Medical Humanities
Overview
McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, through the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics, offers a Scholarly Concentration in Medical Humanities (“The Medical Humanities Concentration”) for students enrolled in McGovern Medical School who have demonstrated substantive scholarship in Medical Humanities through coursework, participation in the Medical Humanities community, a final research project, and relevant service 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 concentration.
Admission to the Concentration
Applications for admission can be submitted beginning the Spring of the student’s MSI year. Second-year applicants are also encouraged to apply. 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 share why they wish to pursue the concentration and 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/Rising MSII 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 any order either their MSI or MSII year.
Required Concentration Activities and Events
Students are expected to attend 4 Medical Humanities Activities and Events per year, during their MSII, MSIII, and MSIV years. Two events must be hosted by the McGovern Center, while the remaining two events can be chosen from Center-sponsored or other outside activities. In-person, hybrid, and virtual events are eligible for credit.
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 community). These are often cross-posted in Canvas.
Students are encouraged to follow the McGovern Center on Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter @McGovernCenter to receive notifications of upcoming events.
Service Requirement
The service experience may be either volunteer work of leadership efforts for an activity or experience approved by the Director, including developing blue book (or extracurricular) electives, workshops, and more. Students must submit a 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, they will keep a journal of personal reflections of their experiences and feelings during their clinical rotations. Students will 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. The student should discuss the content of this paper with the concentration director. The scholarly research paper must be 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 artistic/interpretive projects, with a minimum of 7 sources included.
The McGovern Center’s Policy on AI Generative Tools applies to these requirements.
Optional Third-Year Elective
Students may optionally enroll in SCHO 3030: Student Research 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 Dinner Lectures, Events, etc. If a student is admitted to the Concentration during their MSII year, missing the Summer Humanities Seminar, the student may substitute two additional extracurricular 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 15 of the student’s MSIV year. If a student misses scheduled class time during the Humanistic Elements of the Medicine course, the student must submit a 2-page paper on the material discussed during the missed class session. Students should ask their instructor if there is any confusion about the material and the make-up assignment. Assignments should be submitted via Canvas.
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 in August. 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:
Program Director: Keisha Ray, PhD, [email protected];
Coordinator: Angela Gomez, EdD, MBS, MS, [email protected]; or
Student Liaison: Alejandro Zapata, BA, [email protected]