Integrated Health Studies

Student Learning Outcomes

Learning outcomes include those specific to the student’s chosen minor/certificate as well as the following broad outcomes. Students will graduate with an Integrated Health Studies major with the ability to

  • Demonstrate effective writing and speaking skills.

  • Employ critical analysis to understand health issues.

  • Apply interdisciplinary thinking to explain health choices and behaviors.

  • Evaluate the social and cultural contexts in which people define and experience health and illness.

  • Analyze multiple viewpoints and strategies regarding health challenges.

Program Contact

Marjorie.Levine-Clark@ucdenver.edu

The Integrated Health Studies Track is designed for students who are interested in health from the perspective of the liberal arts and sciences and who seek interdisciplinary training focused around particular health topics. An interdisciplinary approach to health through the liberal arts and sciences seeks to create broadly-educated citizens who can apply critical thinking, information literacy, analysis, and independent problem solving to a wide variety of situations. Students can choose from a selection of health-focused minors and certificates that they combine with interdisciplinary clusters, which permits deeper understanding of a focused health topic. The track supports students seeking positions in

  • Health education

  • Health administration

  • Community health

  • Non-profit health organizations

  • Environmental health

  • Community organizing

  • Social work

  • Occupational health

  • Health policy

  • Gerontology

  • And more

The Integrated Health Studies Track has a minimum of 39-40 credits:

  • 6-7 credits of introductory courses

  • a minimum of 30 credits in two major areas (a CLAS minor or certificate AND a topical cluster; 15 credits minimum in each area – 9 credits minimum upper division in each area)

  • 3 credits capstone

  • Students must achieve a C in courses taken at CU Denver to satisfy the requirements of the major, and a C- in each transfer course to satisfy the requirements of this major.

Students are required to take TWO of the following four courses as an introduction to their major. If an introductory course is also part of a student’s chosen area, a student may count one introductory course as part of that area’s credits:

  1. COMM 2500 Introduction to Health Communication (3 credits)

  2. HEHM 3100 Introduction to Health Humanities (3 credits)

  3. PBHL 2001 Introduction to Public Health (4 credits)

  4. SOCY 3440 Medical Sociology (3 credits)

Students combine ONE of the following CLAS minors or certificates (areas 1-4) with ONE of the topical clusters (areas 5-11) to make up their major areas. Students can double-count a maximum of one course across their areas (in addition to an introductory course). Students must take courses from at least TWO different disciplines in their topical cluster:

CLAS Minors or Certificates

  1. Public Health Minor

  2. Health Humanities Minor

  3. Health Communication Certificate

  4. Sociology of Health and Medicine Certificate

Topical Clusters

  1. Aging and End of Life Cluster

  2. Biology and Society Cluster

  3. Environmental Health Cluster

  4. Drugs and Addiction Cluster

  5. Family Health Issues Cluster

  6. Food and Nutrition Cluster

  7. Sexuality and Reproduction Cluster

Major Areas

Choose One Minor/Certificate from Areas 1-4

The undergraduate minor in Public Health is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the social, cultural, and biological dimensions of health. The minor curriculum provides students with the intellectual and methodological tools needed to understand the joint bio-cultural determinants and contexts of health, health care and public health.

Students take a minimum of 24 credits, 12 upper division and taken at CU Denver. Up to 6 credit hours completed towards a major or minor in another department may be counted towards the minor in Public Health.

Tier 1: General Public Health. Both courses REQUIRED.

  • PBHL 2001 Introduction to Public Health (4 credits)

  • PBHL 3001 Introduction to Epidemiology (4 credits)

Tier 2: Public Health Foci. Choose at least TWO of the following courses.

  • PBHL 2020 Environmental Health (3 credits)

  • PBHL 3030 Health Policy (3 credits)

  • PBHL 3070 Perspectives in Global Health (3 credits)

  • PBHL 4040 Social Determinants of Health (3 credits)

Note: Students may elect to take all four of the Tier 2 courses in lieu of taking two of the elective courses listed in ‘Tier 4’ below.

Tier 3: Biological Background. Choose ONE of the following three courses.

  • BIOL 1550 Basic Biology: Ecology and the Diversity of Life (4 credits)

  • BIOL 1560 Basic Biology: From Cells to Organisms (4 credits)

  • ANTH 1303 Introduction to Biological Anthropology (4 credits)

Tier 4: Electives. Choose two of the courses from the Pre-Approved Elective List. One of the two required electives must be a PBHL course.

The Health Humanities minor critically analyzes historical and contemporary connections among health, medicine, and society. The minor deepens understandings of disease and wellness, pain and suffering, personhood, the nature of death and dying, embodied experience, and the limits of technological knowledge. Students explore the human dimensions of medical practice and how they interact with lived experience.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 12 upper division and taken at CU Denver. Students may count ONE relevant transfer course toward their elective requirements for the minor.

Requirements:

  • HEHM 3100 Introduction to Health Humanities (3 credits)

  • THREE upper division electives from at least two different disciplines (9 credits)

  • See list of electives on the website (https://clas.ucdenver.edu/health-humanities/minor-requirements) and check with HEHM advisor for updates

  • ONE capstone course approved by the HEHM advisor (3 credits)

The Certificate in Health Communication seeks to impart the knowledge and skills necessary for creating, analyzing, and assessing health communications in a diverse and global world, where health occupies an increasingly prominent portion of our public life. This certificate provides students with a theoretically rich and practically relevant education in how health messages are generated, negotiated, and understood.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, all taken at CU Denver. A grade of B or higher must be earned in each course completed as part of the certificate (a grade of B- is not acceptable).

Requirements: Three core courses

  • COMM 2500 Health Communication

  • COMM 4500 Advanced Health Communication

  • COMM ​4575 Designing Health Messages

ONE elective from a wide array of interdisciplinary health classes (see website: https://clas.ucdenver.edu/communication/programs/certificates)

A health-communication capstone:

  • COMM 3660 Social Media for Social Change (Service Learning)

  • COMM 3939 Internship (in Health Communication) (Internship)

  • COMM 4051 Advanced Strategic Communication (Service Learning)

  • COMM 4525 Health Communication and Communities (Service Learning)

  • COMM 4588 Digital Health Narratives (Service Learning)

  • COMM 4550 Rhetorics of Medicine and Health (Writing Intensive)

  • COMM 4620 Health Risk Communication (Writing Intensive)

  • Discipline-specific health methods class approved by certificate advisor

The Sociology of Health and Medicine Certificate provides training in the core research methodologies and theories of medical sociology, examining individual experience, institutional structures, laws and policies that affect health, and broader systems of inequality that lead to unequal rates of illness and access to care.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, all taken at CU Denver. Students must have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher and earn a minimum of a “C” in each course applied to the certificate.

Requirements: Three core courses

  • SOCY 3440 - Medical Sociology (3 cr.)

  • SOCY 3115 - Quantitative Methods (4 cr.) AND SOCY 3119 - Qualitative Methods (4 cr.)

OR two approved methods courses equivalent to quantitative and qualitative methods in the student’s major discipline (e.g. PSYC 2090, PSYC 3090, PSCI 3011, PHIL 3440, PHIL 2441, ECON 3801, ECON 3811, GEOG 2080, GEOG 4080). Questions about eligible methods course substitutions should be directed to the Sociology of Health & Medicine Certificate Administrator.

Choose One Topical Cluster from Areas 5-11

The Aging and End of Life Cluster is designed for students to learn about the range of human experiences with aging and dying, and to understand the how medical considerations of aging and the end of life intersect with social, ethical, policy, and religious questions.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division

  • ANTH 3666 Anthropology of Death

  • PHIL 3550 Death and Dying

  • PSYC 2205 Lifespan Developmental Psychology for Health Majors (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 2220; or waiver)

  • PSYC 3822 Aging, Brain, and Behavior (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 2220; or waiver)

  • RLST 4460 Death and Concepts of Afterlife

  • SOCY 3570 Death & Dying: Social and Medical Perspectives

  • SOCY 4290 Aging, Society, and Social Policy (Prereq: Junior standing or permission of the instructor)

  • SOCY 4650 Sociology of Adulthood and Aging (Prereq: junior standing, or permission of instructor)

  • IWKS 4520 Design for Healthful Human Longevity (InWorks)

This area examines the ways biology interacts with everyday life. Students will learn about the reciprocal relationships between biology and society, including themes of health and disease, the environment, evolution, ethics, and behavioral choices about health.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division. If students choose multiple upper division PSYC courses, they will need to add the introductory prerequisites, for a total for 21 credits for the cluster.

  • ANTH/PBHL 4060 Evolutionary Medicine (Prereq: ANTH 1303; or waiver)

  • ANTH 4150 Human Biocultural Adaptability (Prereq: junior standing or higher)

  • ANTH 4600 Medical Anthropology (Prereq: junior standing or higher)

  • BIOL/PSYC 3104 Behavioral Genetics (One year of general biology or general psychology are strongly recommended)

  • PHIL 4242 Bioethics (PHIL 3002 or 3022 and a minimum grade of C in each previous philosophy course are strongly recommended, but if the student does not have this coursework, consulting with the instructor prior to registration is strongly recommended)

  • PSYC 2220 Biological Basis of Behavior (Prereq: PSYC 1000 or BIOL 2051)

  • PSYC 3262 Health Psychology (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 2220)

  • PSYC 3263 Hormones and Behavior (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and PSYC 2220)

  • PSYC 3724 Developmental Psychobiology (Prereq: PSYC 1000/1005 or BIOL 2051/2061)

  • PSYC 3810 Neuropsychology (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 2220)

  • SOCY 4220 Population Change and Analysis

This area focuses on the relationships between people and their environments. Students will learn about how both natural and built environments impact human health and disease, and how ecological balances are important to maintaining human health.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division. If students choose multiple upper division BIOL courses, they will need to add the BIOL introductory sequence, General Biology 1 and 2 (BIOL 2051/2095 and BIOL 2061/2097), which counts for university core requirements, for a total of 21 credits in the cluster. You can also use the Biology prerequisites towards a Biology Minor in addition to your cluster.

  • ANTH 3250 Climate, Environment and Society

  • ANTH 3316 - History of Human Environmental Impacts

  • ANTH 4150 Human Biocultural Adaptability (Prereq: junior standing or higher)

  • BIOL 3654 General Microbiology (Prereq: Grade of C- or higher in BIOL 2051/2095, 2061/2097, 2071/2096, 2081/2098 & CHEM 2031/2081, 2038/2088, 2061/2091 and 2068/2098)

  • BIOL 4053 Disease Ecology (Prereq: BIOL 3411 with a C- or higher)

  • BIOL 4154 Conservation Biology (Prereq: BIOL 3411with a C- or higher)

  • BIOL 4415 Microbial Ecology (Prereq: General microbiology with C- or higher)

  • BIOL 4460 Environmental Toxicology (Prereq: Human Physiology with a C- or higher. Organic Chemistry and/or Biochemistry strongly recommended)

  • ENVS 1342 Environment, Society and Sustainability

  • ENVS 4720 Climate Change: Causes, Impacts and Solutions (Prereq: GEOG 3232)

  • GEOG 3401 - Geography of Food and Agriculture

  • GEOG 3501 Geography of Health

  • GEOG 4020 Earth Environments and Human Impacts (Prereq: GEOG 1202 and GEOG 3232)

  • GEOG 4350 Environment and Society in the American Past

  • GEOG 4710 Disasters, Climate Change, and Health

  • PBHL 2020 Introduction to Environmental Health

This area considers the characteristics of addiction and how drugs work. Students will have the opportunity to study drugs and addiction from a variety of perspectives to better understand how individuals experience addiction and how society approaches policies and treatments regarding drugs and addiction.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division.

  • ANTH 3045 Cannabis Culture

  • ANTH 3420 Anthropology and Politics of the Global Tobacco Epidemic

  • ANTH/PBHL 4090 Drug Syndemic (Prereq: Junior standing or higher)

  • BIOL 1200 Drugs, Health, and Wellness

  • ECON 3400 Economics of Sex and Drugs (Prereq: ECON 2022 or waiver)

  • PSYC 3265 Drugs, Brain, and Behavior (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 2220; or waiver)

  • SOCY 3040 Drugs, Alcohol, and Society

This area explores families as locations of health and well-being, on the one hand, and sources of health problems and crises, on the other. Students will learn about the relationships between family health and community health, as well as individual health and family health.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division. If students choose multiple PSYC courses, they will need to add PSYC introductory sequence, PSYC 1000 and PSYC 1005, which counts for core requirements, for total of 21 credits in the cluster.

  • COMM 3275 Family Communication

  • PBHL 3051 Mental Illness and Society

  • PBHL 4110 Public Health Perspectives on Family Violence (Prereq: Junior standing or permission of instructor)

  • PSYC 3405 Family Psychology (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 1005)

  • PSYC 3611 Psychology of Women (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 1005)

  • PSYC 3612 Domestic Abuse (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 1005)

  • SOCY 3010 Sociology of Human Sexuality (Prereq: sophomore standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 3700 Sociology of the Family (Prereq: sophomore standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 4270 Social Meanings of Reproduction (Prereq: junior standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 4290 Aging, Society and Social Policy (Prereq: junior standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 4640 Sociology of Childhood and Adolescence (Prereq: junior standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 4650 Sociology of Adulthood and Aging (Prereq: junior standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 4780 Violence in Relationships (Prereq: junior standing or permission of instructor)

This area considers relationships between nutrition and overall health and well-being. Students will connect food to issues of sustainability and communication, understand obstacles to healthy eating, and learn about global issues of nutrition.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division.

  • ANTH 3210 Urban Food Systems and Sustainability

  • ANTH 4040 Anthropology of Food and Nutrition (Prereq: Junior standing or higher)

  • CHEM 2300 Nutritional Chemistry (Prereq: CHEM 1000 or CHEM 1474 or CHEM 2031 with C- or better; or waiver)

  • COMM 4601 You Are What You Eat: Food as Communication

  • GEOG 3401 Geography of Food and Agriculture

  • GEOG 4460 Sustainable Urban Agriculture Field Study I (Prereq: GEOG 4450; or waiver)

  • GEOG 4470 Sustainable Urban Agriculture Field Study II (Prereq: GEOG 4450 and GEOG 4460)

  • EDFN 4000 Food Justice in Cities and Schools (School of Education and Human Development)

This area examines sexuality and reproduction at both micro and macro levels, from the anatomy of the human body and the psychology of mind to the history of multiple societies and cultures. Students will learn how assumptions about gender and sex inform the science of sexuality and reproduction, and the health impacts that derive from these relationships.

Students take a minimum of 15 credits, 9 upper division.

  • ANTH 4260 - Human Reproductive Ecology

  • BIOL 4074 Human Reproductive Biology (Prereq: BIOL 3611 with C- or better)

  • HIST 4307 History of Sexuality (as independent study)

  • HIST 4345 Gender, Science, and Medicine, 1600 to the Present (as independent study)

  • PBHL 3010 Human Sexuality and Public Health

  • PBHL 3071 Global Topics in Sexual and Reproductive Health

  • PSYC 3235 Human Sexuality (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 1005)

  • PSYC 3263 Hormones and Behavior (Prereq: PSYC 1000 and 2220)

  • SOCY 3010 Sociology of Human Sexuality (Prereq: sophomore standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 3080: Sex and Gender (Prereq: sophomore standing or permission of instructor)

  • SOCY 4220: Population Change and Analysis (Prereq: Junior standing or permission of the instructor)

  • SOCY 4270 Social Meanings of Reproduction (Prereq: Junior standing or permission of the instructor)

ISMA 4900 Interdisciplinary Studies Capstone (existing course)

ISMA 4900 brings together students who have been working on their Integrated Health Studies Majors to share a capstone experience. The goal of the capstone is for students to put their interdisciplinary learning into action – whether through a traditional research project or an experiential learning project. All students must produce a final project that demonstrates their abilities to pose an interdisciplinary question and synthesize the theories, methods, and analytical perspectives of their chosen clusters to answer that question. While working with faculty advisors suited to the academic content of their capstone projects, students meet in class to discuss their experiences and to get feedback from each other as their projects develop. Grades will be determined by the instructor of record in consultation with each student's Faculty Advisor. Prerequisite: Capstone proposal approved by faculty advisor.