The combined Bachelor of Science in Health Humanities and Health Science is designed for students who would like to learn how to think about health using humanities, social sciences, and science skills. The humanities train students to navigate the complexities of interpersonal interaction and their ethical implications, to relate the micro to the macro and texts to contexts, to historicize encounters, to communicate accurately and effectively across a variety of media, and to engage in creative analytical thinking about healthcare. The landscape of healthcare is quickly changing, and this training is designed to equip students both for the diverse forms of healthcare professions that exist today and for the varieties of professions in the future. This combined major will appeal to students who want to pursue graduate study and research in public health, medicine, and other clinical professions.

  • Concentrations and course offerings may vary by campus and/or by program modality.  Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for the course availability each term at your campus or within your program modality. 
  • Certain options within the program may be required at certain campuses or for certain program modalities.  Please consult with your advisor or admissions coach for requirements at your campus or for your program modality. 

Complete all courses listed below unless otherwise indicated. Also complete any corequisite labs, recitations, clinicals, or tools courses where specified and complete any additional courses needed beyond specific college and major requirements to satisfy graduation credit requirements.

Universitywide Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the Universitywide Requirements.

NUpath Requirements

All undergraduate students are required to complete the NUpath Requirements.

 Health Humanities Requirements

Required Courses
INSH 1300Introduction to Health and Humanities4
INSH 2300Culture, Technology, and the Future of Health4
Core Humanities Electives
Complete two of the following not used to satsify another requirement:8-9
AFCS 1101
Introduction to African American and Africana Studies
ASNS 2245
Introduction to Asian American Studies
ENGL 1400
Introduction to Literary Studies
HIST 1200
and HIST 1201
Historical Research and Writing
and First-Year Seminar
PHIL 1101
Introduction to Philosophy
PHIL 1110
Introduction to Religious Studies
WMNS 1103
Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
WMNS 1105
Introduction to Trans Studies
Core Health Humanities Electives
Complete three of the following not used to satisfy another requirement:12
ENGL 2770
Writing to Heal
ENGL 3700
Narrative Medicine
HIST 1219
History of Global Pandemics
HIST 2233
The History of Medicine in North America
PHIL 1145
Technology and Human Values
PHIL 1165
Moral and Social Problems in Healthcare
WMNS 1225
Gender, Race, and Medicine
or AFCS 1225
 Gender, Race, and Medicine
or HIST 1225
 Gender, Race, and Medicine
Core Digital Health Humanities Electives
Complete two of the following not used to satisfy another requirement:8
ARCH 5312
Mapping and Building Health
ENGL 3460
The Archives of Public Health
HIST 3344
The History of Western Public Health
PHIL 3065
Bioethics in the Age of Big Data

Health Science Requirements

Public Health Core
PHTH 1261Comparative Healthcare Systems4
or PHTH 1260 The American Healthcare System
PHTH 2210Foundations of Biostatistics4
PHTH 2300Communication Skills for the Health Professions4
or PHTH 2301 Communication Skills for the Health Professions—Global
PHTH 2350Community and Public Health4
or PHTH 2351 Community and Public Health - Global
PHTH 2515Healthcare Policy and Administration4
PHTH 4120Global Perspectives on Discrimination and Health4
PHTH 4202Principles of Epidemiology in Medicine and Public Health4
PHTH 4540Health Education and Program Planning4
Life Sciences Supporting Courses
BIOL 1111
and BIOL 1112		General Biology 1
and Lab for BIOL 1111		5
BIOL 1113
and BIOL 1114		General Biology 2
and Lab for BIOL 1113		5
CHEM 1161
and CHEM 1162
and CHEM 1163		General Chemistry for Science Majors
and Lab for CHEM 1161
and Recitation for CHEM 1161		5
MATH 1241Calculus 14
PSYC 1101Foundations of Psychology4

 Other Requirements

Introduction to College
HSCI 1000College: An Introduction1
or HIST 1000 History at Northeastern
or ENGL 1000 English at Northeastern
or PHIL 1000 Philosophy at Northeastern
Professional Development
HSCI 2000Professional Development for Bouvé Co-op1
or EESH 2000 Professional Development for Co-op
Writing
ENGW 1111First-Year Writing4
Advanced Writing Course
Courses listed below are preferred but other advanced writing courses will be accepted:
ENGW 3306Advanced Writing in the Health Professions4
or ENGW 3308 Advanced Writing in the Social Sciences
or ENGW 3309 Advanced Writing in the Humanities
or ENGW 3315 Interdisciplinary Advanced Writing in the Disciplines
Capstone
Complete capstone through a capstone course, a capstone project, or through an Honors Project.3-4
Capstone Course Options
HINF 5301
Evaluating Health Technologies
PHTH 4515
Critical Issues in Health and Public Health Policy
PHTH 4616
Addressing Rural Health Inequities
PHTH 5214
Environmental Health
PHTH 5230
Global Health
PHTH 5236
Food, Nutrition, and Health
PHTH 5603
Qualitative Methods
Capstone Project Options
HSCI 4720
Health Science Capstone—Service (must complete pre-requisite HSCI 4700)
HSCI 4730
Health Science Capstone—Research (must complete pre-requisite HSCI 4700)
Honors Project Option (must meet GPA requirement and complete both courses*)
HSCI 4970
and HSCI 4971
Junior/Senior Honors Project 1
and Junior/Senior Honors Project 2
*HSCI 4970 will count as 4 semester hours toward general electives

Health Sciences Major Requirement

A grade of C or higher is required for all BIOL, CHEM, HLTH, HSCI, MATH, and PHTH courses.

Program Requirement

129 total semester hours required

Four Years/ Two Co-ops in Spring/Summer 1—CSSH Student Sample

Year 1
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
BIOL 1111
and BIOL 1112		5BIOL 1113
and BIOL 1114		5Public health core course4Vacation
ENGL 1000, HIST 1000, or PHIL 10001CHEM 1161
and CHEM 1162
and CHEM 1163		5General elective4 
MATH 12414ENGW 11114  
PHTH 12604INSH 13004  
PSYC 11014   
 18 18 8 0
Year 2
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
EESH 20001Co-op0Co-op0ENGW 33154
PHTH 22104General elective4 Public health core course4
Core humanities course4   
Public health core course4   
General elective4   
 17 4 0 8
Year 3
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
INSH 23004Co-op0Co-op0PHTH 41204
PHTH 42024  PHTH 45404
Core humanities course4   
General elective4   
 16 0 0 8
Year 4
FallHoursSpringHours  
Core digital health humanities course4Core digital health humanities course4  
Capstone4Core health humanities course4  
Core health humanities course4Core health humanities course4  
General elective4General elective4  
 16 16  
Total Hours: 129

Four Years/ Two Co-ops in Summer 2/Fall—Bouvé Student Sample

Year 1
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
BIOL 1111
and BIOL 1112		5BIOL 1113
and BIOL 1114		5Public health core course4Vacation
ENGW 11114CHEM 1161
and CHEM 1162
and CHEM 1163		5General elective4 
HSCI 10001INSH 13004  
MATH 12414PSYC 11014  
PHTH 12604   
 18 18 8 0
Year 2
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
Core humanities course4HSCI 20001Public health core course4Co-op0
Core humanities course4PHTH 22104General elective4 
General elective8Public health core course4  
General electiveGeneral elective8  
 General elective  
 16 17 8 0
Year 3
FallHoursSpringHoursSummer 1HoursSummer 2Hours
Co-op0INSH 23004PHTH 41204Co-op0
ENGW 33064PHTH 42024PHTH 45404 
 Core digital health humanities course4  
 Core health humanities course4  
 4 16 8 0
Year 4
FallHoursSpringHours  
Co-op0Core digital health humanities course4  
 Capstone4  
 Core health humanities course4  
 Core health humanities course4  
 0 16  
Total Hours: 129