Program in Culture, Health, and Science

Graduate schools recognize that tomorrow's health experts will need interdisciplinary training to link their understandings of history, culture, and behavior with clinical, biological, and epidemiologic models of health and disease. Students design a plan of study that approaches "health" holistically from the perspective of natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. 

Completing a CHS certificate builds on the liberal arts approach to equip students with tools to think critically about health issues. For example, students may learn to:

• Recognize historical patterns of disease distribution, treatment, and health disparities
• Appreciate the value of integrating literature, philosophy, and the arts with studies in STEM fields (and vice versa)
• Develop technical skills (such as research design, media literacy, gene editing, foreign languages, econometrics, doula training, or statistical analysis) to apply to health issues
• Navigate healthcare systems and be an advocate for themselves and others 
• Apply contributions of multiple disciplines to the realm of public health, health promotion, cultural competence, disease eradication and global health

Students learn how behavior influences disease distribution, how biomedical categories change across time and culture, and how political and socioeconomic factors affect disease and treatment. CHS students learn to interpret and communicate their results to diverse audiences.

CHS is led by a Steering Committee of faculty members from all five colleges and a range of disciplines. CHS students work with their campus advisors to articulate objectives, select courses, and conduct independent projects or internships. Faculty and students alike are enriched by the cross-campus connections and interdisciplinary collaborations that the Culture, Health, and Science program fosters—locally and globally. Get on board!

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Culture, Health, and Science Campus Advisors are faculty members in a variety of disciplines at each of the five campuses who work directly with students pursuing the CHS certificate to guide students through the CHS program, answer questions and help students plan for successfully completing all certificate requirements.

If you are in your final year at one of the campuses and plan on completing the CHS certificate before graduation, or are just starting and want to learn more about the program, CHS advisors can help you find your way.

Read about the advisors at your institution through the links provided, and contact the advisor of your choice to arrange an advising session.

The CHS Program is guided by a steering committee comprised of faculty members from each of the five campuses and staff members of the Five College consortium.

The Five College Certificate in Culture, Health, and Science complements any major, allowing students to deepen their knowledge of human health, disease, and healing through interdisciplinary inquiry. Under the guidance of faculty program advisors on each campus, students choose a sequence of seven courses available across the five campuses and identify (in consultation with their advisor) an appropriate project or internship that will count toward the certificate. (Four semesters of a second language is also recommended, but not required.) Together with the visiting lectures and seminars sponsored by the Program, CHS provides a structure that is adaptable for students interested in pursuing health-related careers, as well as those curious to learn how different disciplines analyze common human experience.

Interested in pursuing the Culture, Health, and Science Certificate?

First, reach out to a campus advisor and fill out the CHS student declaration form linked below. We also recommend that you download the CHS Certificate Completion Form (below) to help you and your advisor keep track of what courses you need and what requirements you have fulfilled.

Forms for Students

Certificate Requirements

The seven required courses are to be distributed across the following five categories of inquiry:

1. Biocultural Approaches
   Interdisciplinary and/or comparative approaches that explore the interdependent influences on human health and disease
2. Mechanisms of Disease Transmission
   Mechanisms of disease growth and transmission within individuals and populations
3. Population Health and Disease
   Exploring the relationships among social, behavioral, economic and other aggregate population forces on human health and disease
4. Engaged and Humanistic Approaches
   Ethical, humanistic, artistic, and engaged approaches to human health and disease, including explorations of healthcare practice, policy, and activism.
5. Research Design and Analysis
   Concepts of evidence, data collection, research ethics, measurement and modes of analysis

Further Details:

• No course can be used to satisfy more than one category.  
• No more than three courses can “double count” toward a student’s major.
• Four semesters—or the equivalent—of a second language is recommended but not required. Such language training may be required for students seeking internships and summer research positions.

Independent Research Project

The Certificate requires the completion of an independent project such as an internship, thesis, Division III project, course project, independent study or other activity. You work with your campus CHS advisor to develop a project that satisfies both the Certificate requirements and your own interests. Not sure if you have an independent project that qualifies? Meet with your CHS Campus Advisor to find out.

Completion

When you complete the requirements for the CHS Certificate, return the completed Certificate Completion Form to your CHS campus advisor along with a copy of your transcript.

If you have any questions about the requirements or if you would like to pursue the certificate, contact your CHS Campus Advisor.

Note that if you don't see classes from all campuses currently listed, they will appear as the campuses release their course schedules for the semester. The five campuses release their schedules on different dates. Visit this page for specific dates.

You can download the above document and search for regularly offered courses that have been approved to fullfil CHS certificate requirements. Search by campus, subject or number, as well as by each of the CHS requirement categories.

If you would like to fulfill a CHS requirement with a course that is not included on the ever-approved CHS course list, please contact your campus certificate advisor to request special permission and discuss your course options. You and your advisor can petition to add a course to the Ever Approved Course list with the Course Petition Form (below).

For a course to fulfill a CHS requirement, at least 30% of the content should be devoted to topics in human health. If you would like to suggest a course for the ever-approved course list, please contact us.

“Throughout all these settings, I learned about how traditional medicine and allopathic medicine coexist, the extreme challenges for Malagasy people to receive healthcare, and how integrated systems may best address Malagasy people’s health needs. Having stayed with two different host families, I got the opportunity to learn from them and observe the intimate connection that many Malagasy people have with the plants around them.”

• Elena Bauer, UMASS, Biology Major

“Overall, the certificate program has provided a comprehensive view of how biocultural, mechanistic, and population-based factors, as well as the ethical considerations and research methodologies, interact to shape public health and healthcare practices. This interdisciplinary approach has enriched my understanding of the complex connections between cultural, social, and scientific influences on health, providing me with a well-rounded perspective that is essential for addressing present-day health challenges”

• Estrel Kamnang, UMass, Operations & Information Management

“The CHS certificate became a stepping stone, encouraging me to explore multidisciplinary approaches not only in my coursework but also in my broader intellectual pursuits. By branching out into courses outside my major, I encountered eye-opening and engaging subjects that enriched my understanding and helped me integrate psychology into a more holistic framework”

• Maya Burd, MHC, Psychology

Click here to view a reading list compiled by CHS faculty.

Questions? Want more information?

Contact: chs-director-l@amherst.edu

Program Director:

Felicity Aulino, Five College Professor of Anthropology

Program Assistant:

Jesse Young-Paulson, UMass Amherst Student 

Five College Staff Liaison:

April Shandor, Academic Programs Coordinator

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