Health and Society (BA)
Admission
Freshman Admission
Applicants should use the ApplyTexas online application and select the Health and Society major listed in the College of Liberal Arts as a first-choice major.
External Transfer Admission
Students who wish to transfer to the University from another college or university must apply to the Office of Admissions as described in the General Information Catalog.
Internal Transfer Admission
- Minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA at the University with at least 12 hours in residence for a letter grade.
- Must be prior to fifth long semester, cumulative, including transfer work. Students with four or more semesters in transfer credit may only apply in their first semester.
- Compelling statement of interest in the major.
Applications will be accepted twice per year and will be reviewed after grades are posted. Decisions will be made prior to the start of the following long semester.
The admission committee may consider the following factors, among others, when considering applications:
- GPA trend relative to cumulative GPA
- Strength of essay
- Time to graduation
- Intent to declare health and society as a single major
Total Hours Required: 120
Plan of Study
The Plan of Study is a suggested four-year course sequence to support academic planning and serves as a helpful guide. Currently enrolled students should meet with their academic advisor to tailor their course selections and timelines to their individual goals and circumstances.
Requirements
All requirements are listed below, starting with the most specialized moving to the most general. Additional requirements may follow the table, so be sure to read the entire page. Some required courses listed below may also satisfy General Education requirements, including Core Curriculum.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Major | ||
| H S 301 | Introduction to Health and Society | 3 |
| H S 302 | Current Approaches to Health and Society | 3 |
| Methods and Statistics | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Elementary Statistical Methods | ||
| Foundations of Data Analysis | ||
A course chosen from an approved list | ||
| Social Justice and Health | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Health and Justice | ||
| Medicine, Ethics, and Society | ||
| Biomedical Ethics | ||
| Ethics of Health Care | ||
| Applied Social Ethics | ||
A course chosen from an approved list | ||
| H S 350E | Foundations of Epidemiology | 3 |
| Individual Health & Health Behavior | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Physical Activity and Society | ||
| Valuing Mental Health | ||
| Health Disparities | ||
A course chosen from an approved list | ||
| Global Health & Population Health | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Climate Change and Health | ||
| Population and Society | ||
A course chosen from an approved list | ||
| Health Care Policy & Economics | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Health Care Policy in the United States | ||
| Comparative United States Health Systems | ||
| Contemporary Practice of Medicine (Topic 7: Contemporary Practice of Medicine) | ||
| Economic Sociology of Health (Topic 8: Economic Sociology of Health) | ||
A course chosen from an approved list | ||
| Social & Cultural Context of Health: | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Topics in Anthropology | ||
| Advanced Topics in Classical Archaeology | ||
| History of Modern Science | ||
| Science and the Modern World | ||
| Race, Class, and Health | ||
| Sociology of Health and Illness | ||
A course chosen from an approved list | ||
| Hours chosen from: | 3 | |
| Seminar in Health and Society | ||
| Honors Tutorial Course (for students seeking special honors) | ||
| Subtotal | 30 | |
| Degree (see details below) | 51 | |
| Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | 9 | |
| Subtotal | 60 | |
| General Education | ||
| Remaining Core Curriculum (42 hours total) | 30 | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Intermediate Proficiency | ||
| Subtotal | 30 | |
| College Requirements - Liberal Arts | ||
| General University Requirements | ||
| Total Hours | 120 | |
Degree - Bachelor of Arts (BA) - Liberal Arts
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Degree | ||
| Literature and Writing | ||
| RHE 306 | Rhetoric and Writing (Plan II honors requires at least a C-; may also count toward Core Curriculum) | 3 |
| Hours chosen from: Writing intensive coursework-see course list (may also count toward Core Curriculum; Plan II honors requires at least a C-) | 3 | |
| Hours chosen from: Upper-division Writing intensive coursework-see course list (may also count toward Core Curriculum; Plan II honors requires at least a C-) | 6 | |
| Choose a sequence below: | 12 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors (requires at least a C-; may also count toward Core Curriculum) | ||
| Plan II World Literature Part I | ||
or T C 303C | Plan II World Literature Part I | |
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
| British Literature | ||
or E 316M | American Literature | |
or E 316N | World Literature | |
| Foreign Language other than English, Intermediate Proficiency | 3 | |
| Choose a sequence below: Social Science | 3 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors (requires at least a C-; may also count toward Core Curriculum) | ||
| Honors Social Science: Methods and Theory | ||
or S S 302D | Honors Social Science: Psychology | |
or S S 302E | Honors Social Science: Anthropology | |
or S S 302E | Honors Social Science: Anthropology | |
or S S 302F | Honors Social Science: Economics | |
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
| Mathematics | ||
| Choose a sequence below: (M 301, M 316K, and M 316L do not count toward this requirement) | 3 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors | ||
| Modern Mathematics: Plan II | ||
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
Hours chosen from: Mathematics | ||
| Choose a sequence below: | 3 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors | ||
| Modes of Reasoning | ||
or PHL 313Q | Logic and Scientific Reasoning | |
| Sequence 2: Plan I | ||
| Choose a sequence below: | 15 | |
| Sequence 1: Plan II Honors | ||
Six Hours chosen from: Astronomy, biology, chemistry, geological sciences, physical science, or physics (may also count toward Core Curriculum) | ||
| Problems in Modern Biology | ||
| Modern Physics: Plan II | ||
Three Hours chosen from: | ||
Art history, music history, or history of theatre and dance | ||
Upper-division classical civilization, humanities, literature, or philosophy | ||
| Sequence 2: Plan I International Relations and Global Studies | ||
Free electives: Additional coursework to reach total hours required. | ||
| Sequence 3: Other Plan I | ||
Hours chosen from: | ||
Liberal Arts multi-disciplinary minor in the Social and Behavioral Sciences | ||
Liberal Arts multi-disciplinary minor in Cultural Expression, Human Experience, and Thought | ||
| Total Hours | 51 | |
Additional Requirements and Policies
Unless otherwise stated, students must complete at least:
- 15 upper-division degree hours
- 24 upper-division degree hours taken in residence at the University
- 36 additional degree hours taken in residence at the University.
Credit may be earned via credit by examination, extension, or transferred hours from another institution (requires dean's approval).
Major and minor required hours may also be used to fulfill degree requirements unless expressly prohibited.
A course in one degree area may not also be used to fulfill the requirements of another degree area unless specified otherwise.
Mathematics courses at the college algebra level may not count toward elective hours.
Majors
A major consists of 24 to 45 hours, with at least 15 upper-division hours unless the requirements of the major state otherwise.
Students must earn at least:
- 18 major hours taken in residence at the University.
- 6 upper-division major hours taken in residence at the University
- a 2.00 grade point average for in-residence major hours taken at the University unless a higher minimum scholastic requirement is specified for the major.
Minors
Students must get permission from their College of Liberal Arts academic advisor to pursue more than one transcript-recognized minor or certificate per major. The academic advisor will approve or deny the request after considering the student's long-term educational and professional goals and the student's ability to graduate within 4 years of entering the University.
Students should consult the department offering the course before planning to use it to fulfill the minor requirement.
Hours used to fulfill the requirements for a minor must be taken on the letter-grade basis.