Undergraduate Health and Social Change (BA)

Emerson College’s undergraduate Health and Social Change (HSC) major gives students a foundational understanding of the systems and structures of modern-day health, policy, and healthcare issues, along with the tools to identify and implement cultural, policy, and social change. Distinct from traditional health sciences, health management, or public health programs, the focus of this major is not clinical practice but rather an interdisciplinary examination of how to create a new culture of health that takes into account socioeconomic factors, race, and environment, and engages social justice, communication, and the arts.

Bachelor’s Program in Health and Social Change

Housed in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders in the School of Communication, the on-campus Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Health and Social Change will position you for careers in fields and organizations including: public and community health, government, nonprofit organizations, healthcare advocacy, media outlets writing about health topics, and hospitals. If graduate school is your aim, this program will lay the foundation for graduate study in: public health; allied health, such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, or speech-language pathology; health science; health education; medical anthropology; and creative/expressive arts therapies.

The interdisciplinary nature of this major balances scientific inquiry, quantitative and qualitative skills, understanding of human behavior, and integration of messaging via communication and the arts, all through the context of a civically engaged local and global health lens.

Curriculum

The BA in Health and Social Change consists of 52 credits and includes eight core courses, two science courses of your choice, and three Health and Social Change electives.

Review Curriculum Requirements

Learn more about the program, including application instructions, on the HSC major page.