MS Degree Program in Medical Humanities (University of Rochester)

Medicine is a science and an art. Caring for a patient is a professional and scientific practice; it is also a personal and profoundly human relationship for both the patient and the practitioner. The field of medical humanities uses the perspectives and tools of humanities and arts disciplines – including literature, ethics, history, visual arts and others – to study the human contexts of healthcare.

In the biopsychosocial tradition of healthcare education at Rochester, the program provides foundational training in this field. Students study humanities to consider interpersonal perspectives and sociocultural contexts of patients and caregivers, and to develop skills that can be applied directly to the practice and teaching of healthcare.

Who Should Apply?

This one year degree program fosters interdisciplinary collaborative teaching and learning. It is intended for students, trainees, professionals and scholars in:

  • Healthcare Disciplines (medicine, nursing, dentistry,
    social work, pastoral care, physician assistants,
    physical and occupational therapy, and allied health
    fields) who want to develop humanities-based
    knowledge and skills that can be applied to clinical
    practice
  • Gap Year students
  • Humanities, Arts and Social Science Disciplines
    (literature, history, philosophy and ethics, visual arts,
    anthropology, gender, performing arts, cultural and
    religious studies, etc.) who want to integrate aspects
    of medicine and patient care into their academic work
    and teaching

More details can be found by downloading the flyer.

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