专业详情

The HBHS major may be a good fit for students who wish to pursue careers related to issues of human health and well-being.

Many health problems are complex in origin. For this reason, promoting health and reducing the risk of disease requires practitioners, researchers and policymakers who can consider the biological and physical aspects of health and illness, as well as their social, psychological, economic, cultural and political dimensions.

You will be required to develop a strong background in human biology so that you can understand the physiological and biochemical aspects of health issues. The program also will require you to use perspectives from the social sciences. 

With these skills, and with access to a wide array of courses related to human health and well-being, you will be prepared to explore a range of health issues through a variety of career paths. You also will have many opportunities to enhance your classroom learning by participating in special opportunities for experiential learning, including the Practicing Medicine program and study abroad, undergraduate research and field experience, or by joining the Health and Nutrition Society.

An HBHS major will help prepare you to answer questions such as:

  • What physiological and biochemical processes are involved in health and necessary for resistance to disease?
  • What is normal growth of children and what biological, social, cultural and environmental factors are involved?
  • How do biological processes explain normal and abnormal behavior?
  • How do diet and other lifestyle factors influence the risk of chronic disease?
  • What social, political, economic, and cultural factors explain the differential access to health care in the US and how can this situation be changed?
  • How can communities, organizations, and practitioners work to promote health in the US and other countries?