Medicine, Science, and the Humanities, Bachelor of Arts

Medicine, Science, and the Humanities Requirements

(Also see Requirements for a Bachelor's Degree.)

The Program in Medicine, Science, and the Humanities is an interdisciplinary major that focuses on humanistic approaches to understanding the knowledge constituted by the natural sciences and medicine.  Students complete two introductory courses, a focus area in a core humanities area, additional courses in both the medical humanities and sciences, and foreign language through the intermediate level.  A minimum grade of C- or better is required for all courses applying towards major requirements and courses may not be taken satisfactory/unsatisfactory. Courses directly equivalent to JHU courses from study abroad or taken at other universities may count towards requirements; however non-direct equivalent courses must be approved by the director of undergraduate studies for the major.  

Major Requirements:

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.145.10x One introductory medical humanities course		3
AS.145.219	Science Studies and Medical Humanities: Theory and Methods	3
Four courses in one pre-approved humanities focus area 1		12
Foreign language through the intermediate level 2		12-18
Six additional courses totaling at least 18 credits in the humanities and sciences		18
Two must be in the humanities with POS-Tag MSCH-HUM at the 200-400 level
One must be in the humanities with POS-Tag MSCH-HUM at the 300 or 400 level
Three must be in the sciences (courses with an N designator) 3
Total Credits		48-54

¹

See choices in Focus Area choices below.

²

Languages that currently apply automatically include: Akkadian, American Sign Language, Ancient Greek, Arabic, Biblical Hebrew, Chinese, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Middle Egyptian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Yiddish, and Sumerian. Students should speak to the DUS if they wish to request that languages not taught at JHU apply.  

³

Two of the science courses must be from the same department (or cross-listed with the same department) and one of them must be at the 200-level or higher.

Focus Area Choices:

Africana Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Two core courses in Africana Studies from the following list: *		6
AS.362.111	Introduction to African American Studies
AS.100.122	Introduction to History of Africa (since 1880)
AS.100.123	Introduction to African History: Diversity, Mobility, Innovation
AS.362.112	Introduction to Africana Studies
Two Africana Studies courses (or cross-listed with Africana Studies) at the 300-400 level.		6
Total Credits		12

*

If offered, AS.100.121, AS.362.121, and AS.362.104 would also apply.

Anthropology

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Two courses in the Anthropology Department at the 100-400 level (AS.070.1xx-AS.070.4xx)		6
Two courses in the Anthropology Department at the 300-400 level (AS.070.3xx-AS.070.4xx)		6
Total Credits		12

Archaeology

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.136.101	Introduction To Archaeology	3
or AS.130.177	World Prehistory: An Anthropological Perspective
One course with POS-Tag ARCH-ARCH at the 100-400 level		3
Two courses with POS-Tag ARCH-ARCH at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

Bioethics

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.150.219	Introduction to Bioethics	3
AS.150.220	Introduction to Moral Philosophy	3
Two courses in the Philosophy Department (AS.150.3xx-4xx) with POS-Tag PHIL-BIOETH at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

Classics

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Two Classics courses (or cross-listed with Classics) at the 100-400 level		6
Two Classics courses (or cross-listed with Classics) at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

East Asian Studies

East Asian language courses cannot be used to fulfill the focus area requirement.  However, students pursing the East Asian focus area are encouraged to study an East Asian language to fulfill the foreign language requirement of the Medicine, Science, and Humanities major.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Two East Asian Studies courses (or cross-listed with East Asian Studies) at the 100-400 level		6
Two East Asian Studies courses (or cross-listed with East Asian Studies) at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

English

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.060.107	Introduction to Literary Study	3
One period or theme course at any level **		3
Two course in the English department at the 300-400 level (AS.060.3xx-4xx courses)		6
Total Credits		12

**

To identify these courses, students should select one course with either the POS-Tag of ENGL-PR1800 or ENGL-GLOBAL.  If this course is at the 300 or 400 level in the English department, students will need another English courses at the 100-400 level to complete a total of 4 courses for the focus area.

Film and Media Studies

Students are encouraged to take AS.061.226 Special Topics: Writing About Film.  This will count as the 200 level course with the POS-Tag FILM-CRITST.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.061.140	Introduction to Cinema, 1892-1960	3
or AS.061.141	Introduction to Cinema, 1960-present
One course with POS-Tag FILM-CRITST at the 200 level		3
Two courses with POS-Tag FILM-CRITST at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

German

One of the four courses may be taught in English (identified with POS-Tag MLL-ENGL).

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Four courses designated AS.210.3xx (German language only); AS.211.3xx-4xx (with POS-TAG GRLL-GERM) and AS.213.3xx-4xx 1		12

¹

AS.210.xxx courses taught in German that apply are: AS.210.361, AS.210.362, AS.210.363, or AS.210.365.

History

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.100.293	Historical Methods, Archives and Interpretations	3
One course in the History Department at the 100-200 level (AS.100.1xx-2xx)		3
Two courses in the History Department at the 300-400 level (AS.100.3xx-4xx)		6
Total Credits		12

History of Art

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.010.101	Introduction to Art History, Pre-1400	4
or AS.010.102	Introduction to Art History, 1400 to the Present
One History of Art course (cross-listed with History of Art) at the 200-400 level		3
Two History of Art courses (or cross-listed with History of Art) at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		13

History of Science, Medicine, and Technology

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
One survey course selected from:		3
AS.140.105	History of Medicine
AS.140.105	History of Medicine
AS.140.301	History of Science: Antiquity To Renaissance
AS.140.302	Rise Of Modern Science
AS.140.321	Scientific Revolution
One History of Science, Medicine, & Technology course (or cross-listed) at the 100-400 level		3
Two History of Science, Medicine & Technology courses (or cross-listed) at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

Italian

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.210.351	Advanced Italian I	3
AS.210.352	Advanced Italian II	3
AS.214.362	Italian Journeys: Medieval and Early Modern	3
or AS.214.363	Italian Journeys: An Other Story
One course AS.211.2xx-4xx with POS-Tag MLL-ITAL or AS.214.2xx-4xx		3
Total Credits		12

Latin American Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
One survey course selected from: ****		3
AS.100.115	Modern Latin America
AS.215.231	Introduction to Literature in Spanish
One course cross-listed with Latin American Studies at the 100-400 level		3
Two courses cross-listed with Latin American Studies at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

****

If offered, AS.100.105 and AS.100.239 would also apply.

Near Eastern Studies

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
Two Near Eastern Studies courses (or cross-listed with Near Eastern Studies) at the 100-400 level		6
Two Near Eastern Studies courses (or cross-listed with Near Eastern Studies) at the 300-400 level		6
Total Credits		12

Philosophy

Of the four required courses, at least two courses must be at the 300-400 level. Either AS.150.111 or AS.150.112 will count, but not both.

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
One course in philosophy of science 1		3
One course with POS-Tag PHIL-ANCIEN, PHIL-MODERN, PHIL-ETHICS, or PHIL-MIND		3
Two additional philosophy courses		6
Total Credits		12

¹

Philosophy of science courses will have the POS-Tag PHIL-LOGSCI.  However, as some courses with this POS-Tag are focused solely on logic and not science, students will need to speak to the director of undergraduate studies to confirm if a course will apply.

Writing Seminars

Course List

Code	Title	Credits
AS.220.105	Introduction to Fiction & Poetry I	3
or AS.220.108	Introduction to Fiction & Nonfiction
AS.220.106	Introduction to Fiction & Poetry II	3
AS.220.200	The Craft of Fiction	3
or AS.220.201	The Craft of Poetry
One course in the Writing Seminars Department at the 300-400 level (AS.220.3xx-4xx)		3
Total Credits		12

Sample Program of Study

A typical program might include the following sequence of courses:

First Year
First Semester	Credits	Second Semester	Credits
Foreign language	4	Foreign language	4
AS.145.10x course	3	Natural science course at the 100 level	3
Natural science course at the 100 level	3	Course in selected focus area at any level	3
	10		10
Second Year
First Semester	Credits	Second Semester	Credits
AS.145.219	3	Foreign language	3
Foreign language	3	Course selected focus area at any level	3
Natural science course at the 200 level	3
	9		6
Third Year
First Semester	Credits	Second Semester	Credits
Course in selected focus area at the 300-400 level	3	Course in selected focus area at the 300-400 level	3
		200-400 level Humanities elective with POS-Tag MSCH-HUM
	3		3
Fourth Year
First Semester	Credits	Second Semester	Credits
200-400 level Humanities elective with POS-Tag MSCH-HUM	3	300-400 level Humanities elective with POS-Tag MSCH-HUM	3
	3		3
Total Credits 47

Honors in the Major

Honors will be offered as an option to juniors with a minimum GPA of 3.50 in major requirements. Honors work will require enrollment in two courses, culminating with an original thesis paper (or equivalent scholarly or creative work) approximately 20-25 pages in length, whose topic is closely related to the student’s humanities core area. Thesis projects may be supervised by a faculty member in the student’s core area, or by another faculty member with expertise relevant to the topic. In either case the supervisory/mentoring role will be by arrangement between the student, MSH Director of Undergraduate Studies, and the faculty member being solicited. All topics and supervisors are to be approved by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Juniors interested in the pursing honors option must apply with the Director of Undergraduate Studies before fall of the senior year. The application requires development of an approved research proposal with an accompanying mentorship plan.

For the first course requirement, all students hoping to pursue honors in the major must take the MSH Capstone course (AS.145.350 MSH Research Capstone) in the spring of their junior year. This capstone course may count as a 300 level MSCH-HUM POS-Tagged course. Completion of this course does not require a student to write a thesis in the senior year nor does it guarantee a student will be approved to write an honors thesis.  

Typically, students are expected to write their thesis in fall of their senior year by enrolling in an honors-specific Senior Thesis course (AS.145.516 MSH Honors Thesis) for 3 credits.  These credits do not count as fulfilling a requirement of the major.