Healthcare and Medical Humanities

Are you looking for an affordable degree that prepares you to help others, engage your community, and build a future in healthcare? Wilson College’s healthcare and medical humanities program is a great place to start.

Our Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare and Medical Humanities (HMH) brings together the sciences, social sciences, and humanities to explore the human dimensions of health and healing.  The program prepares you for diverse paths in healthcare, public health, advocacy, and community engagement by cultivating the critical, ethical, and interpersonal skills essential for compassionate and culturally responsive care. As a student you will: 

• Build a foundation in the biological and the social sciences as well as the liberal arts.
• Explore how stories, ethics, and culture shape experiences of health, illness, and disability.
• Develop advanced skills in listening, interpretation, communication, and ethical reasoning.
• Learn to understand people within their social, emotional, and spiritual contexts.
• Apply your learning through service-learning and reflective practice in real-world settings.
• Prepare for careers or graduate study in medicine, physical or occupational therapy, public health, health education, counseling, social work, health administration, or related fields.

Healthcare and Medical Humanities Highlights 

The Healthcare and Medical Humanities program at Wilson College invites you to explore what it means to care, listen, and lead within today’s complex, ever-changing world of healthcare. In our small, discussion-based courses, you’ll connect the study of ethics, culture, and communication with applied, interdisciplinary practice. Our comprehensive program is: 

• Interdisciplinary: Hone your ability to perceive, observe, interpret, and form perspectives.
• Integrated: Combine knowledge and skills you learn from literature, psychology, philosophy, and health sciences to understand care as both art and practice.
• Collaborative: Work alongside students in-person or online classes where your opinion matters.  
• Connected: Work closely with faculty mentors through dialogue, reflective writing, and applied learning.
• Focused: Learn how to foster a strong patient-provider relationship in focused classes.
• Practical: Gain practical knowledge and skills to help you understand and get inside the experiences of others.
• Customizable: Choose your electives to create a program that meets your needs and goals—from clinical preparation to community advocacy. 

What Makes Wilson’s HMH Program Distinct?

At Wilson College, Healthcare and Medical Humanities is more than an academic program, we are a growing community of inquiry and care. Our small, discussion-centered classes and close faculty mentoring foster deep engagement with questions of meaning, ethics, and human connection. We take time to know our students and to help each one design a pathway that reflects personal values and professional goals.  Intentionally and uniquely structured around five core elements—close reading, visual analysis, embodied perspective, ethical reflection, and communication, the program cultivate the habits of perception and empathy that define effective care. Grounded in Wilson’s liberal arts tradition, our program prepares graduates not only for meaningful careers but for lives of thoughtful, compassionate leadership in health and healing.  

Why Study Healthcare and Medical Humanities?

Available as both a major and a minor, the Healthcare and Medical Humanities (HMH) program provides a foundation for understanding the human side of health, illness, and care. You’ll learn to connect science with story, ethics with empathy, and theory with lived experience—all preparing you to think critically and act compassionately in any health-related field.  

You'll learn to:

• Engage across disciplines to explore the culture, ethical, and social factors that shape healthcare.
• Interpret stories and experiences of illness and care to deepen understanding of the patient and provider relationship.
• Cultivate reflection, communication, and empathy as tools for compassionate, holistic care. 

Core classes: 

• Interpersonal Communication
• Global Health
• Narrative Medicine
• Bioethics or Healthcare Ethics
• Introduction to Psychology or Introduction to Sociology
• Death and Dying
• Healthcare and Medical Humanities Student-Designed Service Project

Choose from electives that fulfill one course in each of the following areas:  

• Ethical Thinking
• Close Reading
• Visual Analysis
• Human Problems, Experiences, and Perspectives
• Executing/Embodying Perspectives

Healthcare and Medical Humanities Career Paths 

A degree in Healthcare and Medical Humanities (HMH) prepares you for a meaningful, human-centered career in healthcare. Whether you choose to enter the workforce or continue to graduate or professional study, Wilson’s faculty will guide and prepare you to succeed.

Because the field of healthcare and medical humanities is interdisciplinary and versatile, graduates pursue a wide range of paths that value empathy, critical thinking, and collaboration.  

Drawn to nonclinical or systems-level roles in healthcare? HMH graduates thrive in positions that focus on education, advocacy, and communication, including: 

• Health Administration and Policy
• Patient or Disability Advocacy
• Public Health and Community Outreach
• Health Education and Promotion
• Medical Communication or Bioethics
• Healthcare Writing, Publishing, or Sales 

Interested in clinical or patient-facing work? Through our HMH pathways you will be well prepared for graduate programs and advanced study in allied health fields such as: 

• Medicine or Nursing
• Physical or Occupational Therapy
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Audiology
• Mental-Health Counseling
• Social Work

Major, Minor, or Complement to Your Degree

The Healthcare and Medical Humanities program is available as both a major and a minor.  Many students pair the HMH major or minor with majors such as Nursing, Psychology, Sociology, Exercise Science, or Health Science to gain a broader understanding of the human and ethical dimensions of care.  

Students who choose the HMH major explore the field in depth through courses in communication, English, bioethics, global health, and narrative medicine, culminating in the HUM 300 Service Project.  Those who select the HMH minor integrate the  courses, all of which fulfill liberal studies requirements, into their course work, which is an accessible way to enrich any degree with humanistic insight and reflective practice. 

Start Preparing for Your Future in Healthcare and Medical Humanities Today

If you're searching for an engaging, versatile, and affordable healthcare and medical humanities program in Pennsylvania, Wilson College has you covered. With rolling admissions and financial aid and scholarships available to 98% of our students, getting started and affording your education is within reach. 

Schedule a visit or start the application process today.

Looking for an online option? Consider pursuing the online bachelors in healthcare and medical humanities.