Do I have to take my HSSP courses in a specific order?

No, you may take your core courses and electives in any order that works for you.  However, the core courses will generally provide you with foundational knowledge and skills that you can apply during your electives and “hands-on” learning experience.  HSSP 110a must be taken in your senior year.

What is the “hands-on” learning experience? 

All HSSP majors need to complete an internship in a healthcare or policy organization OR an original health related research project that can be laboratory or field based. 

An internship can be completed by enrolling in HSSP 89a or WMNS 89a.  If you choose to enroll in HSSP 89a, you should identify an internship site and then contact the HSSP Internship Instructor, Lynn Gonsalves at 6-7405 or lynngon@brandeis.edu for approval.  In order to receive credit for your HSSP internship you will be required to write a 20-25 page paper analyzing your experience and exploring the scientific, social and policy issues related to the organization with which you worked.  The internship can be completed during a regular semester or during the summer.  If you complete your internship over the summer, you will need to enroll in HSSP 89a. (lynngon@brandeis.edu ) in the fall.   

A health related research project may be completed by enrolling in HSSP 98a/b or 99d,  the latter generally being reserved for Honors research. Students are recommended to take HSSP 100a in their junior year if they are considering HSSP 98a/b or 99d, those courses involving primary data collection or analysis. If you choose to write an Honors thesis for another major, this paper may be accepted as your HSSP research project but will not be considered for Honors in HSSP.

How can I earn Honors in HSSP?

In order to receive honors in HSSP you must enroll in HSSP 99d and write an HSSP senior thesis.  You will defend your thesis to a committee of three HSSP faculty members. To qualify for Honors courses, students must have a 3.25 overall GPA or a 3.5 GPA in HSSP courses. It is recommended that students wanting to do honors should contact their advisor or a faculty member year and take HSSP 100 during the 2nd semester of their junior.

Does it matter which course I take to fulfill the Biology Core Requirement?

For the BA degree taking BIO 15b, BIO 22b, or BIO 42b will fulfill that core requirement.  For the BS degree students must take BIO 42b.

I’ve already taken BIO 22, how can I fulfill the core HSSP requirement?

If you have already taken BIO 22, you are not permitted to go back and take BIO 15b; therefore for the BA degree you would count BIO 22b as a core course and BIO 22a as a Focal Area A elective.  The BS requires BIO 42a as its core BIO course, so BIO 22 a and b would count as Focal Area A electives.

If I double major, can I “double count” courses for HSSP?

Yes, we are only concerned with what courses count for HSSP and not for the other major.  You should check with your adviser in your other major to find out if their policy is different.

How many courses taken elsewhere or AP credits can I count to toward the major?

Students may bring in up to two elective courses taken elsewhere (including abroad) for the HSSP major.

AP credits do not count toward an HSSP major.  However, students who score 4 or 5 on their Biology AP test may choose exemption from BIO 15b for the BA degree only.  Those BA students must then take a second Focal Area ‘A’ elective.