Medical Humanities

The role of medicine in our lives

Medical humanities is a multi- and interdisciplinary field that studies the moral, social, historical, cultural, artistic, literary, philosophical, religious, and legal aspects of medicine, healthcare and biotechnology. Medical humanities strongly complements pre-med students’ curriculum but also appeals to students interested in law, business, policy, ministry and nonprofit service.

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Why study Medical Humanities at Millsaps?

In their own words

Aastha Banga, Class of 2025

“As a pre-med student, taking medical humanities classes has been really important. The history of medicine is fascinating and teaches us a lot about how and why medicine is what it is right now. It has solidified my interest in medicine even more.”

Featured Courses

Here is a sampling of a few courses that might pique your interest.

PHIL 2110 Biomedical Ethics, Law and Policy

An introduction to conceptual and ethical issues concerning medicine and biotechnology. Topics include euthanasia, genetic engineering, reproductive technology, patients’ rights and cloning.

ECON 3050 Health Economics

An introduction to the microeconomics of health, healthcare and health policy. Apply economic principles to health-related issues; explore healthcare changes; and analyze public policy from an economic perspective.

Browse all Medical Humanities courses

Degree Options

Discover your degrees, minors, concentrations and certification options available for this field of study.

Minor in Medical Humanites

A medical humanities minor can help a medical or law school applicant stand out, given that most applicants for medical school will have majored in biology, biochemistry or chemistry with a high GPA. Students will have a better understanding of the human dimension of medical practice.

Self-designed Major

Design a major to best fit your personality, career goals, and specific educational needs. The self-designed major is a customized major that you design, working closely with appropriate faculty. Create your own medical studies major.

Pathways

Our curriculum emphasizes problem solving and critical thinking skills essential to any career (and therefore any Pathway), as well as scientific writing and experimentation skills that may be especially critical to students interested in any of our six Pathways tracks.

Learn More About Pathways