Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Hobart and William Smith Colleges have a record of excellence in the health professions. HWS graduates gain admission to highly selective programs, and our alums go on to become leaders in their fields. Our small class sizes, high-quality faculty, strength in the sciences, and community of collaborative, diverse and high-achieving students promote strong learning outcomes. Professional schools know this, and value our graduates for what they learn at HWS and for our graduates' records of success in taking on new challenges after college.

At HWS, health professions advising is individualized. In addition to the information provided on the Health Professions webpage, the Health Professions Advising Office, located in the Salisbury Center for Career, Professional and Experiential Education, maintains a wealth of additional resources. Workshops, guest speakers, information sessions and other special opportunities are widely advertised on campus and shared with students through a health professions email distribution list.

Health Professions Club
This active, student-run group sponsors multiple health professions-related programs both on and off campus.

Internship Program
An opportunity to observe the delivery of healthcare and volunteer in the healthcare field is provided each semester for interested sophomores, juniors and seniors. HWS has partnered with Finger Lakes Health and a number of other local providers. Interns commit to 50 hours of shadowing/volunteer time during the semester. The Health Professions Advising Office can also arrange short-term job shadowing and off-campus experiences.

Early Assurance Medical Programs
SUNY Upstate Medical University allows qualified students to apply and be accepted to medical school at the end of the sophomore year.

Early Assurance Nursing Program
HWS and the University Of Rochester School Of Nursing have established a 4+3 program that provides third-year students a guaranteed seat in either the one-year post baccalaureate program leading to RN licensure or the three-year program leading to nurse practitioner certification.

The Health Profession Advisory Committee (HPAC), comprised of faculty members, administrators, and the health professions counselor, advises students regarding all aspects of the application process.

THE PROGAM
Majors and Minors
Pre-health students can and should major in disciplines that they are passionate about. While many pre-health students select majors in the sciences, this is often not required. The minor in Health Care Professions is a popular choice, but students can and should minor in a subject of interest. Minors in foreign languages, Public Policy, Women's or Men's Studies, International Relations, Child Advocacy, or a host of others can serve pre-health students well.

Prerequisite courses
Health professional schools set prerequisites for gaining admission to their programs. Students should consult regularly with their faculty advisers and the Health Professions Adviser to plan an academic program that best prepares them for their chosen profession. Information is also available on the Health Professions webpage.

Standardized Exams
Prerequisite courses are the best initial preparation for standardized exams such as the MCAT, DAT and PCAT. Exams must be taken a year (or more) before entry into professional school. The Health Professions Counselor can provide additional information about exams and how best to prepare for them.

THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS MINOR
This is an interdisciplinary minor for students preparing for professional or graduate training in a health care specialty. The minor is particularly suited for students majoring in a natural science (such as Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, or Physics) who wish to take a suite of interdisciplinary courses that will provide them with perspectives from the social sciences and humanities on health care and related topics. In addition, students can take some courses for the minor that will provide them with useful skills or experiences for practicing medicine in a professional setting.

Faculty members of the Health Professions Minor Steering Committee oversee the minor program, advise students, and approve declaration and audit forms for individual students. The Health Professions Advisory Committee Chair acts as the program coordinator and approves all minor declarations and audits.

The Goals of the Minor

• Enable the participants to study important issues of health care in the United States and abroad.
• Allow the participants to gain auxiliary skills vITA to health professionals in the 21st century.
• Allow the participants to improve communication skills and to consider ethical foundations essential for health professionals.

Students minoring in health professions must complete:

• Six total courses/experiences, all of which must be unique to the minor.
• No more than two 100-level courses.
• At least one Foundations Course.
• A concentration of at least three courses. The courses within the concentration of choice must come from at least two different disciplines.
• Students may choose from one of the concentration areas listed below, or
• Students may develop a concentration, collaborating with their minor adviser to define the concentration and select appropriate courses.

Credit/no credit courses cannot be counted toward the minor.
Special attention should be paid to completing some of the formal coursework in both the humanities and social sciences; the minor should be diverse with courses from several different disciplines. Students may also wish to include up to two of the Skills Courses/Experiences listed below.

Foundations Courses - must complete one, no more than two may be used for the minor:

• ANTH 110 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (offered every semester)
• CSQS 101 Introduction to LGBT and Queer Studies (offered every semester)
• PHIL 156 Biomedical Ethics (offered 3 out of every 4 semesters)
• PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology (offered every semester)
• SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology (offered every semester)
• WMST 100 Intro to Women's Studies (offered every semester)

Skills Courses/Experiences - optional; no more than two may be used for the minor:

• An HWS-sponsored Clinical Internship (minimum of 50 hours) or EMT certification
• HCP 450 An appropriate Independent Study approved in advance by the steering committee
• SPN 102, 121, 122, 203, 204 (any of these listed Spanish language courses may be counted on its own; a second Spanish language course can be counted, but must be at the 200-level)**
• WRRH 351 The Science Beat (offered alternate years)

** If your career plans in health care make another language desirable, two courses in a language other than Spanish can be incorporated into the minor with permission of your minor adviser and the program Chair. You should get permission BEFORE you embark on any language other than Spanish.

Concentrations - students must complete at least three courses in one concentration. The courses within the concentration of choice must come from at least two different disciplines (for example, ECON and SOC, or ECON and WMST, but not solely ECON).

A. Health Care Policy
AFS 200 Ghettoscapes (offered alternate years)
AFS 208 Growing Up Black (offered alternate years)
BIDS 214 The Politics of Reproduction (offered alternate years)
BIDS/SOC 295 Alcohol Use and Abuse (offered occasionally)
ECON 122 Economics of Caring (offered every fall)
ECON 160 Principles of Economics (offered every semester)
ECON 248 Poverty & Welfare (offered alternate years)
EDUC 308 Politics of Care (offered alternate years)
HIST 325 Medicine in Modern Europe (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 313)
MDSC 307 Medicine and Society (offered every 2 to 3 years)
PHIL 243 Philosophy of Sex and Love (not offered again until further notice)
PHIL 315 Social Justice (not offered again until further notice)
SOC 221 Race and Ethnic Relations (offered annually)
SOC 223 Inequalities
SOC 224 Social Deviance (offered annually)
SOC 225 Working Families (offered alternate years)
SOC 226 Sociology of Sex and Gender (offered alternate years)
SOC 241 Sociology of Sport (offered occasionally)
SOC 248 Medical Sociology (offered occasionally)
WMST 204 Politics of Health (offered approximately annually)
WMST 220 The Body Politic (offered occasionally)
WMST 305 Food, Feminism and Health (offered most fall semesters)
WMST 362 Topics in Feminist Health (offered occasionally)

B. Mind & Body
ANTH 205 Race, Class, Ethnicity (offered alternate years)
ANTH 220 Sex Roles: A Cross Cultural Perspective (offered annually)
ANTH 341/441 Making Babies (offered alternate years)
BIDS/SOC 295 Alcohol Use and Abuse (offered occasionally)
DAN 225 Anatomy and Kinesiology (offered alternate years)
DAN 305 Somatics (offered alternate years)
HIST 209 History of Medieval Women (offered occasionally)
HIST 313 Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 325)
HIST 325 Medicine in Modern Europe (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 313)
HIST 351 Freud and the Problem of Authority (offered alternate years)
MDSC 307 Medicine and Society (offered every 2 to 3 years)
PHIL 208 The Scientific Revolution (offered occasionally)
PHIL 238 Philosophy of Natural Science (offered alternate years)
PHIL 243 Philosophy of Sex and Love (not offered again until further notice)
PSY 203 Introduction to Child Psychology & Human Development (EDUC 202 Human Growth & Development may be substituted for PSY 203) (offered annually)
PSY 205 Adolescent Psychology (offered occasionally)
PSY 221 Introduction to Psychopathology (offered annually)
PSY 245 Cross-Cultural Psychology (offered annually)
PSY 275 Human Sexuality (offered occasionally)
REL 213 Death & Dying (offered annually)
REL 260 Religion and Philosophy from a Global Perspective (offered alternate years)
WMST 220 The Body Politic (offered occasionally)
WMST 247 Psychologies of Women (offered occasionally)
WMST 362 Topics in Feminist Health (offered occasionally)

C. Health and Social Justice
*Required Foundations course: PHIL 156 Biomedical Ethics (offered 3 out of every 4 semesters)
AMST 349 Gender, Space and Narrative Reparation (offered approximately annually)
ANTH 205 Race, Class, Ethnicity (offered alternate years)
ANTH 220 Sex Roles: A Cross Cultural Perspective (offered annually)
ANTH 341/441 Making Babies (offered alternate years)
BIDS 214 The Politics of Reproduction (offered alternate years)
CSQS 204 Bodies of Difference (offered alternate years)
CSQS 302 Trans*Feminism (alternate years)
EDUC 308 Politics of Care (offered alternate years)
ENG 114 Sickness, Health, and Disability (offered alternate years)
MDSC 307 Medicine and Society (offered every 2 to 3 years)
PHIL 157 Multicultural Ethics (offered occasionally)
PHIL 234 What Should I Do? Possible Answers (not offered again until further notice)
PHIL 235 Morality & Self-Interest (not offered again until further notice)
PHIL 315 Social Justice (not offered again until further notice)
REL 213 Death & Dying (offered annually)
REL 260 Religion and Philosophy from a Global Perspective (offered alternate years)
SOC 248 Medical Sociology (offered occasionally)
WMST 204 Politics of Health (offered approximately annually)
WMST 220 The Body Politic (offered occasionally)
WMST 305 Food, Feminism and Health (offered most fall semesters)
WMST 362 Topics in Feminist Health (offered occasionally)

D. Social Determinants of Health and Behavior
AFS 200 Ghettoscapes (offered alternate years)
AFS 208 Growing Up Black (offered alternate years)
AMST 349 Gender, Space and Narrative Reparation (offered approximately annually)
ANTH 205 Race, Class, Ethnicity (offered alternate years)
ANTH 220 Sex Roles: A Cross Cultural Perspective (offered annually)
ANTH 260 Medical Anthropology (offered alternate years)
ANTH 341/441 Making Babies (offered alternate years)
BIDS/SOC 295 Alcohol Use and Abuse (offered occasionally)
CSQS 204 Bodies of Difference (offered alternate years)
CSQS 302 Trans*Feminism (alternate years)
ECON 122 Economics of Caring (offered every fall)
ECON 160 Principles of Economics (offered every semester)
ECON 248 Poverty & Welfare (offered alternate years)
EDUC 308 Politics of Care (offered alternate years)
ENG 114 Sickness, Health, and Disability (offered alternate years)
HIST 151 Food Systems in History (offered every spring)
HIST 313 Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 325)
HIST 325 Medicine in Modern Europe (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 313)
HIST 351 Freud and the Problem of Authority (offered alternate years)
MDSC 307 Medicine and Society (offered every 2 to 3 years)
PHIL 208 The Scientific Revolution (offered occasionally)
PHIL 243 Philosophy of Sex and Love (not offered again until further notice)
PSY 245 Cross-Cultural Psychology (offered annually)
PSY 275 Human Sexuality (offered occasionally)
REL 213 Death & Dying (offered annually)
REL 260 Religion and Philosophy from a Global Perspective (offered alternate years)
SOC 221 Race and Ethnic Relations (offered annually)
SOC 223 Inequalities
SOC 224 Social Deviance (offered annually)
SOC 225 Working Families (offered alternate years)
SOC 226 Sociology of Sex and Gender (offered alternate years)
SOC 238 Immigrant America (offered annually)
SOC 241 Sociology of Sport (offered occasionally)
SOC 248 Medical Sociology (offered occasionally)
SOC 263 Juvenile Delinquency (offered annually)
WMST 204 Politics of Health (offered approximately annually)
WMST 220 The Body Politic (offered occasionally)
WMST 247 Psychology of Women (offered occasionally)
WMST 305 Food, Feminism and Health (offered most fall semesters)
WMST 362 Topics in Feminist Health (offered occasionally)

E. Health Humanities
AMST 349 Gender, Space and Narrative Reparation (offered approximately annually)
DAN 225 Anatomy and Kinesiology (alternate years)
DAN 305 Somatics (offered alternate years)
ENG 114 Sickness, Health, and Disability (offered alternate years)
HIST 151 Food Systems in History (offered every spring)
HIST 209 History of Medieval Women (offered occasionally)
HIST 313 Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 325)
HIST 325 Medicine in Modern Europe (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 313)
HIST 351 Freud and the Problem of Authority (offered alternate years)
MDSC 307 Medicine and Society (offered every 2 to 3 years)
PHIL 157 Multicultural Ethics (offered occasionally)
PHIL 208 The Scientific Revolution (offered occasionally)
PHIL 234 What Should I Do? Possible Answers (not offered again until further notice)
PHIL 235 Morality & Self-Interest (not offered again until further notice)
PHIL 238 Philosophy of Natural Science (offered alternate years)
PHIL 243 Philosophy of Sex and Love (not offered again until further notice)
PHIL 315 Social Justice (not offered again until further notice)
REL 213 Death & Dying (offered annually)
REL 260 Religion and Philosophy from a Global Perspective (offered alternate years)
WMST 247 Psychology of Women (offered occasionally)

F. Global Health
ANTH 205 Race, Class, Ethnicity (offered alternate years)
ANTH 220 Sex Roles: A Cross Cultural Perspective (offered annually)
ANTH 260 Medical Anthropology (offered alternate years)
ANTH 341/441 Making Babies (offered alternate years)
ECON 248 Poverty & Welfare (offered alternate years)
HIST 151 Food Systems in History (offered every spring)
HIST 313 Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 325)
HIST 325 Medicine in Modern Europe (offered in fall semesters alternating with HIST 313)
REL 213 Death & Dying (offered annually)
REL 260 Religion and Philosophy from a Global Perspective (offered alternate years)
SOC 248 Medical Sociology (offered occasionally)

G. Difference and Health Inequalities
AFS 200 Ghettoscapes (offered alternate years)
AFS 208 Growing Up Black (offered alternate years)
AMST 349 Gender, Space and Narrative Reparation (offered approximately annually)
ANTH 205 Race, Class, Ethnicity (offered alternate years)
ANTH 220 Sex Roles: A Cross Cultural Perspective (offered annually)
ANTH 260 Medical Anthropology (offered alternate years)
ANTH 341/441 Making Babies (offered alternate years)
BIDS 214 The Politics of Reproduction (offered alternate years)
CSQS 204 Bodies of Difference (offered alternate years)
CSQS 302 Trans*Feminism (alternate years)
ECON 122 Economics of Caring (offered every fall)
ECON 248 Poverty & Welfare (offered alternate years)
ENG 114 Sickness, Health, and Disability (offered alternate years)
HIST 209 History of Medieval Women (offered occasionally)
PSY 245 Cross-Cultural Psychology (offered annually)
SOC 221 Race and Ethnic Relations (offered annually)
SOC 223 Inequalities
SOC 224 Social Deviance (offered annually)
SOC 225 Working Families (offered alternate years)
SOC 226 Sociology of Sex and Gender (offered alternate years)
SOC 238 Immigrant America (offered annually)Â
SOC 248 Medical Sociology (offered occasionally)
SOC 263 Juvenile Delinquency (offered annually)
WMST 204 Politics of Health (offered approximately annually)
WMST 220 The Body Politic (offered occasionally)
WMST 247 Psychology of Women (offered occasionally)
WMST 305 Food, Feminism and Health (offered most fall semesters)
WMST 362 Topics in Feminist Health (offered occasionally)

Selected courses from study abroad programs may also be included in the minor with prior approval by the steering committee. The programs in Galway, Ireland and Copenhagen, Denmark are especially recommended.