The College of Liberal Arts and Education is developing a new Health Humanities minor program at the University of Detroit Mercy.
CLAE is collaborating with the College of Engineering and Science and the College of Health Professions while in support of a Titan Innovation Fund Grant.
Though the program has not been approved yet, those involved are hopeful that the minor will be established within the next few years.
The Health Humanities minor will consist of 18 credits and range in many different types of courses. The minor may also bring in new courses that students will have the opportunity to take.
The minor may include philosophy classes, health classes and many more.
Dr. Rosemary Weatherston is very involved in developing the possible new minor offered to future students.
“The types of students who might be interested in taking the Health Humanities minor can be found in all three colleges,” Weatherston said.
Students will be required to take an Introduction to Health Humanities course but also take a broader range of classes. These may include humanities courses, art courses and science courses.
Though there is not a certain date of when the minor will be available to students, the team is working hard to get the idea approved.
“Our hope is to submit the minor proposal next year,” Weatherston said.
A Health Humanities minor is being developed now because this field of work is on an explosive growth path.
“There is a huge number of new programs that are being developed over the last 20 years or so,” Weatherston said. “I know of five other kinds of undergraduate level health humanities majors or minors or medical huminites, which it is sometimes called, in Michigan.”
There is a lot of new interest in health humanities that is being discovered which is why this minor is being pursued.
The minor is not limited to only certain students; it is available to all students though some might be more interested than others.
Dental or premedical students may be the first types of students that come to mind when thinking about who would be interested in the program.
But political science, English, communication ctudies and many more majors can take advantage of this program.
“The healthcare industry is the single largest employer in the United States,” Weatherston said. “So, having this background will make you a better candidate.”
The development of this program can open a lot of doors for many more students.
“With out new president at the University of Detroit Mercy, there is an even greater commitment to create health related programs and degrees,” Weatherston said. “So, this is a good moment in time to explore whether students might benefit from this.”
The Health Humanities minor program will be open to all students and is encouraged if you are looking to broaden your knowledge and gain more experience in a different field.
