WHAT IS HEALTH, SOCIETY & POLICY? 

The Health, Society & Policy Program (HSP) is an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree (BA or BS), in which students select coursework from a number of different departments. The coursework is intended to guide students toward an understanding of the multidimensional character of human health. After completing the HSP major, students will recognize that human health is determined not only by things like pathogens, illness, and genetics; but also by lifestyle and behavioral choices, environmental exposures, socioeconomic resources, and cultural affiliation. Furthermore, HSP students will learn how institutional levels of influence, such as public policy and access to health care, affect health outcomes and create disparities across the globe and within subgroups of the population. This interdisciplinary approach to the study of human health allows students to explore how public policies and healthcare practices that integrate and act on these multiple layers of influence hold promise in improving both individual and population health.