Undergraduate
Planning Your Minor
The Medical Humanities minor requires an application and approval by the committee to enroll. Applications are read in March and October each year; the minor is not open to students beyond October of their junior year.
Minor courses should be selected in relation to your major and your interests. Try to take the required Introductory course, ENGL 2212, as early as possible in the minor, as it will introduce you to a range of disciplinary approaches (and to several BC faculty) that will help you to choose subsequent courses. Try to shape your electives around one of the following thematic clusters:
- Global/Public Health
- Values and Ethics
- Mind and Body
- Health Care Delivery
- Medical narrative, writing, and representation
The courses link will show you which courses will be offered in the minor in 2020-2021. If you have questions about courses that you’ve taken previously, please check with the Director; this list is not exhaustive.
Structure and Requirements
The Medical Humanities Minor consists of 18 credits, or six courses:
- ENGL 2212, required for all minors, to be taken as early as possible in your career
- Four electives, drawn from a designated list
- An approved advanced elective, to be taken in the junior or senior year
- One elective towards the minor may be taken abroad upon approval from the Curriculum Committee. Ordinarily, credit will only be granted on returning from the program, on evaluation of the syllabus and graded work done in the course.
Courses beyond ENGL 2212 must be drawn from at least three different departments, but one of these can be from your major. In Arts and Sciences, students need 15 “unique” credits towards the minor, but the remaining three credits (one course) may “co-count” for your major, minor, or the Core. Review our minor planning worksheet for a better idea of how the minor is structured.
Several three-week courses offered through the Office of International Programs count towards elective credit in the minor. See the OIP website for more information.
In order for a course taken abroad to be considered for MHHC minor credit, it should be consistent with the Medical Humanities as the interdisciplinary, humanistic and cultural study of illness, health, health care, and the body. Consideration requires an application and approval by the Medical Humanities Program. Please access the course approval form for more information and to submit courses for approval.
Advising
Informal advising sessions are held before fall and spring registration. In addition, minors are encouraged to meet with either Professor Boesky (boesky@bc.edu) or the Graduate Assistant (medical.humanities@bc.edu) to set up advising sessions when needed. Complete this form to make an advising appointment.
CSON students must seek advising from CSON, adhering to this guideline:
Minor Requirements:
- ENGL2212 Introduction to Medical Humanities (Require Intro course)
- BIOL1300 & BIOL1310 Anatomy and Physiology I with Lab (Required for Nursing Majors)
- BIOL1320 & BIOL1330 Anatomy and Physiology II with Lab
- NURS 4264 Actualizing the Role of the Professional Nurse*
- 2 electives from the designated list. At least ONE course should be beyond those used to fulfill the core requirements and NOT come from either Nursing or Biology
Advanced Electives
As part of the minor requirements, you must take a course designated as an advanced elective during your junior or senior year. Please note that you must take this course during your junior or senior year in order for it to count towards the advanced elective requirement. To see a list of courses designated as advanced electives, please navigate to the courses page.