Health and Societies Major

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Pennsylvania
1

<p>I've recently discovered that this major exists at Penn and I am fascinated by it. I've always liked the idea of being a doctor, but hate science courses so have been immediately turned off by it. It seems like this major, however, would permit that. Not to mention, my other main interest lies in business and the health care markets and finance concentration sounds amazing to me! So basically I'm wondering if anyone has any info. that they could share with me on this major. What's the deal with the HMF concentration? Could that be the main part of the major or what? Is is it possible to do this concentration while majoring in something other than health and societies?</p>

<p>Also, is this a good major for students who want to work in business (and I'm not talking high-stake jobs such as IB and finance), if ultimately pre-med ends up not being a desire? And is it considered a respectable major, or is it looked down upon like majors such as philosophy? Lastly, how competitive/challenging is the major/what kind of people tend to choose it? Any info. on this would be great, as I really don't know anything about it. Thanks so much!</p>

2

<p>

That seems to be the case–it’s one of the possible fields of concentration within the Health and Societies major (see 8-13):</p>

<p>[HSOC</a> Requirements | Department of History and Sociology of Science](<a href=“http://hss.sas.upenn.edu/hsoc/requirements]HSOC”>http://hss.sas.upenn.edu/hsoc/requirements)</p>

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<p>There are no stand-alone “concentrations” in the College, but you could pursue an interschool minor with Wharton in Health Care Management:</p>

<p>[List</a> of Minors | University of Pennsylvania - College of Arts and Sciences](<a href=“http://www.college.upenn.edu/minors]List”>http://www.college.upenn.edu/minors)</p>

3

<p>If you read the description of the major and its requirements that 45 Percenter linked, you will get a good sense of what is involved.</p>

<p>Most colleges now have some version of this program – interdisciplinary studies about science and medicine, looking at the social and material infrastructures of scientific and medical activity and their history. Penn does a really good job with it, taking full advantage of the university’s strength in several critical areas, including medicine, sociology, anthropology, economics, and finance. It’s a great major for people who want to be MDs, especially if they have any interest in public health. It’s also great for people who want to work in that field without necessarily wearing a white lab coat.</p>

4

<p>I know a couple people studying HSOC, and they all love it. It’s the reason they came to Penn, and a few of the people I know in it aren’t pre-med and I’m sure they’ll do fine with jobs. Others sometimes use it as a less rigorous pre-med major. However, if you are passionate about HSOC then you will definitely be benefited by this unique Penn major.</p>