBAL DISABILITY & AGING:EW | ||
| NARRATIVE BIOETHICS:ES | ||
| CARE & CONFINEMENT:ES | ||
| FEM OF COLOR PERSPECTIVES:UD | ||
| HEALTH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE:ES | ||
| AUTOBIO,ILLNESS,EMBODIMENT:IM | ||
| HOW WE DIE:ES | ||
| ISSUES IN WOMEN'S HEALTH:ES | ||
| GOING VIRAL | ||
| ANCIENT HEALTH/MEDICINE:CA | ||
| WRITING ABOUT:CM (Writing About the Body) | ||
| C. Select at least one of the following Communication Theory courses: | 3-4 | |
| INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION:CA | ||
| GROUP INTERACTION PROCESSES | ||
| FAMILY COMMUNICATION:CA | ||
| NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION:CA | ||
| COMMUN BETWEEN CULTURES:EW | ||
| ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION | ||
| GENDER COMMUNICATION:CA | ||
| PERSUASION AND ATTITUDE CHANGE | ||
| INTERCULTURAL HLTHCRE COMM:UD | ||
| Total Hours | 16-20 | |
II. Health and Human Sciences Core (32 credits)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| A. Required Courses: | 8 | |
| GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| STATISTICS:MM | ||
or PUBH 20100 | EPIDEMIOLOGY&BIOSTATISTICS:MM | |
| B. Select at least six additional courses, minimum 24 credits, at least four of which must be from one of the following concentrations: | 24 | |
| Clinical/Pre-Health Professions Concentration | ||
Intended for students interested in careers as health care providers (e.g. MD/DO, PA, OT, PT, dentistry, pharmacy). Students will work in consultation with their advisor to determine the courses used to fulfill this core, depending upon the prerequisites for the student's intended graduate program. | ||
| BASIC BIOCHEMISTRY-W/LAB | ||
| ANATOMY/PHYSIOLOGY I:W/LAB | ||
| ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II-W/LAB | ||
| INTRO BIOL I W/LAB: SM | ||
| INTRO BIO II W/LAB:SM | ||
| MOLECULAR&CELLULAR BIOL-W/LAB | ||
| MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY-W/LAB | ||
| GENETICS-W/LAB | ||
| IMMUNOLOGY | ||
| PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY:SM | ||
| GEN I:STRUCTURE/BOND-W/LAB:SM | ||
| GEN II:INTR CHEM ANLS-W/LAB:SM | ||
| INTRO TO ORGANIC CHEM-W/LAB | ||
| INTERMED ORGANIC CHEM-W/LAB | ||
| PRINCIPLES PHYSICS I-W/LAB:SM | ||
or PHYS 21400 | FUNMNTL OF PHYSICS-W/LAB II:SM | |
| PRINCIPLES PHYSICS II-W/LAB:SM | ||
or PHYS 21400 | FUNMNTL OF PHYSICS-W/LAB II:SM | |
| Behavioral/Social Sciences Concentration | ||
Intended for students interested in broader health-related professions (e.g. medical social work, clinical ethics, chaplaincy, health care nonprofit management, health education, health policy analysis, health advocacy). Students will work in consultation with their advisor to determine the courses used to fulfill this core, depending on career goals and interests. | ||
| ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY:CA | ||
| FOOD:EATERS,EATING& THE ENV:CA | ||
| DEVELOP ACROSS THE LIFE SPAN | ||
| SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY IN PSYCH:SM | ||
| PSYCHOLOGY & FILM:ES | ||
| SPORT/EXERCISE/PERFORM PSYC | ||
| DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| EXCEPTIONALITY:UD | ||
| JUDGMENT, DECISIONS AND BIASES | ||
| ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY | ||
| INTRO COUNSEL/CLINCL PSYC:ES | ||
| DRUG USE AND ABUSE | ||
| STEREOTYPING & PREJUDICE:UD | ||
| INTRO TO PUBLIC HEALTH:UD | ||
| EPIDEMIOLOGY&HEALTHRESEARCH:SM | ||
| INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY:CA | ||
| SOCIAL PROBLEMS:ES | ||
| SOCIAL INEQUALITY | ||
| RACE & ETHNICITY IN AMERICA:UD | ||
| SEX AND GENDER IN SOCIETY:UD | ||
| THE FAMILY | ||
| URGENT CHALLENGE SEMINAR:TT (Exploring Ability/Disability) | ||
| Total Hours | 32 | |
III. Experiential Learning & Capstone
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Experiential Learning & Capstone | 3 | |
| 120 hours of shadowing | ||
| 60 hours of service in a health care setting | ||
| SERVICE IN HEALTH CARE SETTING | ||
| VOCATIONAL REFLECTION | ||
| SENIOR SEMINAR | ||
Toal: 51-55 credits
Pathway
*Students will work with major advisors to create an individualized pathway tailored to specific graduate prerequisites.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall 12 Week | Hours | |
| UCS 10101 | FIRST-YEAR ENDURING QUESTIONS | 4 |
| Science Core Course (SM) | 4 | |
| PSYC 10100 | GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY | 4 |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 3 | |
| Hours | 3 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| UCS 20201 | ADDRESSING URGENT QUESTIONS | 4 |
| Science Core Course | 4 | |
| BIMD 20100 | INTRO TO MEDICAL HUMANITIES:IM | 4 |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall 12 Week | ||
| MATH 10800 or PUBH 20100 |
STATISTICS:MM or EPIDEMIOLOGY&BIOSTATISTICS:MM |
4 |
| Science Core Course (SM) | 4 | |
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 4 | |
| Pre-Health Prerequisite or Elective | 4 | |
| Hours | 16 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| Science Core Course | 4 | |
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 4 | |
| Pre-Health Prerequisite or Elective | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course or HIram Core Requirement (Ca, CM, EW, UD) | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall 12 Week | ||
| UCS 30301 | URGENT CHALLENGE SEMINAR:TT | 4 |
| Science Core Course | 4 | |
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| Science Core Course | 4 | |
| Medical Humanities Core course or Hiram Core requirement (CA, CM, EW, UD) | 4 | |
| Pre-Health Prerequisite or Elective | 4 | |
| Hours | 12 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course, Hiram Core requirement, or Elective | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall 12 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core Course or Hiram Core requirement | 4 | |
| Pre-Health Prerequisite or Elective | 4 | |
| BIMD 47000 | VOCATIONAL REFLECTION | 1 |
| Hours | 9 | |
| Fall 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course, Hiram Core requirement, or Elective | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Spring 12 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course or HIram Core requirement | 4 | |
| Pre-Health Prerequisite or Elective | 4 | |
| BIMD 48000 | SENIOR SEMINAR | 1 |
| Hours | 9 | |
| Spring 3 Week | ||
| Medical Humanities Core course, Hiram Core requirement, or Elective | 3-4 | |
| Hours | 3-4 | |
| Total Hours | 118-125 | |