Concentration in

Health, Science, and Society

Studying Health, Science, and Society from Multiple Perspectives

An excellent complement to a wide variety of majors, the concentration in health, science, and society (HSS) broadly focuses on issues of health, its relevance to society, and how to study these questions.

We emphasize the importance of approaching these questions from multiple perspectives so you can develop a thorough and well-balanced understanding of important issues.

These perspectives center around four core aspects:

• Biomedical science: Thinking about health, disease, and medicine at a biomolecular level provides a critical perspective for anyone wishing to have a strong foundation in a health-related field.
• Social determinants of health: Considering social, economic, and environmental factors, such as socioeconomic status, education, the physical environment, employment, social support networks, and access to health care leads to a broader understanding of health issues within a society.
• Statistics-based data analysis: In both social sciences and biomedical sciences, the appropriate use of statistical analysis of data is required for appropriate and meaningful conclusions to be drawn.
• Ethical considerations: Questioning what is good, just, fair, and compassionate provides insight about what a society or individuals should do with the knowledge that is provided by scientific studies of health-related topics.