Majors & Minors

This 16-unit minor in health administration provides students with a background in administration and management issues in the field of health care and the skills necessary to pursue health-related management opportunities in the for-profit, nonprofit and governmental sectors.

This degree is for individuals who desire the freedom and responsibility to design their own educational path. USC students, living in urban Los Angeles, have access to a myriad of research and volunteer experiences to complement their academic course work. The Health and Human Sciences major encourages the inquiry skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the evolving disciplines of health, science and medicine.

The field of health care, including medicine, pharmacy, dentistry and allied health providers, has changed so dramatically over the last 25 years that our traditional approach to training undergraduates has become obsolete. The traditional biology degree does not adequately provide the student with the knowledge to pursue a career in health. Preparing for a career in health requires an interdisciplinary approach with a foundation of science. As stated by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), doctors must be able to appreciate the diverse populations they work with and "have a clear understanding of the impact of behavior on health." This requires understanding how psychological, cultural, social, economic, ethical and biological factors influence our lives and most importantly, our health.

The Health and Human Sciences curriculum combines all of the necessary science, social science, humanities and critical thinking concepts, as well as field experience, in order to educate a broadly thinking and prepared student. The major is designed so that every student will be able to choose a semester abroad program as a component of this major.

This major is open to all students. Students are not required to pursue a pre-health track to declare this major.

The Bachelor of Arts in Health and Humanity is a liberal arts degree. It is intended for students interested in fields that inform the health professions and in related questions about health and human experience. Courses in this interdisciplinary major meet many of the requirements for admission to the professional programs in medicine, nursing and other fields, but do not meet all of those entrance requirements. Some electives in this major have prerequisites in mathematics and physics that cannot be counted toward the 36-unit requirement in major electives. Students should consult their academic advisers for precise information on prerequisites and admission requirements for specific health fields.

Summary of Requirements

Core: 24 units; experiential learning: 1–4 units; major electives: one thematic module 16–20 units, other electives 16–20 units; total requirements: 61–64 units including at least 36 upper-division units plus prerequisites for certain electives.

The Keck Minor in Health Care Studies is designed for undergraduates who wish to pursue a postgraduate career in health care or health care related fields. Students are exposed to course work and skills that are practical and relevant for a future career in health care. The minor brings together course work that explores health care both in the classroom and in clinical settings. Students are given practical hands-on activity and experiences in research laboratories, hospitals, the simulation lab, the cadaver lab and other unique settings not typically offered at an undergraduate level.

The Minor in Health Care Studies will:

1. Provide instruction in domains identified as prerequisite competencies for health professions education.
2. Provide content related to contemporary issues in health care.
3. Provide students with an introduction to clinical care.
4. Demonstrate the importance of scientific research and its applications to clinical practice.

This minor is designed to appeal to students with a wide range of interests, including those with a general interest in promoting healthy lifestyle practices through effective communication. These students will be prepared to seek jobs in areas such as the managed care industry, hospitals, wellness programs, broadcast and cable companies, and private and governmental agencies, as well as other organizations looking for experts with demonstrated knowledge in health-related fields.

The Health Innovation Minor is intended for undergraduate students at USC who are interested in collaborative health innovations that leverage the complex intersections of health science expertise, societal need, technology, patient active participation, new business/finance models and inclusive policy for health. Through participation in the minor, students will have the opportunity to:

• Identify cross-cutting health challenges and understand their components and interrelations;
• Create a diverse team with common interests and different view-points surrounding a health innovation challenge of common interest to the team;
• Cross-train in the core aspects of a challenge so as to facilitate collaboration and communication;
• Collaborate with other team members to prototype a process or product innovation that addresses a chosen challenge;
• Investigate the intersectional components of an impactful innovation and co-design elements from different sectors that are tightly coupled within a challenge;
• Use the co-design process to introduce disruptive perspectives across and within participating sectors

In the process the students build collaborative innovation skills that are relevant to 21st century environments with an emphasis on health applications for diverse populations. The skills include systems thinking, cross-sector collaboration, integrated innovation,  iterative improvement, team-building, project management, design strategy, inclusive design. 

The minor is a collaborative effort between: the Iovine and Young Academy (IYA); the Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Social Work, Gerontology and Cinematic Arts; the Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy; the School of Dance; the School of Public Policy; the Department of Biomedical Engineering; the Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine; and the Institute for Creative Technologies.

Application information for the minor can be found at: iovine-young.usc.edu​.

This 16-unit minor in health policy provides students with a background in the policy issues and challenges globally, nationally and locally related to quality, cost and access to health care. Students in this minor will acquire an understanding of these issues and the skills required to influence health policy.

The undergraduate program in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies (HP) provides a well-rounded, professionally focused education leading to the Bachelor of Science degree. The program is concerned with the sociocultural, behavioral, psychological, and biological factors contributing to wellness and disease. It is an ideal major for students interested in medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, public health, epidemiology, health psychology and health behavior research. Areas of study include: global health; cultural diversity in medicine; substance abuse prevention and program planning; nutrition and fitness; health promotion of minority and underserved populations; and general public health issues (e.g., HIV/AIDS, violence, health promotion in the workplace and behavioral medicine).

bhealthy@usc.edu
hpdp.usc.edu

Director: Heather Wipfli, PhD

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Science degree is awarded after students successfully complete 128 units, consisting of 66 units for the major and fulfillment of USC general education requirements including third semester equivalency in a foreign language.

General Education Requirements

The university's general education program provides a coherent, integrated introduction to the breadth of knowledge you will need to consider yourself (and to be considered by other people) a generally well-educated person. This program is effective for all students entering USC in fall 2015 or later, or transfer students beginning college elsewhere at that time and subsequently transferring to USC. It requires eight courses in six Core Literacies, plus two courses in Global Perspectives (which may double-count with courses in the Core Literacies) and two courses in writing. For more information about USC's general education requirements, see General Education.

Requirements for the Major (66 units)

The program is divided into core and elective components.

The following core component (42 units) is required of all students.

The Healthcare Decision Analysis (HCDA) program gives students the tools and knowledge to succeed in the complex world of healthcare data analytics, international access and reimbursement, product pricing and value assessment, insurance operations and design, along with competitive business intelligence. A dual degree of Doctor of Pharmacy and Master of Science in Healthcare Decision Analysis will be granted upon the completion of the course work required for the PharmD degree, and the HCDA core and elective units. Dual degree students will be credited up to 9 units of appropriate PharmD course work toward the MS, HCDA. Dual degree students will select from a series of HCDA core courses and required electives to meet the MS, HCDA degree requirements. Electives will be considered from the disciplines: applied healthcare policy, business intelligence, regulatory science, and healthcare economics, along with all required clerkships and rotations offered though the USC School of Pharmacy. Students should develop a specific plan of study in consultation with program administrators before beginning the program.

The Hip-Hop, Street and Social Dance Forms minor delves into the historical, social and aesthetic issues of dance in the contemporary settings of entertainment, concert, vernacular and recreational forms. This minor is designed to explore the foundations and structures of hip-hop, street and social dances and to introduce and orient non-major students to the language of dance in contemporary society. In the hip-hop culture, dance has become a major avenue of expression, acceptance and power. This minor will address issues of art, race and politics within the parameters of dance as an art form, entertainment and personal expression.

This minor consists of one lower-division course, one upper-division course and 8 units of elective courses. Students must be in good academic standing to be admitted. No previous dance experience is required.