Provisional University Bulletin (2026-2027)

• Minor
• Major (BA/BS)
• Combined BA/MS or BS/MS Program in Global Health

The Health: Science, Society and Policy (HSSP) program, which draws on a considerable range and depth of expertise in the College of Arts and Sciences and The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, is designed to:

• Expand students' understanding of the biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors that promote health or cause illness.
• Introduce students to the political, economic, legal, public health, and organizational dimensions of health care systems in the United States and throughout the world.
• Provide students with hands-on experience in either an internship (in a health-care delivery, public health or advocacy organization), a laboratory (studying the biological basis of health, behavior, or disease), or a field-based research project (investigating aspects of health or illness in a social context).
• Provide students with the opportunity to integrate their academic coursework and supervised fieldwork or laboratory experiences across a number of health-related disciplines through a team-taught, capstone seminar.

HSSP draws upon courses in the social sciences, life sciences, and the fields of policy, law, and management, and is especially appropriate for students preparing for careers or further study in healthcare, biotech, and medicine, as well as for students who want to examine the issues and concerns of this important sector in society from an interdisciplinary perspective, whether in the United States or internationally. The major can be completed with either a BA or the more science-intensive BS degree. The minor in HSSP is designed to provide an introduction to interdisciplinary study and to supplement a student's major(s).

Health: Science, Society and Policy (HSSP) is an interdisciplinary undergraduate major that focuses on health, health care, and health policy. Launched in 2003, HSSP is a unique program that draws from three of the major strengths of Brandeis: the life sciences, the social sciences, and health policy. HSSP courses enable students to explore the scientific views of disease and treatment, social science perspectives about health and illness, and health policy issues.

All HSSP students take four core courses: a core Science, a core Society course, a core Policy course, and HSSP 100b (Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics & Population Health), an important perspective rarely offered to undergraduates. HSSP majors also take a series of electives from across the focal areas, while HSSP minors are required to take two. In pursuing the major, students can choose a BA or the more science intensive BS. In addition to the senior capstone course, majors complete a hands-on experience (HOE) to engage academic material experientially in a setting related to either health or health care. For example, HSSP majors may fulfill their HOE with a health-related summer or semester internship, a field- or lab-based research project, a senior thesis, or through an experiential study abroad program.

There are few programs like HSSP for undergraduates. Many HSSP graduates go on to graduate or professional school in public health, medicine, nursing, or other allied health professions, as well as health administration, health law, consulting, and other health-related fields.

HSSP majors may also apply to one of two Bachelor-Masters pathways in Global Health Policy and Management or Masters in Public Policy with the Heller School of Social Policy and Management.

Knowledge

HSSP emphasizes knowledge and awareness of health from the perspectives of science, society and policy in both US and global contexts. HSSP students will achieve significant competency in understanding:

1. The nature of disease and illness from a basic scientific perspective;
2. The social and cultural contributions to health and illness;
3. The impact of health care system in diverse social and cultural settings; and
4. How public policies in health and health care are developed, implemented and evaluated.

Core Skills

Students completing a major in HSSP will also acquire important core analytic thinking and quantitative reasoning skills including the ability to:

1. Synthesize information and perspectives from different disciplines, especially but not exclusively about health and health care;
2. Critically think about and evaluate health care system organization and delivery;
3. Provide a firsthand health-related experience;
4. Critically evaluate health issues with epidemiology, basic biostatistics and quantitative reasoning; and
5. Research health-oriented problems and analyze and communicate findings in both written and oral presentations.

Social Justice

The HSSP curriculum provides the tools for those committed to the Brandeis ideal of learning in service of social justice. The HSSP graduate will come away with a strong understanding of:

1. The social determinants of health and disease and health disparities and the impacts of social inequality on health;
2. Issues related to access of healthcare and health reform options;
3. Social and cultural differences that pertain to health; and
4. Selected major bioethical issues.

Upon graduating many of our students take different health-related routes:

1. Enter graduate and professional schools for health-related professions and occupations including medicine, nursing, medical social work, podiatry, dentistry, physical therapy and others;
2. Seek careers in public health and in public policy related to health and health care, often ultimately pursue further education in public health, law, government, business, and public policy;
3. Embark on careers in health-oriented research (often beginning with entry-level positions and sometimes seeking advanced academic degrees); and
4. Work in health-related domestic or international public sector agencies or NGOs or become involved with health services or health advocacy organizations, both domestic and international.

Students can begin study in the HSSP major or minor with virtually any course in the program. Students are encouraged to begin taking their core "science" course, core "society" course, and their core "policy" course early in their pursuit of an HSSP major.

Students interested in majoring or minoring in HSSP should also review the major/minor requirements and then make an appointment with the program’s Undergraduate Advising Head (UAH) to declare their chosen HSSP degree and be assigned an HSSP adviser.

Darren Zinner, Chair*
(HSSP)

Stuart Altman
(Heller School)

Sarah Curi, Undergraduate Advising Head and Study Abroad Liaison
(Legal Studies and HSSP)

Karen Donelan
(Heller School)

Deborah Garnick*
(Heller School)

Thuy Lam, Senior Honors Coordinator*
(HSSP)

Maria Miara*
(Biology)

James Morris*
(Biology)

Wangui Muigai*
(African and African American Studies)

Rajesh Sampath
(Heller School)

Sara Shostak*
(HSSP and Sociology)

Siri Suh*
(Sociology)

Cindy Parks Thomas, Honors Coordinator*
(Heller School)

*indicates HSSP Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) member

Affiliated Faculty

(contributing to the curriculum, advising and administration of the department or the program)

LeManuel Lee Bitsóí
(HSSP - VP/DEI)

Stephen Gulley
(HSSP)

Dominic Hodgkin
(Heller School)

Sarah Lamb
(Anthropology)

Maria Madison
(Heller School)

Monika Mitra
(Heller School)

Sacha Nelson
(Biology)

To complete the minor, students must successfully complete the following six semester courses (four core courses and two electives):

1. One core "science" course: BIOL 14a (Genetics and Genomics), BIOL 15b (Cells and Organisms), BIOL 16a (Evolution and Biodiversity), or BIOL 42a (Physiology).
2. One core "society" course: SOC 83a (Sociology of Body and Health) or SOC 84a (Health, Community, and Society).
3. One core "policy" course: HS 104b (American Health Care) or LGLS 114a (American Health Care: Law and Policy).
4. HSSP 100b (Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health). Open to HSSP juniors and HSSP seniors, generally taken in the junior year. Offered in both fall and spring semesters.
   
   Note: Entrance into HSSP 100b can only be guaranteed to those students who declare their HSSP minor before the end of their junior year, regardless of the number of satisfactorily completed courses.
5. One elective from any of the three focal areas.
6. One elective from one of the two remaining focal areas.
   
   Note: Only BAs and minors may fulfill the Focal Area A elective requirement with BISC 2a, BISC 5a, BISC 5b, BISC 10b, BISC 11a, CHIN 165a, NPSY 11b, NPSY 12a, NPSY 16a, NPSY 17a, NPSY 22b, or PSYC 15a. See detailed course list below.
7. No course with a final grade below C- can count toward the requirements for the minor in HSSP. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the minor requirements.

All majors are required to complete the four HSSP core courses plus HSSP 110a (Integrative Seminar on Health) and a hands-on experience course, as well as the elective requirements, which vary for the BA and the BS degrees.

Foundational Literacies: As part of completing the HSSP major, students must successfully complete the following:

• Writing intensive (WI): Any WI-designated course approved for the major. Alternatively, any WI-designated course from BIOL, PSYC, or other program in the Division of Social Sciences.
• Oral communication (OC): HSSP 110a (Integrative Seminar in Health), the required capstone course, or any OC-designated course approved for the major.
• Digital literacy (DL): HSSP 100b (Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health).

Option I: The BA Degree in HSSP

1. One core "science" course: BIOL 14a (Genetics and Genomics), BIOL 15b (Cells and Organisms), BIOL 16a (Evolution and Biodiversity), or BIOL 42a (Physiology).
2. One core "society" course: SOC 83a (Sociology of Body and Health) or SOC 84a (Health, Community, and Society).
3. One core "policy" course: HS 104b (American Health Care) or LGLS 114a (American Health Care: Law and Policy).
4. HSSP 100b (Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health). Open to HSSP juniors and HSSP seniors, generally taken in the junior year. Offered in both fall and spring semesters. The Denmark Institute for Study-abroad (DIS) courses: Epidemiology: Danish Case Studies or Epidemiology: Swedish Case Studies can substitute for HSSP 100b.
5. Capstone: HSSP 110a (Integrative Seminar on Health). Offered in both fall and spring semesters, HSSP 110a is open to all HSSP majors in their final year.
6. A hands-on experience (HOE) chosen from the following options:
   1. HSSP 89a (Internship and Analysis) combined with a health-related internship
   2. HSSP 137a (Contemporary Issues in Public Health in the Yucatan) as part of Brandeis’ summer study abroad program in Mérida, Mexico
   3. LGLS 161b (Advocacy for Policy Change)
   4. WMGS 89a (When Violence Hits Home: Internship in Domestic Violence)
   5. HSSP 98a (Independent Research)
   6. HSSP 99d (Senior Research) - a year-long original, health-related senior honors thesis project (laboratory- or field-based)
   7. A health-related HOE during a study abroad program.
      
      Note: All majors must communicate their HOE choice, in writing in advance, to the HSSP Internship Instructor.
   Students wishing to obtain a Bachelor of Arts (BA) must complete all the 6 required courses listed above, plus 4 elective courses:
7. One Focal Area A elective. Note: Only BAs and minors may fulfill the Focal Area A elective requirement with BISC 2a, BISC 5a, BISC 5b, BISC 10b, BISC 11a, CHIN 165a, NPSY 11b, NPSY 12a, NPSY 16a, NPSY 17a, NPSY 22b, or PSYC 15a. See detailed course list below.
8. One Focal Area B elective.
9. One Focal Area C elective.
10. One additional elective from any of the three focal areas or a research methods course.

Option II: The BS Degree in HSSP

1. One core "science" course: BIOL 42a (Physiology).
2. One core "society" course: SOC 83a (Sociology of Body and Health) or SOC 84a (Health, Community, and Society).
3. One core "policy" course: HS 104b (American Health Care) or LGLS 114a (American Health Care: Law and Policy).
4. HSSP 100b (Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health). Open to HSSP juniors and HSSP seniors, generally taken in the junior year. Offered in both fall and spring semesters. The Denmark Institute for Study-abroad (DIS) courses: Epidemiology: Danish Case Studies or Epidemiology: Swedish Case Studies can substitute for HSSP 100b.
5. Capstone: HSSP 110a (Integrative Seminar on Health). Offered in both fall and spring semesters, HSSP 110a is open to all HSSP majors in their final year.
6. A hands-on experience (HOE) chosen from the following options:
   1. HSSP 89a (Internship and Analysis) combined with a health-related internship
   2. HSSP 137a (Contemporary Issues in Public Health in the Yucatan) as part of Brandeis’ summer study abroad program in Mérida, Mexico
   3. LGLS 161b (Advocacy for Policy Change)
   4. WMGS 89a (When Violence Hits Home: Internship in Domestic Violence)
   5. HSSP 98a (Independent Research)
   6. HSSP 99d (Senior Research) - a year-long original, health-related senior honors thesis project (laboratory- or field-based)
   7. A health-related HOE during a study abroad program.
      

      Note: All majors must communicate their HOE choice, in writing in advance, to the HSSP Internship Instructor.

      Students wishing to obtain a BS must complete all the 6 required courses listed above, plus the following:

7. The introductory biology sequence, which provides a solid foundation in biology: BIOL 14a (Genetics and Genomics), BIOL 15b (Cell and Organisms), BIOL 16a (Evolution and Biodiversity). BS students also majoring in Biology must complete BIOL 18a and BIOL 18b as their labs.  BS students not majoring in Biology must complete BIOL 12a and BIOL 12b as their labs. NOTE: BIOL 14a is the prerequisite for BIOL 18a. BIOL 15b is the prerequisite for BIOL 18b. Many HSSP BS students choose to take BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b in their first year; the 2 labs in their second year; and BIOL 16a in their third year. BIOL 14a, 15b, and 16a can be taken in any order - one is not a prerequisite for any other. Students usually take BIOL 42a (Physiology) in their junior or senior year, following completion of the introductory biology sequence.
8. One Focal Area A elective.
9. One Focal Area B elective.
10. One Focal Area C elective.
11. 16 credits worth of additional basic science courses from BIOL, BCHM, CBIO, ENGR,  NBIO, CHEM, PHYS, MATH, or COSI (at or above the 10-level), or PSYC 51a or ECON 83a. NOTE: NPSY courses do not count for the ABS requirement.

Notes for Undergraduate Majors

No course with a final grade below C- can count toward the requirements for the major in HSSP. No course taken pass/fail may count toward the major requirements.

Outside Coursework: Majors may count up to two courses (8 credits) taken from outside of Brandeis with the written pre-approval from the HSSP program. With few exceptions, such outside courses may only fulfill HSSP electives and/or the Additional Basic Science Course requirement.

AP credit/ IB credit: Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) credit cannot be counted for any HSSP major or minor requirement; if you test out of an introductory science course, you are required take a more advanced course.

Honors Program

To write a senior honors thesis, a student must have a 3.25 overall GPA or a 3.5 GPA in their HSSP major. Students wishing to graduate with honors in HSSP will be required to take HSSP 99d (Senior Research) to undertake a year-long original, health-related senior honors thesis project (laboratory- or field-based), for which the formation of a three-faculty member committee and a formal defense before that committee is required. The committee will consist of the student’s adviser as well as two members decided upon by the student and the adviser, and must be approved by the chair of HSSP.

Although the HSSP program is not specifically designed to fulfill the premedical requirements, students can fulfill the requirements as follows:

1. By majoring in HSSP and selecting either:
   • The BA option of HSSP and completing BIOL 14a (Genetics and Genomics) or BIOL 42a (Physiology) as the core "science" course.
   • The BS option of HSSP.
2. By majoring in one of the life sciences or physical sciences or the major of their choice while completing the premedical requirements and choosing HSSP as a minor. Students should consult the Pre-Health Advising website and with their pre-health adviser to learn more about the requirements for medical school, nursing school, and other health professions.

The Global Health Bachelors-Masters Program provides a pathway for undergraduate students interested in and passionate about global health to obtain the skills necessary to enter careers in the global health space. This program represents a partnership with the undergraduate major in Health: Science, Society, and Policy (HSSP) and the Global Health Policy and Management (GHPM) degree program at the Heller School.

Students apply in the spring of their junior year through the Heller admissions process, preferably by March 1 but no later than June 1.

If admitted, students take three Heller GHPM core requirements HS 236a (International Health Systems and Development: 4 credits), HS 229f (International Health Financing: 2 credits), and HS 239f (Intersectionality and Bioethics: 2 credits) in the senior year. Note: HS 229f and HS 239f are offered as half-semester modules in the spring, so students are only required to take the equivalent of one full semester course per term. These core requirement courses may count toward the undergraduate major in HSSP as Focal Area C or general electives. They do not count toward graduation requirements toward the GHPM MS degree, although they allow students room in their schedule to take additional electives.

Enrolled students will normally be expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25 and a grade of B or better in the required courses.

Through partnerships, the GHPM program will help secure a summer internship (paid or unpaid, minimum 55 hours) for enrolled students between undergraduate and graduate years. These internships count toward fulfilling two credits of electives that count toward graduation requirements for the graduate degree.

The HSSP-MPP Advancement program provides an accelerated pathway for undergraduate students who have a passion for working on issues of social justice and social policy. This program provides students with the experience, skills and tools necessary to obtain policy positions focusing on health care related issues. Admitted HSSP students would take two classes in the MPP program during their senior year and then work for one or two years before taking classes in the MPP program full time for three semesters.

Interested HSSP students should begin by discussing their fit for the program with an HSSP faculty member. Students will apply to the Heller School by the end of February in their junior year, including taking the GRE. Alternatively students could be accepted contingent on reporting acceptable minimum GRE scores in their senior year.

Accepted students will take two Heller MPP core requirements in their senior year – Historical and Contemporary Developments in Social Policy in the fall and Social Policy Analysis in the spring. These MPP courses will count toward their BA or BS degrees (as general electives) and toward their MPP degree. In addition, two HSSP courses (HS 104 American Health Care and HSSP 100 Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health) will be applied toward the MPP degree. Students would then need two fewer electives and would only need to take 12 additional courses for the MPP degree, graduating in three semesters rather than the typical four Accepted students will normally be expected to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.25 and a grade of B or better in the required courses. Students will be responsible for securing their employment; however, Heller will provide career coaching and introduce students to a network of partners, such as City Year and AmeriCorps. Students will be assigned advisers/mentors in their senior year who will keep in touch with them during their work experience year. Students will participate in a mid-point check in either in person or via a video call. Students will pay undergraduate tuition through their senior year and graduate with a bachelors degree (BA or BS, per HSSP requirements). Financial aid for Heller tuition will be established at the time of the applicant’s acceptance into the program. Assuming adequate academic progress, students will graduate with a Masters of Public Policy from the Heller School in three semesters.

HSSP 40a Survey Design in Public Health

Provides firsthand experience conducting epidemiological research on a public health topic. Working with the instructor, students identify a research question to conduct their own cross-sectional epidemiology study and apply survey design methods learned in class. Usually offered every spring.

HSSP 89a Internship and Analysis

Prerequisites: Open only to HSSP majors who have pursued a health-related internship with the approval of the Internship Instructor.

This course for declared HSSP majors combines: 1) a supervised health-related internship, and 2) a weekly, classroom-based discussion during the Internship Seminar. The internship placement must be clearly health-related and take place within a healthcare organization whose work involves science (e.g., natural sciences and medicine), society (e.g., the social sciences and public health), and/or policy (e.g., law, politics, economics, and organizations). The internship must be arranged in consultation with and approved in writing by the HSSP Internship Instructor BEFORE the internship begins. Further details available at: https://www.brandeis.edu/health-science-society-policy/degrees/hands-on-experience/index.html. Students are required to attend a weekly 1.5 hour section, keep a journal, write several short papers, and prepare several presentations - all of which requires reflection on and systematic analysis of the internship experience. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 98a Independent Research in Health: Science, Society, and Policy

Open to juniors and seniors only.

Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty or faculty sponsor approved by HSSP Chair, students conduct an intensive laboratory- or field-based project that culminates in a twenty- to twenty-five-page research paper. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 98b Independent Research in Health: Science, Society, and Policy

Open to juniors and seniors only. Yields half-course credit.

Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty or faculty sponsor approved by HSSP Chair, students conduct an intensive laboratory- or field-based project that culminates in a twenty- to twenty-five-page research paper. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 99d Senior Research

Open to seniors only.

Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty, students conduct a year-long, original, health-related research project (laboratory- or field-based) and write a thesis.

HIS/HSSP 142a Health Activism
[ deis-us oc ss ]

Formerly offered as HSSP 142a.

Examines the history of health activism in the U.S. over the past 125 years, from late 19th century debates over compulsory vaccination to contemporary public health campaigns around gang violence and incarceration. Usually offered every third year.

HSSP 100b Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health
[ dl qr ss ]

Priority registration given to HSSP students. Core course for the HSSP major and minor. Open to juniors and seniors only.

Provides an orientation to the science of epidemiology, the quantitative foundation for public health policy. As a comprehensive survey course, students from varying academic backgrounds are introduced to biostatistics and major epidemiological concepts, and provided with training in their application to the study of health and disease in human populations. Case studies examine how environmental, physical, behavioral, psychological, and social factors contribute to the disease burden of populations. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 102a Introduction to Global Health
[ ss ]

A primer on major issues in health care in developing nations. Topics include the natural history of disease and levels of prevention; epidemiological transitions; health disparities; and determinants of health including culture, social context, and behavior. Also covers: infectious and chronic disease incidence and prevalence; the role of nutrition, education, reproductive trends, and poverty; demographic transition including aging and urbanization; the structure and financing of health systems; and the globalization of health. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 104b Health Economics
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.

Emphasizes the concepts and tools of health economics applicable to both developed and developing countries. Topics include: cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, the demand for health services, insurance and risk, managed care, provider reimbursement, national health insurance, and an overview of health care systems in other countries. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 106a Managing Medicine
[ ss wi ]

Prerequisite: HS 104b or LGLS 114a.

Overview of the principles of management within health care, and how public policy decisions can influence the choices of individual healthcare organizations. Through case studies of real hospitals, insurers, and firms, the class examines choices of clinicians and managers aimed at improving health care quality, delivering patient satisfaction, and containing costs. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 107b Health Care Technology: Evaluating Emerging Medical Services, Drugs, and Devices
[ ss ]

Prior completion of HS 104b or LGLS 114a is recommended but not required.

An overview of the role of medical technology in the U.S. health care system, with a focus on the impact of prescription drugs, new clinical treatments, and artificial intelligence on the health care system and populations. The course includes basics of technology evaluation including cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 110a Integrative Seminar on Health
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisite: Senior status in the HSSP major.

The capstone course is required for all HSSP seniors and is designed to integrate their academic coursework and fieldwork/laboratory experiences across a range of health-related disciplines. Section topics vary from semester to semester at the discretion of the instructing faculty member. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 112b Perspectives on Child Health and Well-Being
[ ss wi ]

Open only to juniors and seniors.

This is a survey course on child well-being in the United States. It is divided into four sections: child development, child and family context, environment, and programs and services. We will focus on early childhood and school-age child issues with a complementary understanding of adolescence and family issues. The course will consider theoretical perspectives, the science of child development and outcomes, methods for understanding and tackling child public health issues and finally the services and programs available–and needed–for optimal child health. We will primarily use three frames: social determinants of health, social ecological model, and life course perspective. They consider race, gender, geography, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, immigration status, education and other important issues in the larger context of child public health. Usually offered every third year.

HSSP 114b Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[ ss ]

An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 115b Perspectives on Behavioral Health: Alcohol, Drugs, and Mental Health
[ ss ]

A survey course which focuses on the science and biological basis of substance use and mental disorders, and linkages between behavioral health and general health. Consequences of behavioral health on society are discussed. Policy responses and the treatment system are assessed for their effectiveness. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 116a Health Workforce Policy and Practice
[ ss ]

Although physicians and nurses may be most widely recognized, the direct care clinical workforce includes millions of others working in a wide range of clinical and support roles in community-based services, public health, and health care delivery settings. The course will focus on understanding the supply of healthcare professionals and workers, the demand for and employment of labor across the continuum of health care services, and how health teams are working together to meet population health goals and challenges. The course will address workforce diversity and the lack of equitable care for populations who face racial, ethnic, language, disability-related and other barriers to care. It will examine the stresses and burnout faced by health care workers and teams and discuss potential strategies to recruiting health workers in a time of stress and concern in the wake of the pandemic. Students will work in small groups on projects to examine best practices in workforce recruitment, retention, and team function. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 118b Viewing Medicine and Health Policy Through the Lens of Literature
[ oc ss ]

Literature–fiction, memoir, poetry, and drama–offers a powerful lens for studying key health policy issues. By harnessing the power of authors' imaginations, insights and compelling stories, students can gain deeper insight into topics including: patient centered care, ethics in research, access to healthcare, obesity and hunger, role of the pharmaceutical and tobacco, aging policy, disability, and clinicians' roles and training. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 128a Disability Policy
[ ss ]

Focuses on exploring the principles and provisions of disability service programs in the United States and on developing an understanding of the complexities surrounding the financial, ethical, and legal issues related to current disability policies and the consequences of these policies. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 135a Public Health: U.S. History and Policy
[ deis-us ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

With an interdisciplinary focus on social justice, this seminar examines the complex history of efforts in the U.S. to improve our population's health. Together we will explore the success and failures by comparing and contrasting the responses of individuals, government, and the medical profession to epidemics of smallpox, cholera, HIV/AIDs, and COVID-19, as well as “behavior-based” epidemics like tobacco, obesity, and opioids. Key topics include promoting sanitation/environmental health, managing chronic/infectious diseases, and enhancing emergency preparedness, as well as examining the role of law/government and individualism. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 136a Comparative Public Health Systems in Latin America
[ djw ss ]

Offered through the Brandeis in Mérida: Public Health in the Yucatán Peninsula summer study abroad program.

Through this course, students gain an introductory knowledge on how public health is addressed in Latin America; the system organization and the main indicators used to produce public policies. What are the social and economic determinants of health in the region? What are the principal issues in the Latin American context? How do different systems across countries address them? The human rights approach in Latin America and North American approach to health challenges. Differences between Latin American and US systems. Social medicine and its contributions. Role of the State, private sector, NGOs and international organizations, and their interrelations. How features of Latin American systems can constitute an input to a global comprehension of public health. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 137a Contemporary Issues in Public Health in the Yucatan

Offered through the Brandeis in Mérida: Public Health in the Yucatán Peninsula summer study abroad program.

An increased diversity in the socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial composition of our communities has presented health care providers with many new challenges when responding effectively to patients’ healthcare well-being. This course will expand on these, while providing the knowledge of the basics about healthcare in the Mexico and in Yucatan, examining the public and private health care systems of Mexico, mainstream and traditional care in the urban and rural setting, as well as a study of local prevailing health issues, from a cross-cultural competency to understanding the patients' expectations from their own cultural context. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 152b Introduction to Demography: Social Determinants of Health and Wellbeing
[ ss ]

Explores the social and health consequences of population dynamics within the U.S. and globally that affect wellbeing of families and nations including poverty and inequality, maternal and child health, aging, fertility and epidemiological transitions, workforce, immigration among other policy concerns. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 182a Food, Justice and Health
[ deis-us ss ]

Recommended prerequisite: SOC 83a or SOC 84a

Introduces food as a public health issue, including "food is medicine" perspectives. Explores movements for food justice and food sovereignty, especially as a way of understanding how histories of inequity have shaped today's food system. Considers policies, programs, and practices to improve health equity. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 192b Sociology of Disability
[ ss ]

In the latter half of the twentieth century, disability has emerged as an important social-political-economic-medical issue, with its own distinct history, characterized as a shift from "good will to civil rights." Traces that history and the way people with disabilities are seen and unseen, and see themselves. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 81a Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork: Methods and Practice of Anthropological Research
[ oc ss wi ]

Introduces the core methods of ethnography—participant observation, interviewing, note-taking, and analysis—while guiding students to design and carry out their own small-scale research projects in local settings. Emphasis is placed on reflexivity, ethics, and translating lived experience into compelling ethnographic writing and other creative, multimodal forms of representation. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 125a Abnormality in Medicine
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Prerequisite: Open to sophomores and above.

Focuses on how societal values shape desires and norms around the body. Students will engage with work from across the humanities and social sciences that highlights how social differences like race/ethnicity, gender, and dis/ability shape possibilities and aspirations for a good or a normal life. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 154a Culture and Mental Illness
[ ss wi ]

Without underestimating the importance of biological causes and treatments, this course challenges the hegemony of bio-medical models in psychiatry by seeking to conceptualize emotional problems and mental illness as historically situated and culturally constructed. Examines how factors related to political circumstances, social institutions, religious belief systems, socio-economic status, and ethnic background participate in shaping forms of distress and the ways they are dealt with in various socio-cultural settings. The course will also consider alternative therapies such as art therapy, community-based treatments, and culturally specific approaches to emotional healing and accommodation. Usually offered every third year.

BIOL 18a General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
[ sn wi ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, BIOL 18b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come in to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.

BISC 5b Diseases of the Mind
[ sn wi ]

Prerequisite: High school chemistry. May not be taken by students who have completed BIOL 15b without permission of the instructor. Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.

An exploration of biology of several protein folding diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, ALS, and mad cow disease and their effect on normal brain function. Examines the medical and ethical challenges of therapies, drug design, and clinical trials on patients afflicted with these disorders. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 106a Managing Medicine
[ ss wi ]

Prerequisite: HS 104b or LGLS 114a.

Overview of the principles of management within health care, and how public policy decisions can influence the choices of individual healthcare organizations. Through case studies of real hospitals, insurers, and firms, the class examines choices of clinicians and managers aimed at improving health care quality, delivering patient satisfaction, and containing costs. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 112b Perspectives on Child Health and Well-Being
[ ss wi ]

Open only to juniors and seniors.

This is a survey course on child well-being in the United States. It is divided into four sections: child development, child and family context, environment, and programs and services. We will focus on early childhood and school-age child issues with a complementary understanding of adolescence and family issues. The course will consider theoretical perspectives, the science of child development and outcomes, methods for understanding and tackling child public health issues and finally the services and programs available–and needed–for optimal child health. We will primarily use three frames: social determinants of health, social ecological model, and life course perspective. They consider race, gender, geography, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, immigration status, education and other important issues in the larger context of child public health. Usually offered every third year.

JOUR 130b Science Journalism: Covering Crises from the Pandemic to Climate
[ dl ss wi ]

What is the best way to communicate real science in the age of fake news? What role should science journalists play in the face of today’s biggest crises, from the pandemic to climate change? This course explores the hallmarks of sound science and medical writing and how to confront the public-health consequences of misinformation. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 121a Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Examines state, local, and federal level policy making and reform through exploration of the five domains of the social determinants of health (SDOH). Students will research how to write a policy that relates to at least one of the following SDOH domains: 1) economic stability, 2) social and community context, 3) healthcare access and quality, 4) education access and quality, and 5) neighborhood and built environment. For example, a student might explore universal basic income as a policy to support economic stability and examine how this type of policy can impact the health of individuals and communities. This course encourages students to cultivate their research skills for the purposes of creating evidence based policies. Students are also asked to utilize their advocacy and communication skills by engaging in productive civil discourse surrounding their chosen policy. This course is part of the ENACT network. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
[ oc ss wi ]

Provides a basic survey of environmental law. You will learn essential tools of legal reasoning and argument. Through in-class discussion, cases, and reading on environmental history and ethics, we will cover a range of environmental issues, including: climate change, water rights, the Keystone XL pipeline, our national parks and monuments, and much more. You will reflect on the tradeoffs, contradictions, and inequities baked into our core environmental laws, and think about ways to apply those laws in more equitable ways. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 161b Advocacy for Policy Change
[ oc ss wi ]

This hands-on course invites students to address concrete social problems through public policy reform. It provides background in theories, advocacy skills, networks, and key players that drive the legislative process. Focusing on policy change at the statehouse level, students engage with elected officials and community organizations to advance key legislation affecting social welfare, health, education, and economic justice. This course is supported by ENACT, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation. Usually offered every year.

SOC 179a Sociology of Drugs in America
[ ss wi ]

Explores the use, misuse, and control of drugs in the United States, both legal medications and illicit "street" drugs. Examines pressing contemporary debates and dilemmas surrounding drugs in contemporary America, including the opioid crisis. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 81a Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork: Methods and Practice of Anthropological Research
[ oc ss wi ]

Introduces the core methods of ethnography—participant observation, interviewing, note-taking, and analysis—while guiding students to design and carry out their own small-scale research projects in local settings. Emphasis is placed on reflexivity, ethics, and translating lived experience into compelling ethnographic writing and other creative, multimodal forms of representation. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 164b Cancer and Community
[ djw oc ss ]

Addresses the biophysical and sociocultural dimensions of cancer: how can this dreaded disease be both alienating and associated with new forms of solidarity and social connection? We also consider how vulnerability to cancer is mediated by structures of social inequality. Usually offered every second year.

HIS/HSSP 142a Health Activism
[ deis-us oc ss ]

Formerly offered as HSSP 142a.

Examines the history of health activism in the U.S. over the past 125 years, from late 19th century debates over compulsory vaccination to contemporary public health campaigns around gang violence and incarceration. Usually offered every third year.

HSSP 110a Integrative Seminar on Health
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisite: Senior status in the HSSP major.

The capstone course is required for all HSSP seniors and is designed to integrate their academic coursework and fieldwork/laboratory experiences across a range of health-related disciplines. Section topics vary from semester to semester at the discretion of the instructing faculty member. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 118b Viewing Medicine and Health Policy Through the Lens of Literature
[ oc ss ]

Literature–fiction, memoir, poetry, and drama–offers a powerful lens for studying key health policy issues. By harnessing the power of authors' imaginations, insights and compelling stories, students can gain deeper insight into topics including: patient centered care, ethics in research, access to healthcare, obesity and hunger, role of the pharmaceutical and tobacco, aging policy, disability, and clinicians' roles and training. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
[ oc ss wi ]

Provides a basic survey of environmental law. You will learn essential tools of legal reasoning and argument. Through in-class discussion, cases, and reading on environmental history and ethics, we will cover a range of environmental issues, including: climate change, water rights, the Keystone XL pipeline, our national parks and monuments, and much more. You will reflect on the tradeoffs, contradictions, and inequities baked into our core environmental laws, and think about ways to apply those laws in more equitable ways. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 161b Advocacy for Policy Change
[ oc ss wi ]

This hands-on course invites students to address concrete social problems through public policy reform. It provides background in theories, advocacy skills, networks, and key players that drive the legislative process. Focusing on policy change at the statehouse level, students engage with elected officials and community organizations to advance key legislation affecting social welfare, health, education, and economic justice. This course is supported by ENACT, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 145b Circuits and Systems
[ oc sn ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Explores fundamental questions in circuit-and systems-level neuroscience. We will take a systems-level perspective to explore how the brain supports behavior and cognition. The course emphasizes reading and presenting original papers, and writing summaries of original papers. Students will read and discuss seminal and current findings to understand how the brain represents and perceives the external environment, adapts and learns, executes control, and uses internal representations to make decisions and drive behavior. The focus will be on underlying circuits, neural representations, and neurophysiological mechanisms. Emphasis will be on bridging across these levels, and on critical analysis and synthesis. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 100b Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health
[ dl qr ss ]

Priority registration given to HSSP students. Core course for the HSSP major and minor. Open to juniors and seniors only.

Provides an orientation to the science of epidemiology, the quantitative foundation for public health policy. As a comprehensive survey course, students from varying academic backgrounds are introduced to biostatistics and major epidemiological concepts, and provided with training in their application to the study of health and disease in human populations. Case studies examine how environmental, physical, behavioral, psychological, and social factors contribute to the disease burden of populations. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 100b Introduction to Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Population Health
[ dl qr ss ]

Priority registration given to HSSP students. Core course for the HSSP major and minor. Open to juniors and seniors only.

Provides an orientation to the science of epidemiology, the quantitative foundation for public health policy. As a comprehensive survey course, students from varying academic backgrounds are introduced to biostatistics and major epidemiological concepts, and provided with training in their application to the study of health and disease in human populations. Case studies examine how environmental, physical, behavioral, psychological, and social factors contribute to the disease burden of populations. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 14a Genetics and Genomics
[ qr sn ]

Studies fundamentals of genetics, molecular biology and genomics through analytical thinking and problem-solving. Topics include heredity, meiosis, molecular basis of phenotypic variations, and an introduction to tools and techniques used by past and current researchers in genetics and molecular biology. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 15b Cells and Organisms
[ sn ]

Introduces contemporary biology with an emphasis on proteins, cells, and tissues. Topics include molecular interactions and forces essential for the forms and functions of macromolecules, organelles, and cells, the integration of cells into tissues, and cellular metabolic processes. The course is intended to prepare students to understand the biology of everyday life, and to provide a strong foundation for those who continue to study the life sciences. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 16a Evolution and Biodiversity
[ qr sn ]

"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution," the geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky said famously. Evolution is the unifying theory of biology because it explains both the unity and diversity of life. This course examines processes and patterns of evolution. Specific topics include the history of Earth and life, evolution and its mechanisms, phylogenetic trees, and the diversity of life. We will take time to read Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and end with a discussion of human evolution and the impact we are having on the planet. Usually offered every fall.

BIOL 42a Physiology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 15b.

Introduces basic physiological principles. Topics include the physiology of the human nervous system, sensory system, the musculoskeletal system, endocrine systems, cardiovascular system, respiratory systems, digestion and absorption, reproduction, and renal system. Usually offered every year. 

SOC 83a Sociology of Body and Health
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 189a in prior years.

Explores theoretical considerations of the body as a cultural phenomenon intersecting with health, healing, illness, disease, and medicine. Focuses on how gender, race, class, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape individual and population health. Usually offered every year.

SOC 84a Health, Community, and Society
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 191a in prior years.

Reviews sociological theories of medicine as an institution of social control. Explores the relationships between social inequalities and health disparities. Examines how race and gender ideologies are embedded in medical and public health practice and knowledge production. Usually offered every year.

HS 104b American Health Care
[ ss ]

Examines and critically analyzes the United States healthcare system, emphasizing the major trends and issues that have led to the current sense of "crisis." In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course will establish a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to health care reform. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 114a American Health Care: Law and Policy
[ ss ]

Closed to first-year students.

Focuses on individual rights, highlights how our laws and policies affect American health care. Traces the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship; explores access issues, including whether health care is or should be a fundamental right; assesses the quality of care and the impact of malpractice; and examines the cost of having (or not having) adequate health insurance. Concludes with options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

HSSP 110a Integrative Seminar on Health
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisite: Senior status in the HSSP major.

The capstone course is required for all HSSP seniors and is designed to integrate their academic coursework and fieldwork/laboratory experiences across a range of health-related disciplines. Section topics vary from semester to semester at the discretion of the instructing faculty member. Refer to the Schedule of Classes for specific topics. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 89a Internship and Analysis

Prerequisites: Open only to HSSP majors who have pursued a health-related internship with the approval of the Internship Instructor.

This course for declared HSSP majors combines: 1) a supervised health-related internship, and 2) a weekly, classroom-based discussion during the Internship Seminar. The internship placement must be clearly health-related and take place within a healthcare organization whose work involves science (e.g., natural sciences and medicine), society (e.g., the social sciences and public health), and/or policy (e.g., law, politics, economics, and organizations). The internship must be arranged in consultation with and approved in writing by the HSSP Internship Instructor BEFORE the internship begins. Further details available at: https://www.brandeis.edu/health-science-society-policy/degrees/hands-on-experience/index.html. Students are required to attend a weekly 1.5 hour section, keep a journal, write several short papers, and prepare several presentations - all of which requires reflection on and systematic analysis of the internship experience. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 98a Independent Research in Health: Science, Society, and Policy

Open to juniors and seniors only.

Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty or faculty sponsor approved by HSSP Chair, students conduct an intensive laboratory- or field-based project that culminates in a twenty- to twenty-five-page research paper. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 99d Senior Research

Open to seniors only.

Under the direction of a member of the HSSP faculty, students conduct a year-long, original, health-related research project (laboratory- or field-based) and write a thesis.

HSSP 137a Contemporary Issues in Public Health in the Yucatan

Offered through the Brandeis in Mérida: Public Health in the Yucatán Peninsula summer study abroad program.

An increased diversity in the socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial composition of our communities has presented health care providers with many new challenges when responding effectively to patients’ healthcare well-being. This course will expand on these, while providing the knowledge of the basics about healthcare in the Mexico and in Yucatan, examining the public and private health care systems of Mexico, mainstream and traditional care in the urban and rural setting, as well as a study of local prevailing health issues, from a cross-cultural competency to understanding the patients' expectations from their own cultural context. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 161b Advocacy for Policy Change
[ oc ss wi ]

This hands-on course invites students to address concrete social problems through public policy reform. It provides background in theories, advocacy skills, networks, and key players that drive the legislative process. Focusing on policy change at the statehouse level, students engage with elected officials and community organizations to advance key legislation affecting social welfare, health, education, and economic justice. This course is supported by ENACT, the Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation. Usually offered every year.

WGS 89a When Violence Hits Home: Internship in Domestic Violence

Combines fieldwork in domestic and sexual violence prevention programs with a fortnightly seminar exploring cultural and interpersonal facets of violence from a feminist perspective. Topics include theories, causes and prevention of rape, battering, child abuse, and animal abuse. Internships provide practical experience in local organizations such as rape crisis, battered women's violence prevention, and child abuse prevention programs. Usually offered every fall.

ANTH 116a Human Osteology
[ sn ss ]

Anthropology majors have priority for enrollment. Students wishing to enroll during early registration should waitlist themselves.

Skeletal anatomy and application of forensic techniques to archaeological problems. Hands-on laboratory sessions focus on methods of estimating age at the time of death, determining sex, assessing skeletal variability, detecting instances of bone remodeling, and identifying cultural and natural modifications to bony tissue. Case studies exemplify bioarchaeological approaches. Usually offered every second year.

BCHM 88b Introductory Biochemistry
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: One year organic chemistry with laboratory, BIOL 14a, and BIOL 15b. Does not meet the requirements for the majors in Biochemistry or Chemistry, and does not serve as a prerequisite for most upper level BCHM, CHEM and CBIO classes.

Topics include protein and nucleic acid structure; metabolism of biologically important compounds; formation and utilization of "energy-rich" compounds; introduction to enzyme mechanism; comparison of basic biochemical and chemical processes; and biochemical basis of disease. Offered primarily for majors outside of Biochemistry and Chemistry. Usually offered every year.

BCHM 100a Advanced Introductory Biochemistry
[ qr sn ]

Prerequisite: One year of organic chemistry with laboratory.

Topics include protein and nucleic acid structure; chemical basis of enzyme-catalyzed reaction mechanisms and enzyme kinetics; the chemical logic of metabolic pathways, including glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation; and regulation of enzymatic pathways through allosteric control. Usually offered every year in multiple sections.

BIBC 126b Molecular Mechanisms of Disease
[ sn wi ]

Prerequisite: BCHM 88b or BCHM 100a. May not be taken for credit by students who took BIOL 126b in prior years.

Explores biochemical changes in proteins, enzymes and metabolic pathways that underlie human diseases. Examines molecular mechanisms for a variety of diseases, with a particular focus on molecular mechanisms for therapies. Draws heavily on current literature. Usually offered every second year.

BIOL 14a Genetics and Genomics
[ qr sn ]

Studies fundamentals of genetics, molecular biology and genomics through analytical thinking and problem-solving. Topics include heredity, meiosis, molecular basis of phenotypic variations, and an introduction to tools and techniques used by past and current researchers in genetics and molecular biology. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 15b Cells and Organisms
[ sn ]

Introduces contemporary biology with an emphasis on proteins, cells, and tissues. Topics include molecular interactions and forces essential for the forms and functions of macromolecules, organelles, and cells, the integration of cells into tissues, and cellular metabolic processes. The course is intended to prepare students to understand the biology of everyday life, and to provide a strong foundation for those who continue to study the life sciences. Usually offered every semester.

BIOL 16a Evolution and Biodiversity
[ qr sn ]

"Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution," the geneticist Theodosius Dobzhansky said famously. Evolution is the unifying theory of biology because it explains both the unity and diversity of life. This course examines processes and patterns of evolution. Specific topics include the history of Earth and life, evolution and its mechanisms, phylogenetic trees, and the diversity of life. We will take time to read Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and end with a discussion of human evolution and the impact we are having on the planet. Usually offered every fall.

BIOL 18a General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
[ sn wi ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a, BIOL 18b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come in to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 18b General Biology Laboratory for Biology Majors
[ oc sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 15b, sophomore standing, and a declared biology major. Yields full-course credit. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.

Provides firsthand experience with modern molecular biology techniques and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in molecular and cellular biology including applications of biochemical techniques. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 42a Physiology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 15b.

Introduces basic physiological principles. Topics include the physiology of the human nervous system, sensory system, the musculoskeletal system, endocrine systems, cardiovascular system, respiratory systems, digestion and absorption, reproduction, and renal system. Usually offered every year. 

BIOL 42b Human Physiology Lab

Prerequisite: BIOL 42a. BIOL 42b may be taken concurrently with BIOL 42a. Yields half-course credit.

Students will be introduced to laboratory techniques used to study human physiology including electromyography, electrocardiography, exhaled gas analysis, and spirometry. Students will set up equipment, make predictions, record results and analyze how their observations reveal physiological principles. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 43b Human Anatomy
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: BIOL 15b and 16a. Yields six semester-hour credits towards rate of work and graduation.

Focuses broadly on vertebrate anatomy, with an emphasis on human anatomy. The gross and microscopic morphology of each organ system is considered in depth. Comparative anatomy, embryology, and the relationship between structure and function are explored. Lectures, laboratory dissections, and clinical cases are used to illustrate the anatomy of vertebrates. Usually offered every spring.

BIOL 44a Exercise Physiology
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: BIOL 42a or BIOL 43b. BIOL 42a or 43b may be taken concurrently.

Examines the physiology and anatomy behind exercise science looking specifically at how the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems respond to physical activity. We will consider how the body reacts differently depending on activity type, environment and age. Usually offered every second year.

BIOL 55b Diet and Health
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: BIOL 15b must be successfully completed prior to taking BIOL 55b.

 Explores the current evidence-based concepts linking foods and nutrition to health and prevention of chronic diseases. We also examine how specific nutrients--carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fiber and water--influence our well-being. We will explore the concept of “Food as Medicine,” and optimal, planet-friendly food choices and dietary patterns for prevention and treatment of chronic diseases. Usually offered every second year. 

BIOL 72a Genetics Principles and Applications
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: BIOL 14a.

Extends from the basic principles students learned in BIOL 14a Genetics and Genomics to give them a deeper understanding of genetics, including molecular genetics, transmission genetics, population genetics, and genomics. Usually offered every second year.

BIOL 100b Advanced Cell Biology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.

An advanced course on cell biology. Topics include structure and organization of the cell, principles of signal transduction, and cell division and proliferation. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 125a Immunology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL14a and BIOL 15b. CHEM 25a is recommended. May not be taken for credit by students who took BIOL 70a in prior years.

Topics include properties and functions of cells involved in innate and adaptive immunity; genes, structure and function of immunoglobulins, B cell receptors and T cell receptors; lymphocyte differentiation; genetic regulation; MHC restriction; cell interactions and signaling; pathogen immunity (bacteria, viruses) and vaccines; tolerance and autoimmunity. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 128a Human Genetics
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and either BIOL 15b or BIOL 16a.

Survey of topics, including monogenic and multifactorial conditions, gene mapping, molecular methodology in genetics and genomics, population genetics, cancer genetics, and genetics of development. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 132a General Microbiology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b. May not be taken for credit by students who took BIOL 71a in prior years.

Topics include the physiology and properties of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms; microbial nutrition, metabolism, growth; bacterial genetics; horizontal gene transfer; microbial pathogenesis; immunity; antibiotics and other means of microbial control. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 160b Human Reproductive and Developmental Biology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.

Course deals with hormonal, cellular, and molecular aspects of gametogenesis, fertilization, pregnancy, and birth. Pathological and abnormal variations that occur and the available medical technologies for intervention, correction, and facilitation of these processes are discussed. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 172b Growth Control and Cancer
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b, and CHEM 25a.

Investigates the research that has revealed the molecular basis of cancer development and cancer treatments, including the cellular and molecular mechanisms that govern cell growth, differentiation, and survival in normal cells, and how this regulation is disrupted in cancer. Usually offered every second year.

CBIO 106b Chemical Biology: Medicinal Enzymology
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: Satisfactory grade in BIOL 14a, BIOL 15b, CHEM 25a and 25b, and BCHM 100a or the equivalent.

Introduces students to the conceptual framework and experimental methods in medicinal chemistry. Topics include mechanisms of drug-target interactions, strategies for lead optimization and issues in metabolism, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Readings drawn from textbooks and the original scientific literature. Usually offered every second year.

ENGR 12b Engineering Instrumentation and Experimentation
[ sn ]

Instructor permission required.

The engineering design and analysis process relies on Inmeasurements and data collected from the physical world. In this hands-on, project-based course, students will be introduced to concepts, mathematics, hardware, software, methods, and mindsets for making measurements, collecting and interpreting data, and conducting engineering experiments using the scientific method, with a focus on biomedical engineering applications. Following an orientation to the tradeoffs among precision, accuracy, reliability, error, cost, and accessibility in measurement, students will explore topics including electronic circuits and sensors, computer-based data acquisition, data visualization and representation, and experimental design. In the first half of the semester, students will conduct scaffolded projects applying concepts learned in class to measuring properties of the human body such as temperature, force, electrical activity, and walking gait. Students will then collaborate on a team project to design and build more elaborate biomedical instrumentation to collect and analyze data such as pulse, blood oxygen levels, blood pressure, or pulmonary function. Throughout, we will engage with the ethics of measurement and experimentation, explore ideas of frugal engineering, and learn social science research methods relevant to engineering design and analysis such as surveys and interviews. Usually offered every year.

ENVS 20a Introduction to Climate Change and Health
[ sn ss ]

Introduces students to various public health dimensions of climate change. Students will engage with tools for monitoring and evaluating climate and human health relationships while investigating more resilient measures for existing mitigation and adaptation strategies. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 140b Principles of Neuroscience
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: Sophomore standing, BIOL 15b, and one additional BIOL, BCHM, NBIO, or NPSY course. Students will also be required to demonstrate mastery of precalculus math, the physics of simple electrical circuits, and selected concepts from introductory chemistry in order to progress in the course.

Examines the fundamental principles of cellular, molecular, systems and cognitive neuroscience. Topics include excitability, synaptic transmission, sensory and motor systems, learning, neural circuits underlying behavior, and neuropsychiatric diseases. This self-paced course is time intensive and students may need to attend additional quiz sessions as well as lectures and weekly sections. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 145b Circuits and Systems
[ oc sn ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Explores fundamental questions in circuit-and systems-level neuroscience. We will take a systems-level perspective to explore how the brain supports behavior and cognition. The course emphasizes reading and presenting original papers, and writing summaries of original papers. Students will read and discuss seminal and current findings to understand how the brain represents and perceives the external environment, adapts and learns, executes control, and uses internal representations to make decisions and drive behavior. The focus will be on underlying circuits, neural representations, and neurophysiological mechanisms. Emphasis will be on bridging across these levels, and on critical analysis and synthesis. Usually offered every year.

NBIO 146a The Neurobiology of Human Disease
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: Any of the following BIOL 100b, BIOL103b, BIOL 105b, BIOL 122a, BIOL 128a, NBIO 140b, or NBIO 143b.

A lecture- and literature-based examination of the molecular, cellular, and circuit level mechanisms underlying neurological and psychiatric diseases. Usually offered every second year.

NBIO 149b Molecular Signaling Pathways of the Neuron
[ sn ]

Prerequisites: NBIO 140b or NBIO 240a.

Covers the essentials of signaling in the nervous system (horomones, neurotransmitters, neuromodulators) with an emphasis on molecular mechanisms. Course is is based on reading papers from the primary literature. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 141a Stress, Physiology, and Health
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: one of NPSY 11b, NBIO 146a, PSYC 38a, or NPSY 199a.

About a third of all diseases in western society are related to stress. The study of psychosocial determinants of health is a growing field, in which biological and psychological research is combined to understand pathways between CNS processes and health. We will study these processes in this course. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 199a Human Neuropsychology
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: Psych 10a or Math 10a and at least sophomore standing.

Designed as an introduction to human neuropsychology. Topics include cerebral dominance, neuroanatomical mapping, and localization of function, with special reference to language, memory, and related cognitive function. Usually offered every year.

BISC 2a Critters of the Microbial World
[ sn ]

We live in a microbial world. This course will address the role of how microbial interactions with other microbes, plants and humans shaped our world. Most of the time, these interactions are beneficial, but the principle of pathogenicity will also be covered. Classes will build up from basic microbiology, cell biology and evolution concepts and advance to mechanistic insights of how simple organisms can create complex ecosystems. We will discuss microbial interactions that have been known for centuries, long before any modern concept of the cell was established, and the current state-of-the-art knowledge.

This course will be divided into 3 modules: 1) broad conceptual background of what are microbes, the historical context of their discovery, and how to detect them; 2) development of critical reading and writing skills, translating scientific literature to popular news articles; 3) hands-on expertise in building simple microscope systems. Identify and describe environmental microbial life in the classroom through oral presentations.

The target public for this course is every student with the desire to understand and communicate about microbes, regardless of scientific background and major requirements. Usually offered every spring.

BISC 5a Pathogens and Human Disease
[ sn ]

Prerequisite: High school chemistry and biology. Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.

Recent advances in public health have led to declines in the mortality from infectious diseases. But surprisingly outbreaks, epidemics, pandemics, and other diseases continue to evade public health defenses and ravage populations around the globe. This course explores how external factors like environmental alteration, climate change, and human activity interact to shape disease transmission and emergence. Students will learn fundamental concepts of infectious disease spread, including basic concepts of disease ecology, transmission, virulence, immunity, vector, and host susceptibility in the population. Then focus shifts to how natural and human-driven activities (e.g., climate change, deforestation, travel, and development) affect disease transmission and emergence. Examples of diseases to be covered include COVID, influenza, Ebola, malaria, SARS, avian flu, etc. Students will draw on relevant case studies to explore how threats from previous outbreaks may shift under a changing climate, rising globalization, and environmental degradation. Usually offered every year.

BISC 5b Diseases of the Mind
[ sn wi ]

Prerequisite: High school chemistry. May not be taken by students who have completed BIOL 15b without permission of the instructor. Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.

An exploration of biology of several protein folding diseases including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, ALS, and mad cow disease and their effect on normal brain function. Examines the medical and ethical challenges of therapies, drug design, and clinical trials on patients afflicted with these disorders. Usually offered every second year.

BISC 10b Reproductive Health
[ deis-us sn ]

Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.

We will explore the molecular, genetic, medical, and clinical basis of several diseases impacting women's health. We will investigate viral structure and assembly, model clinical procedures for diagnosis, and begin to develop an understanding of how governmental policy is designed surrounding these concerns. Usually offered every year.

BISC 11a Biodiversity Connections
[ sn ]

Does not meet the requirements for the major in Biology.

Explores the evolution, extinction, and conservation of biodiversity. We will focus on the interactions among the world's biodiversity inclusive of humans. Usually offered every summer.

CHIN 165a Chinese for Life Science: Study of Traditional Chinese Medicinal Herbs with Contemporary Science
[ fl oc ]

Prerequisite: CHIN 105b or equivalent. Does not meet the requirement in the school of humanities.

Helps students increase Chinese proficiency in the fields of life science such biology, biochemistry, neuroscience, and medicine, especially the skills of reading life science papers in Chinese; and widens and deepens students' knowledge of life science by learning the most important discoveries of Chinese scientists in applying contemporary western science to the studies of traditional medicinal herbs. Although this course is not just limited to biology, neuroscience, or chemistry majors, good knowledge of life science will be essential to success. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 11b Introduction to Behavioral Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Data and theories regarding current conceptions of brain-behavior relationships. Begins with an introduction to neural systems as classically defined (sensory, association, motor, autonomic), and moves on to examination of the biological underpinnings of various behaviors, from those relating to basic drives (reproduction, feeding) to those with a cognitive flavor. Throughout, the accent is on interactions between organisms and environment (learning). Usually offered every year.

NPSY 12a Perception: Human, Animal, and Machine
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

Examines the human senses, emphasizing sight and hearing, studied from standpoints of anatomy, physiology, and psychophysics. Insights from the study of special observers, including developmentally immature humans, members of nonhuman species, and people with abnormal sensory systems. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 16a Motor Control
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or equivalents, and at least sophomore standing, or permission of the instructor. May not be taken for credit by those who have previously taken NPSY 116A.

Surveys control of vertebrate posture and movement from various perspectives including muscle properties, reflex organization, central pattern generation, spatial representations, learning, and development. Emphasizes research in physiology, psychology, biomechanics, and computational theory. Usually offered every second year.

NPSY 17a Hand and Brain
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.

The specialized developments of the human hand and the parallel developments of the brain, tool use, sign language, and language acquisition are discussed. The control of voluntary movements is a key focus. Includes laboratory demonstrations. Usually offered every year.

NPSY 22b Introduction to Cognitive Neuroscience
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a or permission of the instructor.

This course explores how the human brain makes the human mind. It covers neural and behavioral dimensions of attention, memory and learning, perception, motor control, plasticity and planning. Experimental approaches and neuroimaging are emphasized. Usually offered every year.

PSYC 15a Biological Bases of Motivation
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or MATH 10a. Note that for HSSP candidates, this course fulfills the Focal Area A requirement for the BA degree, but not for the BS degree.

Topics include hunger, thirst, migration, and sexual behavior. Evidence from biology, neurophysiology, and endocrinology is evaluated. Usually offered every year.

AAAS/HIS 131a African Americans and Health
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took AAAS 131a in prior years.

Examines African American health experiences from the 17th century to the present, with a focus on the strategies and practices African Americans have employed to improve their health. Explores the historical development of 'racial' diseases and inequalities. Topics include: slave health, the black hospital movement, eugenics, midwifery, and the crack and opioid epidemics. Usually offered every second year.

AAAS/HIS 154b Race, Science, and Society
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took AAAS 154b in prior years.

Traces scientific concepts of race from the 18th century to today, interrogating their uses and transformations over time. It explores how science has defined race, how people have challenged such conceptions, and alternate ways for understanding human difference. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 111a Aging in Cross-Cultural Perspective
[ djw nw ss wi ]

Examines the meanings and social arrangements given to aging in a diversity of societies, including the U.S., India, Japan and China. Key themes include: the diverse ways people envision and organize the life course, scholarly and popular models of successful aging, the medicalization of aging in the U.S., cultural perspectives on dementia, and the ways national aging policies and laws are profoundly influenced by particular cultural models. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 125a Abnormality in Medicine
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Prerequisite: Open to sophomores and above.

Focuses on how societal values shape desires and norms around the body. Students will engage with work from across the humanities and social sciences that highlights how social differences like race/ethnicity, gender, and dis/ability shape possibilities and aspirations for a good or a normal life. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 127a Medicine, Body, and Culture
[ djw nw ss ]

Examines main areas of inquiry in medical anthropology, including medicine as a sociocultural construct, political and economic dimensions of suffering and health, patients and healers in comparative medical systems. Usually offered every year.

ANTH 140b Critical Perspectives in Global Health
[ deis-us djw nw ss ]

What value systems and other sociocultural factors underlie global public health policy? How can anthropology shed light on debates about the best ways to improve health outcomes? This course examines issues from malaria to HIV/AIDS, from tobacco cessation to immunization. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 142b Global Pandemics: History, Society, and Policy
[ djw nw oc ss ]

Takes a biosocial approach to pandemics like HIV/AIDS, SARS, Ebola, and COVID-19 as shaped by culture, economics, politics, and history. Discussion focuses on how gender, sexuality, religion, and folk practices shape pandemic situations. Usually offered every fourth year.

ANTH 154a Culture and Mental Illness
[ ss wi ]

Without underestimating the importance of biological causes and treatments, this course challenges the hegemony of bio-medical models in psychiatry by seeking to conceptualize emotional problems and mental illness as historically situated and culturally constructed. Examines how factors related to political circumstances, social institutions, religious belief systems, socio-economic status, and ethnic background participate in shaping forms of distress and the ways they are dealt with in various socio-cultural settings. The course will also consider alternative therapies such as art therapy, community-based treatments, and culturally specific approaches to emotional healing and accommodation. Usually offered every third year.

ANTH 164a Medicine and Religion
[ djw nw ss ]

Considers the convergence of two cultural spheres that are normally treated as separate: medicine and religion. The course will examine their overlap, such as in healing and dying, as well as points of contention through historical and contemporary global ethnographies. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 164b Cancer and Community
[ djw oc ss ]

Addresses the biophysical and sociocultural dimensions of cancer: how can this dreaded disease be both alienating and associated with new forms of solidarity and social connection? We also consider how vulnerability to cancer is mediated by structures of social inequality. Usually offered every second year.

HIS/HSSP 142a Health Activism
[ deis-us oc ss ]

Formerly offered as HSSP 142a.

Examines the history of health activism in the U.S. over the past 125 years, from late 19th century debates over compulsory vaccination to contemporary public health campaigns around gang violence and incarceration. Usually offered every third year.

HSSP 114b Racial/Ethnic and Gender Inequalities in Health and Health Care
[ ss ]

An examination of the epidemiological patterns of health status by race/ethnicity, gender, and socio-economic status. Addresses current theories and critiques explaining disparities in health status, access, quality, and conceptual models, frameworks, and interventions for eliminating inequalities. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 115b Perspectives on Behavioral Health: Alcohol, Drugs, and Mental Health
[ ss ]

A survey course which focuses on the science and biological basis of substance use and mental disorders, and linkages between behavioral health and general health. Consequences of behavioral health on society are discussed. Policy responses and the treatment system are assessed for their effectiveness. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 152b Introduction to Demography: Social Determinants of Health and Wellbeing
[ ss ]

Explores the social and health consequences of population dynamics within the U.S. and globally that affect wellbeing of families and nations including poverty and inequality, maternal and child health, aging, fertility and epidemiological transitions, workforce, immigration among other policy concerns. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 182a Food, Justice and Health
[ deis-us ss ]

Recommended prerequisite: SOC 83a or SOC 84a

Introduces food as a public health issue, including "food is medicine" perspectives. Explores movements for food justice and food sovereignty, especially as a way of understanding how histories of inequity have shaped today's food system. Considers policies, programs, and practices to improve health equity. Usually offered every second year.

NEJS 27a Abortion, Reproduction, and Contraception in Jewish Law and Ethics
[ hum ]

Challenges the usual framing of abortion in the U.S. as a conflict between religious and secular, or murder versus personal autonomy, and challenges the predominant Christian framings of ethical considerations for abortion, by introducing Jewish sources from the bible until today. Students will gain detailed, critical, and historical information about how Jewish law and Jewish individuals have deliberated about ending pregnancies. The primary sources, along with guest speakers and academic scholarship, will empower students to weigh and propose alternative framings of abortion and reproduction in the U.S. Topics include: Is a fetus considered alive? What grounds do Jewish ethics offer for abortion? How does a pregnant woman or person’s mental and physical health affect a decision for abortion? Do Jewish ethics recognize rape to be grounds for abortion? Who should be the decision-maker on abortion? How should genetic testing affect decisions to terminate pregnancies? How greatly do modern Jewish legal voices range on abortion? Special one-time offering, fall 2022.

NEJS 184b Disability Cultures: Art, Film and Literature of People with Disabilities
[ deis-us djw hum oc ]

Explores cultural representations of disability in Israel, Europe, and the US. By focusing on literature, film, dance, and visual art, it explores physical, mental, and emotional disability experiences, and their relations to gender, sexuality, nationalism, and identity politics. Usually offered every second year.

PHIL 23b Biomedical Ethics
[ hum ]

An examination of ethical issues that arise in a biomedical context, such as the issues of abortion, euthanasia, eugenics, lying to patients, and the right to health care. The relevance of ethical theory to such issues will be considered. Usually offered every second year.

PHIL 123b Neuroethics
[ hum ]

Focuses on the philosophical and ethical implications that arise from advances in neuroscience. We will investigate questions like: What are the evolutionary origins of moral judgment? Does evolutionary theory shed light on morality? Do our moral motivations derive from reason or pre-reflective intuition? Do psychopaths have moral responsibility? Do we have free will? Is there an obligation to enhance ourselves? Should drugs be used to enhance mental functioning? Is it moral to grow human organs in animals for purposes of transplantation? Usually offered every third year.

PSYC 33a Developmental Psychology
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a.

An examination of normal child development from conception through adolescence. Course will focus on theoretical issues and processes of development with an emphasis on how biological and environmental influences interact. Usually offered every year.

PSYC 36b Adolescence and the Transition to Maturity
[ oc ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a.

Examines the core issues (identity, intimacy, sexuality, spirituality, etc.) that define development during adolescence and the transition to young adulthood. Heavy emphasis is placed on integrating research and theory in understanding adolescence and young adulthood. Usually offered every year.

PSYC 37a The Psychology of Adult Development and Aging
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a.

Describes the sensory, cognitive, personality, health, and social changes that occur during early, middle, and later adulthood. Emphasis is on pathways to successful development and healthy aging in the context of a shifting balance of gains and losses in psychological and physical functioning. Usually offered every year.

PSYC 38a Health Psychology
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a.

An examination of the social and psychological factors important for well-being, physical health, and effective medical care. Psychological perspectives are applied to such topics as health promotion and compromise, the stress-illness relationship, social relations, chronic illness, death and dying, and health care provider and patient interactions. Usually offered every year.

PSYC 130b Life Span Development: Early and Middle Adulthood
[ dl oc sn ss ]

Prerequisites: PSYC 10a, PSYC 51a, and PSYC 52a, plus one of the following: PSYC 31a, PSYC 33a, PSYC 36b or PSYC 37a, or permission of the instructor.

Seminar on advanced topics in life span developmental theory and methodology. Substantive emphasis will be on cognitive, personality, social, and physical changes that occur in early adulthood and midlife. Usually offered every second year.

PSYC 142a Sport Psychology: A Health Psychology Perspective
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisite: NBIO 140b, NPSY 11b, NPSY 199a, or PSYC 38a, and permission of the instructor.

Applies health psychology to topics central to sport psychology and relevant to athletes, athletes' performance, such as optimal arousal levels, team cohesion, injury rehabilitation, imagery, burnout, and goal setting. Usually offered every second year.

PSYC 169b Developmental Psychopathology
[ sn ss ]

Prerequisites: PSYC 32a, 33a, or 36a, or graduate standing.

An overview of current research and approaches in the field of developmental psychopathology, including how biological, psychological, and social contextual factors interact to influence developmental trajectories, mental health risk, and resilience across the lifespan. Usually offered every semester.

SOC 83a Sociology of Body and Health
[ deis-us ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 189a in prior years.

Explores theoretical considerations of the body as a cultural phenomenon intersecting with health, healing, illness, disease, and medicine. Focuses on how gender, race, class, religion, and other dimensions of social organization shape individual and population health. Usually offered every year.

SOC 84a Health, Community, and Society
[ ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 191a in prior years.

Reviews sociological theories of medicine as an institution of social control. Explores the relationships between social inequalities and health disparities. Examines how race and gender ideologies are embedded in medical and public health practice and knowledge production. Usually offered every year.

SOC 133b Sociology of Reproduction
[ ss ]

Explores reproduction as a social and biological set of meanings and processes through which racial, national, gender, and socio-economic inequalities have been amplified, reconfigured and contested across time and place. It locates individual reproductive experiences and outcomes in regional, national and global contexts. Usually offered every year.

SOC 150a HIV/AIDS, Society, and Politics
[ ss ]

Uses social science research and film in historical perspective to explore the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. Topics include gender and sexuality, global inequalities, social movements, the "AIDS industry," and public policy related to HIV/AIDS. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 179a Sociology of Drugs in America
[ ss wi ]

Explores the use, misuse, and control of drugs in the United States, both legal medications and illicit "street" drugs. Examines pressing contemporary debates and dilemmas surrounding drugs in contemporary America, including the opioid crisis. Usually offered every second year.

SOC 187a Race, Health and Medicine in the African Diaspora
[ ss ]

Offers critical perspectives on race, medicine, health, and illness in the African Diaspora. Specifically, we explore how intertwining ideologies of race and gender have contributed to the (mis)management of illness and health in populations of African descent from the periods of slavery and colonization until the present day. Usually offered every year.

SOC 194a Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
[ ss ]

Examines sociological approaches to mental health and illness. The focus is on the history, definitions, social responses and consequences of conceptualizations and treatment of mental illness. This will include some discussion of social factors related to mental disorder and types of mental health treatment. Usually offered every year.

WGS 128b Transgender Health and Wellness
[ deis-us ss ]

Explores transgender health and wellness, through a depathologizing, decolonizing, intersectional, and gender-affirming approach. Topics include gender health across the lifespan, social determinants of gender health, transgender representation in the media, strategies to address health inequities within transgender communities. Usually offered every year.

WGS 151a The Social Politics of Sexual Education
[ deis-us ss ]

Covers the history and sociocultural politics of sexual education in the Global North with a strong focus on the U.S. Using queer, feminist, disability, and race theory, it examines what shapes "sex" and "education." Usually offered every third year.

WGS 156b Sexuality and Healthcare
[ deis-us ss ]

Considers how ideas about gender and sexuality affect healthcare, with a particular focus on queer and trans communities. Examines the creation of "the homosexual" and "the transsexual" as medicalized categories; the recent expansion of access to healthcare; and medicine's role in constructing certain kinds of bodies. Usually offered every second year.

WGS 182b Feminist Bioethics: Social Justice and Equity in Health Care
[ deis-us ss ]

Examines emergence of feminist bioethics, current issues of ethical debate related to human health, and the historical context of the field. Real-world applications of feminist ethical analysis are explored through problem-based learning, discussion, reading, research, and written, oral, and visual communication. Usually offered every year.

HS 104b American Health Care
[ ss ]

Examines and critically analyzes the United States healthcare system, emphasizing the major trends and issues that have led to the current sense of "crisis." In addition to providing a historical perspective, this course will establish a context for analyzing the current, varied approaches to health care reform. Usually offered every year.

HS 236a International Health Systems and Development

Provides students with the framework to understand how health systems are organized and to understand what affects their performance. Students also will be able to describe key features of health systems; how health system performance is measured; and how lessons from other countries can be applied to their own countries. The course examines different health system frameworks, how to use these frameworks to ask health system questions, different aspects of health systems, how national health systems differ, and what measures are being implemented in different countries to improve their health system performance and eventually health outcomes. The course will also take a broader look at the relationships between health policy, economic policy and development policy, examining some of the main economic and development theories shaping global policies and also examine the international institutions and political dynamics in health policy making. Usually offered every year.

HS 412b Substance Use and Societal Consequences

Provides an overview of the use and abuse of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Examines the consequences of abuse from a societal perspective and reviews types of policy approaches to dealing with the problems associated with substance abuse. Specific topics include an overview of biological and clinical aspects, theories of addictive behavior, epidemiology, medical and economic consequences, prevention and education, and policy approaches including taxation and regulation. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 102a Introduction to Global Health
[ ss ]

A primer on major issues in health care in developing nations. Topics include the natural history of disease and levels of prevention; epidemiological transitions; health disparities; and determinants of health including culture, social context, and behavior. Also covers: infectious and chronic disease incidence and prevalence; the role of nutrition, education, reproductive trends, and poverty; demographic transition including aging and urbanization; the structure and financing of health systems; and the globalization of health. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 104b Health Economics
[ ss ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a.

Emphasizes the concepts and tools of health economics applicable to both developed and developing countries. Topics include: cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis, the demand for health services, insurance and risk, managed care, provider reimbursement, national health insurance, and an overview of health care systems in other countries. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 106a Managing Medicine
[ ss wi ]

Prerequisite: HS 104b or LGLS 114a.

Overview of the principles of management within health care, and how public policy decisions can influence the choices of individual healthcare organizations. Through case studies of real hospitals, insurers, and firms, the class examines choices of clinicians and managers aimed at improving health care quality, delivering patient satisfaction, and containing costs. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 107b Health Care Technology: Evaluating Emerging Medical Services, Drugs, and Devices
[ ss ]

Prior completion of HS 104b or LGLS 114a is recommended but not required.

An overview of the role of medical technology in the U.S. health care system, with a focus on the impact of prescription drugs, new clinical treatments, and artificial intelligence on the health care system and populations. The course includes basics of technology evaluation including cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 112b Perspectives on Child Health and Well-Being
[ ss wi ]

Open only to juniors and seniors.

This is a survey course on child well-being in the United States. It is divided into four sections: child development, child and family context, environment, and programs and services. We will focus on early childhood and school-age child issues with a complementary understanding of adolescence and family issues. The course will consider theoretical perspectives, the science of child development and outcomes, methods for understanding and tackling child public health issues and finally the services and programs available–and needed–for optimal child health. We will primarily use three frames: social determinants of health, social ecological model, and life course perspective. They consider race, gender, geography, socioeconomic status, sexuality, age, immigration status, education and other important issues in the larger context of child public health. Usually offered every third year.

HSSP 116a Health Workforce Policy and Practice
[ ss ]

Although physicians and nurses may be most widely recognized, the direct care clinical workforce includes millions of others working in a wide range of clinical and support roles in community-based services, public health, and health care delivery settings. The course will focus on understanding the supply of healthcare professionals and workers, the demand for and employment of labor across the continuum of health care services, and how health teams are working together to meet population health goals and challenges. The course will address workforce diversity and the lack of equitable care for populations who face racial, ethnic, language, disability-related and other barriers to care. It will examine the stresses and burnout faced by health care workers and teams and discuss potential strategies to recruiting health workers in a time of stress and concern in the wake of the pandemic. Students will work in small groups on projects to examine best practices in workforce recruitment, retention, and team function. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 118b Viewing Medicine and Health Policy Through the Lens of Literature
[ oc ss ]

Literature–fiction, memoir, poetry, and drama–offers a powerful lens for studying key health policy issues. By harnessing the power of authors' imaginations, insights and compelling stories, students can gain deeper insight into topics including: patient centered care, ethics in research, access to healthcare, obesity and hunger, role of the pharmaceutical and tobacco, aging policy, disability, and clinicians' roles and training. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 128a Disability Policy
[ ss ]

Focuses on exploring the principles and provisions of disability service programs in the United States and on developing an understanding of the complexities surrounding the financial, ethical, and legal issues related to current disability policies and the consequences of these policies. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 135a Public Health: U.S. History and Policy
[ deis-us ss ]

Prerequisite: Sophomore standing or higher.

With an interdisciplinary focus on social justice, this seminar examines the complex history of efforts in the U.S. to improve our population's health. Together we will explore the success and failures by comparing and contrasting the responses of individuals, government, and the medical profession to epidemics of smallpox, cholera, HIV/AIDs, and COVID-19, as well as “behavior-based” epidemics like tobacco, obesity, and opioids. Key topics include promoting sanitation/environmental health, managing chronic/infectious diseases, and enhancing emergency preparedness, as well as examining the role of law/government and individualism. Usually offered every second year.

HSSP 136a Comparative Public Health Systems in Latin America
[ djw ss ]

Offered through the Brandeis in Mérida: Public Health in the Yucatán Peninsula summer study abroad program.

Through this course, students gain an introductory knowledge on how public health is addressed in Latin America; the system organization and the main indicators used to produce public policies. What are the social and economic determinants of health in the region? What are the principal issues in the Latin American context? How do different systems across countries address them? The human rights approach in Latin America and North American approach to health challenges. Differences between Latin American and US systems. Social medicine and its contributions. Role of the State, private sector, NGOs and international organizations, and their interrelations. How features of Latin American systems can constitute an input to a global comprehension of public health. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 137a Contemporary Issues in Public Health in the Yucatan

Offered through the Brandeis in Mérida: Public Health in the Yucatán Peninsula summer study abroad program.

An increased diversity in the socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial composition of our communities has presented health care providers with many new challenges when responding effectively to patients’ healthcare well-being. This course will expand on these, while providing the knowledge of the basics about healthcare in the Mexico and in Yucatan, examining the public and private health care systems of Mexico, mainstream and traditional care in the urban and rural setting, as well as a study of local prevailing health issues, from a cross-cultural competency to understanding the patients' expectations from their own cultural context. Usually offered every year.

HSSP 192b Sociology of Disability
[ ss ]

In the latter half of the twentieth century, disability has emerged as an important social-political-economic-medical issue, with its own distinct history, characterized as a shift from "good will to civil rights." Traces that history and the way people with disabilities are seen and unseen, and see themselves. Usually offered every year.

JOUR 130b Science Journalism: Covering Crises from the Pandemic to Climate
[ dl ss wi ]

What is the best way to communicate real science in the age of fake news? What role should science journalists play in the face of today’s biggest crises, from the pandemic to climate change? This course explores the hallmarks of sound science and medical writing and how to confront the public-health consequences of misinformation. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 114a American Health Care: Law and Policy
[ ss ]

Closed to first-year students.

Focuses on individual rights, highlights how our laws and policies affect American health care. Traces the evolution of the doctor-patient relationship; explores access issues, including whether health care is or should be a fundamental right; assesses the quality of care and the impact of malpractice; and examines the cost of having (or not having) adequate health insurance. Concludes with options and prospects for meaningful reform. Usually offered every year.
Sarah Curi

LGLS 118a Gender, Justice, and Legislation
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Gender equity can be defined as equal access to resources and opportunities for any and all genders. A society’s laws generally reflect the level of its active commitment to gender equity and justice. We will explore both legislation and the implementation of legislation that impacts historically and presently marginalized gender identities. The course utilizes an intersectional lens to explore the experiences of marginalized gender identities, as we know systems of oppression intertwine to inform the unique lived experiences of different individuals and groups. Emphasizing these themes specifically through an exploration of menstrual equity, we'll examine both the role of legislation itself as well as the advocacy and research that accompany policy.

Students will engage in on and off campus advocacy activities as well as experiences to cultivate their research skills (conducting interviews, focus groups, etc.). Students will have an opportunity to meet with legislators, coalition members, and community stakeholders, leveraging experiential learning to achieve the course learning objectives. This course is part of the ENACT network. Note: This course places consistent attention on women, gender. and/or sexuality throughout the class. There is also close attention paid to feminist theory throughout the class and intersectional ways of viewing gender are utilized as analytic frames. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 121a Legislation for Change: Research, Policy, and Social Determinants of Health
[ deis-us ss wi ]

Examines state, local, and federal level policy making and reform through exploration of the five domains of the social determinants of health (SDOH). Students will research how to write a policy that relates to at least one of the following SDOH domains: 1) economic stability, 2) social and community context, 3) healthcare access and quality, 4) education access and quality, and 5) neighborhood and built environment. For example, a student might explore universal basic income as a policy to support economic stability and examine how this type of policy can impact the health of individuals and communities. This course encourages students to cultivate their research skills for the purposes of creating evidence based policies. Students are also asked to utilize their advocacy and communication skills by engaging in productive civil discourse surrounding their chosen policy. This course is part of the ENACT network. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 131b Medical Ethics: Law, Policy, and Patient Rights
[ deis-us ss ]

Sophomore standing or higher.

This interdisciplinary seminar focuses on patient rights. Examines how health and health care decisions are made, and by whom. Explores a range of current issues in the field of biomedical ethics, including the legal and ethical aspects of the physician-patient relationship, the doctrine of informed consent, the right to refuse treatment, the right-to-die, human subjects research. Analyzes the role of law in hard and often tragic choices involving life, quality of life, and death. Assesses the ability of the legal system to set standards, promote equity, and resolve conflict. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 132b Environmental Law and Policy
[ oc ss wi ]

Provides a basic survey of environmental law. You will learn essential tools of legal reasoning and argument. Through in-class discussion, cases, and reading on environmental history and ethics, we will cover a range of environmental issues, including: climate change, water rights, the Keystone XL pipeline, our national parks and monuments, and much more. You will reflect on the tradeoffs, contradictions, and inequities baked into our core environmental laws, and think about ways to apply those laws in more equitable ways. Usually offered every year.

LGLS 138b Science on Trial
[ qr ss ]

Surveys the procedures and analytic methods by which scientific data enter into litigation and regulation/policy making. Introduces basic tools of risk analysis and legal rules of evidence. Case studies of tobacco litigation and regulation; use of DNA and other forensic evidence in the criminal justice system; the Woburn ground-water contamination case; and other topics to be selected, such as genetics in the courtroom, court-ordered Cesarean sections, polygraph testing, alternative medicine, and genetically modified foods. Usually offered every second year.

LGLS 149b Genetics, Law and Society
[ deis-us ss ]

Explores the social policy implications of new genetic technologies, including legal, ethical, and political challenges. Topics include privacy and discrimination, changing definitions in family law, information technology and intellectual property, forensic implications of DNA testing, regulation of reproductive technology. Usually offered every second year.

ANTH 81a Conducting Ethnographic Fieldwork: Methods and Practice of Anthropological Research
[ oc ss wi ]

Introduces the core methods of ethnography—participant observation, interviewing, note-taking, and analysis—while guiding students to design and carry out their own small-scale research projects in local settings. Emphasis is placed on reflexivity, ethics, and translating lived experience into compelling ethnographic writing and other creative, multimodal forms of representation. Usually offered every year.

BIOL 51a Biostatistics
[ dl sn ]

Prerequisites: BIOL 14a and BIOL 15b.

An introductory level biostatistics class providing an overview to statistical methods used in biological and medical research. Topics include descriptive statistics, elementary probability theory, commonly observed distributions, basic concepts of statistical inference, hypothesis testing, regression, as well as analysis of variance. Basic statistical analysis using the R software package will be introduced. Usually offered every year.

BUS 111a Business Analytics
[ ss ]

Prerequisites: BUS 6a, BUS 10a and BUS 51a.

This course is about analyzing and interpreting data about markets and customers. It has been designed for managers who will be using data analytics, and so is intended for students wanting to go into marketing, finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, business strategy and operations management. Students who take this class will learn about the sorts of business decision problems in which research information is most useful, including problems related to pricing, target market selection, and new product introduction. Usually offered every year.

ECON 83a Statistics for Economic Analysis
[ dl qr ss ]

Prerequisite: ECON 2a or ECON 10a. Students must earn a C- or higher in MATH 10a, or otherwise satisfy the calculus requirement, to enroll in this course. May not be taken concurrently with ECON 184b or repeated by students after the successful completion of ECON 184b.

A first course in statistical inference. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability, normal and binomial distributions, sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, properties of estimators, hypothesis testing, regression, and analysis of variance. Usually offered every semester.

HSSP 40a Survey Design in Public Health

Provides firsthand experience conducting epidemiological research on a public health topic. Working with the instructor, students identify a research question to conduct their own cross-sectional epidemiology study and apply survey design methods learned in class. Usually offered every spring.

POL 52a Basic Statistics for Social and Political Analysis
[ dl qr ss ]

Provides a foundation in statistics focusing on descriptive statistics, inference, hypothesis testing and the basics of regression analysis. Becoming familiar with basic statistics will help you to prepare for a career as a social scientist. Usually offered every year.

POL 53b Quantitative Methods for Policy Analysis
[ dl qr ss ]

Examines the most common empirical methods used by policy analysts in the study of public policy. Emphasis on descriptive statistics, regression analysis, research design and data collection, and the substantive components of policy analysis. Students will be introduced to and develop proficiency in the R statistical program/language. Usually offered every year.

PSYC 51a Statistics
[ dl qr sn ss ]

Prerequisite: PSYC 10a or the permission of the instructor. This course normally should be completed by the end of the sophomore year.

Covers the fundamentals of descriptive and inferential statistics. Techniques useful in the behavioral sciences will be emphasized. Students learn the theory of statistical decisions, practical application of statistical software, and how to analyze journal articles. Usually offered every semester.

SOC 18a Observing the Social World: Doing Qualitative Sociology
[ dl ss ]

May not be taken for credit by students who took SOC 118a in prior years.

Observation is the basis of social inquiry. What we see--and by extension, what we overlook or choose to ignore--guides our understanding of social life. This class focuses on how to conduct a qualitative research study, including literature review, participant observation, in-depth interviews, and coding and analysis. Usually offered every year.

SOC 82a Quantitative Methods in Sociology
[ dl qr ss ]

Introduces students to practical applications of statistical methods in sociology. Emphasizing hands-on learning with the statistical programming language R, the course equips students with tools to analyze and interpret social data. Topics include data management, data visualization, theoretical and operational definitions, levels of measurement, hypothesis testing, probability, t-tests, linear regression, and logistic regression. Students will apply these techniques to a range of sociological questions, developing skills to investigate social patterns and inequalities across diverse contexts. No prior experience with statistics or R is required. Usually offered every second year.