Medical Humanities

Overview
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, through the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, offers a
Concentration in Medical Humanities (“The Medical Humanities Concentration”) for students enrolled in
McGovern Medical School who have demonstrated substantive scholarship in Medical Humanities through course
work, participation in the Medical Humanities community, a final research project, and relevant volunteer or
leadership experience. The award of the certificate for the Medical Humanities Concentration is noted on the
student’s final transcript and, near graduation, a banquet for students is held celebrating this accomplishment.

Number of Students
No more than 30 students per class year may be enrolled in the Medical Humanities Concentration.

Admission to the Concentration
Applications for admission can be submitted beginning the Spring of the student’s MSI year. Second-year
applicants are encouraged to apply as well. These applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Students
wishing to gain admittance to the Medical Humanities Concentration are encouraged to attend either Introduction
to Medical Humanities course (i.e., History and Literature or Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics) during their first
year of medical school.

Students must submit their application for admission to the Concentration through the Scholarly Concentrations
website:

https://apps.uth.edu/scholarlyconcentrations/

The application includes a personal statement section asking students to explain why they wish to pursue the
Medical Humanities Concentration as well as a description of their future goals.

Core Requirements
The requirements of the program may be found here: https://go.uth.edu/humanities-requirements

Core Courses
Introduction to Medical Humanities: History and Literature* (taught each Fall)
Introduction to Medical Humanities: Philosophy, Religion, and Ethics* (taught each Spring)
Summer Humanities Seminar (MSI Summer)
One McGovern Center-sponsored blue book elective (during MSI and MSII years)
Humanistic Elements of Medicine (Block 6, 8, or 11 of MSIV year)
*Note: Students may take these courses in either the MSI or MSII year and in any order

Required Concentration Activities and Events
Students are expected to attend 4 Medical Humanities Activities and Events in each year during their MSII,
MSIII, and MSIV years. Of the 4 required, 2 must be dinners hosted by the McGovern Center, and the remaining
2 events should selected from Center-sponsored or other outside activities. Center events include Grand Rounds in
Clinical Ethics, Poetry or Film Nights, and Book Clubs. Virtual events are also eligible for credit. Various
opportunities are posted to the Center’s Events Calendar and Community Events Calendar. Note: “Events” are
Center-sponsored and “Community Events” are across the broader humanities and ethics communities. Students
are encouraged to follow the McGovern Center on Facebook and Twitter @McGovernCenter to receive
notifications of upcoming events.

Service Requirement
The service experience may consist of either volunteer work, such as through the Day of Service or other
volunteer opportunities available through McGovern Medical School, or leadership efforts for an activity or
experience approved by the Director, including developing blue book (or extracurricular) electives, workshops,
and more. In order to receive credit, students must submit a brief description of their service experience.

Writing Requirements
Students pursuing the Concentration are expected to demonstrate reflection and an interest in sustaining self-knowledge sufficient to promote their own growth as humanistic physicians. During students’ MSIII year of the
Concentration, students keep a journal of personal reflections of their experiences and feelings during their
clinical rotations. Students also attend a writing workshop aimed at developing and refining their reflective
writing skills.

Students enrolled in the Medical Humanities Concentration must (1) complete a scholarly research project on a
subject related to the Medical Humanities or Ethics; or (2) produce a substantial work of interpretive content
under the direction of a member of the McGovern Center’s faculty. A paper will be written about either the
research findings or the interpretive content. The scholarly research paper must be 10-12 pages in length, double-spaced, and in 12-point font with one-inch margins and must include a minimum of 10 sources. Students who opt
to complete an interpretive project must obtain approval from the Director during the Humanistic Elements of
Medicine course block in which they are enrolled. An additional 5-page paper is required for interpretive projects.

Optional Third-Year Elective
Students may optionally enroll in SCHO 3030: Student Research (formerly Scholarly Concentrations) during the
MSIII year. The course is an independent study wherein the student works with the program director or other
McGovern Center faculty mentor to begin developing their final project. The course is pass/fail. The primary
focus is to create, at minimum, a bibliography (minimum of 10 sources) to use for their final project. Check-in
dates are decided between the student and mentor, with three established deadlines serving as general guides.
Students who enroll in this elective in fall should submit their bibliography by December 15, those in spring by
May 15, and, those in summer by July 15. Exceptions to these deadlines due to block schedules are to be
negotiated between the student and faculty mentor. Students interested in enrolling in the MSIII elective must first contact the program director and coordinator.

Make-Up Credit
If a student cannot complete one or more program requirements, credit may be obtained each missed requirement
by successfully completing a make-up assignment. To replace a missing event, students complete a two-page,
single-spaced paper (1,000 words) on an assigned reading; the assigned reading will relate to the missed event.
“Missed event” refers to Concentration-sponsored activities and events, such as Grand Rounds in Clinical Ethics,
Dinner Lectures, Special Lectures, etc. If a student is admitted to the Concentration during their MSII year, and they missed the Summer Humanities Seminar, the student may substitute two additional blue book electives
sponsored by the McGovern Center in its place. The deadline for make-up work is one month after notification of
the deficiency. If a student must complete multiple make-up assignments to account for missing program
requirements, all make-up work must be submitted no later than September 30 of the student’s MSIV year (prior
to taking Humanistic Elements of Medicine and completing their final project).

Good Academic Standing Requirement
The student must maintain good academic standing with McGovern Medical School. If a student does not meet
this requirement, the Office of Student Affairs may limit their participation in the Scholarly Concentrations.

Reporting of Completed Requirements
Canvas is the official site for the Medical Humanities Concentration. A new course is launched annually by
August 1. Past completion of requirements is entered into the new Gradebook for tracking purposes, where
applicable, and new assignments are created to enable students to report their progress. The program coordinator
enters students’ completion of selected items, such as the Introduction to Medical Humanities courses (2 total),
writing workshops attended during MSIII year, the Humanistic Elements of Medicine MSIV course, and final
project. However, it is incumbent upon the student to submit completion details for blue book electives, volunteer
or leadership service, events, dinners, and journals. Although students may email the program coordinator, Canvas is the preferred method for reporting completed activities.

Completion of the Concentration
No student may complete the Concentration without the approval of the Director, and the Director retains the
discretion to drop a student from the Concentration for failure to comply with any of the requirements or for other
good cause. The Director shall also have authority to modify, waive, or reconfigure the Concentration
Requirements, where necessary, to promote equity and fairness in the event of unforeseen complications or
exigent circumstances.

Withdrawal or Leave from the Concentration
A student who is withdrawing or will be on leave for an academic year or more, for instance, to complete another
educational program (e.g., MPH, PhD, fellowship) or research, should notify the Director and program
coordinator. It is recommended such notification be made before the start of the next academic year to ensure
accuracy of student rosters and records.

For more information: Please contact the Program Director, Keisha Ray, PhD, at Keisha.S.Ray@uth.tmc.edu or
the program coordinator, Angela Gomez, EdD, MBA, at Angela.P.Gomez@uth.tmc.edu.