Undergraduate Major

History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health  is an interdisciplinary program of study that explores the development of science, technology, medicine, and public health and their interactions with each other and with society. Its course offerings range broadly in topics and geographical scope, including the Scientific Revolution, the relationships of medicine and the media in modern America, the development of the physical, earth, and life sciences, the interplay of science, technology, and the state, and public health and epidemics in global perspective. Students in the major combine courses in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health with courses from other relevant disciplines in the natural sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities.

The program offers students considering a career in medicine, public health, or other fields of health care a way to combine the requirements of their professional training with a broad liberal arts education. It also provides excellent preparation for many other careers, including law, business, journalism, museum work, public policy, and government, in which a contextualized understanding of science, technology, and medicine is advantageous.

For additional information about the major, including curricular requirements, the teaching faculty, and courses offered, see the online Yale College Programs of Study at
http://yalecollege.yale.edu/content/history-science-history-medicine. Official Yale College program and course information is found in Yale College Programs of Study, available on line at http://www.yale.edu/yalecollege/publications/ycps/.

The Major's Director of Undergraduate Studies

The principal faculty contact for prospective HSHM majors is the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS). The DUS for 2012-2013 is Professor Paola Bertucci, whose office is HGS 300G in the Hall of Graduate Studies. She can be reached by e-mail (paola.bertucci@yale.edu) and by phone (203) 432-1397. Students interested in obtaining information about the HSHM major or who wish to register for it should contact Professor Bertucci. Professor Bertucci is the advisor for all sophomores in the major.

Individual Faculty Advisors

At the beginning of the academic year, juniors and seniors majoring in HSHM will be assigned to individual faculty advisors. They should seek the advice of their advisor in choosing their courses and constructing their course of study. Students are to have their course cards signed by these advisors at the beginning of each term. Undergraduate advisors for juniors and seniors are ordinarily drawn from the HSHM's core faculty and affiliates. Click here for a list of the faculty and their specialties.

Senior Project

By the end of reading period in the spring term of the junior year, students choose whether they will work toward a yearlong or a one-term senior project. Yearlong senior projects are completed in HSHM 490, 491; one-term projects are completed in HSHM 492. Students who choose a one-term project must take an additional seminar in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health during the final term of the senior year. Distinction in the Major is awarded only to students who complete a yearlong senior project.

For both the one-term and yearlong senior projects, students select a project adviser, propose a tentative topic and title, and submit a proposal to the senior project director. The final product of the senior requirement may be a written essay or an alternative project such as a film, exhibition, catalog, atlas, or historical data reconstruction. In the case of an alternative project, the student must identify a second reader in addition to the adviser before the project is approved by the senior project director. Either the adviser or the second reader must be a member of the faculty in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. A written component to the senior project must illustrate sources and the intellectual significance of the project. For more details about requirements and deadlines, majors should consult the HSHM Senior Project Handbook; copies are available from the senior project director and on the program's web site (hshm.yale.edu).

   The History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health's senior project director for 2012-2013 is Professor William (Bill) Rankin. His office is located in the Hall of Graduate Studies (HGS 206), and his email address is mailto:william.rankin@yale.edu

The HSHM Registrar is Ms. Barbara McKay (barbara.mckay@yale.edu) Her office is in 207 HGS and her phone number is: 432-1365. Students may consult her or the DUS about their records in the major, progress toward the completion of requirements for graduation, or other similar matters.

Undergraduate Contacts

Frank Snowden
Program Chair
Berkeley College, Room G21, 205 Elm Street
Office Phone:  (203) 432-0507
frank.snowden@yale.edu

Paola Bertucci
Director of Undergraduate Studies
Hall of Graduate Studies, Room HGS 300G, 320 York Street
paola.bertucci@yale.edu

William Rankin
Senior Project Director
Hall of Graduate Studies, Room HGS 206, 320 York Street
william.rankin@yale.edu

Barbara McKay
Undergraduate Registrar
Hall of Graduate Studies, Room 207
320 York Street
Office Phone: (203) 432-1365
barbara.mckay@yale.edu

Requirements of the Major for the Classes of 2013 and 2014

Students in the Class of 2013 must fulfill the requirements of the major in History of Science, History of Medicine that were in place when they entered the major, as described in previous editions of the Yale Bulletin. Students in the Class of 2014 may also fulfill the requirements of the major in History of Science, History of Medicine that were in place when they entered it. Alternatively, students in the Class of 2014 may fulfill the requirements of the major in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health as described below for the Class of 2015 and subsequent classes.

Requirements of the Major for the Class of 2015 and Subsequent Classes

The major in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health requires twelve term courses, including the two-term senior requirement. Students select a pathway of seven courses that guides them through an area of specialization. The seven pathway courses must included two courses in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health; one seminar numbered 100 or above in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health or in History; one science course; and three electives chosen from relevant courses in any department.

The five standard pathways in the major are medicine and public health; global health; science, technology, and power; gender and sexuality; and arts and media. Students may also design customized pathways in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. No later than the beginning of the junior year, students in the major must select a standard pathway or indicate that they wish to design their own.

Beyond the seven pathway courses, students must complete three additional electives in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. One of the electives must be a seminar, and one must be chosen from a pathway other than the one selected for the major. All courses for the major are chosen in collaboration with the student's adviser.