History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health

    History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health

    Duration4 year(s)
    Tuition Fee
    USD 87,705 / Total
    Next IntakeAugust 31, 2023

    History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health

    About

    Director of undergraduate studies: Ivano Dal Prete, EM 310; hshm.yale.edu

    History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on how different forms of knowledge and technology have been created in various times, places, and cultures, and how they have shaped the modern world. The major explores a wide range of questions. For example, is science universal, or does each culture have its own approach to trustworthy knowledge? What is the relationship between medical expertise, social inequality, and everyday life? What is the nature of technology and its relationship to political, economic, and military power? Why do even the best public health campaigns have unintended consequences?

    Course topics include the history of American and Western medicine and public health, medicine and race from the slave trade to the present, health and healing in Africa, scientific knowledge production in the global South, institutions of confinement, health activism, biotechnology, the history of the earth sciences, climate change and planetary catastrophe, the scientific revolution, scientific collections and material culture.

    A major in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health offers excellent preparation for a wide range of careers. Premedical students and others interested in health-related fields can combine preprofessional training with a broad humanistic education. The major also provides a solid foundation for any career at the intersection of the sciences, technology, and public life, including law, business, journalism, museum work, public policy, and government.

    Requirements of the Major

    The major in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health requires twelve term courses (and twelve credits), including the two-term senior requirement. Students select a concentration of seven courses that guides them through an area of specialization. The seven concentration courses must include two courses in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health; one seminar numbered 100 or above in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health or in History; one full-credit science course; and three electives chosen from relevant courses in any department.

    ConcentrationsThe five standard concentrations in the major are Medicine and Public Health; Global Health; Science, Technology, and Society; Gender, Reproduction, and the Body; and Media, Knowledge, and Visual Cultures. Students may also design customized concentrations in consultation with the director of undergraduate studies (DUS). No later than the beginning of the junior year, students in the major must select a standard concentration or indicate that they wish to design their own.

    ElectivesBeyond the seven concentration courses, students must complete three additional electives in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. One of the electives must be a seminar, and one must be chosen from a concentration other than the one selected for the major. All courses for the major are chosen in collaboration with the student's adviser.

    Credit/D/FailA maximum of one History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health course taken Credit/D/Fail before the fifth term of enrollment may be counted toward the requirements of the major.

    RoadmapSee visual roadmap of the requirements.

    Senior Requirement

    By the end of reading period in the spring term of the junior year, students choose whether they will work toward a yearlong or a one-term senior project. Yearlong senior projects are completed in HSHM 490, 491; one-term projects are completed in HSHM 492. Students who choose a one-term project must take an additional HSHM-listed course to complete the major. Only students who complete a yearlong senior project are eligible for Distinction in the Major.

    For both the one-term and yearlong senior projects, students select a project adviser, propose a tentative topic and title, and submit a proposal to the senior project director. The final product of the senior requirement may be a written essay or an alternative project such as a film, exhibition, catalog, atlas, or historical data reconstruction. In the case of an alternative project, the student must identify a second reader in addition to the adviser before the project is approved by the senior project director. Either the adviser or the second reader must be a member of the faculty in History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health. A written component to the senior project must illustrate sources and the intellectual significance of the project. For more details about requirements and deadlines, majors should consult the HSHM Senior Project Handbook; copies are available from the senior project director and on the program website.

    REQUIREMENTS OF THE MAJOR

    PrerequisitesNone

    Number of courses12 term courses (incl senior req)

    Distribution of courses7 courses in concentration, incl 2 HSHM courses, 1 sem in HSHM or HIST numbered 100 or above, 1 science course, and 3 electives; 3 addtl HSHM electives, incl 1 sem and 1 course outside major concentration

    Senior requirementYearlong project (HSHM 490, 491), or one-term project (HSHM 492) and 1 addtl HSHM elective

    Disciplines

    MedicineFACULTY ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROGRAM OF HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH

    Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    • $80 application fee or fee waiver
    • Recommendations from two teachers and one counselor
    • School Report with transcript
    • Standardized test results (ACT or SAT) - not required for fall 2023 admission. (See below)
    • English proficiency test results - required for non-native English-speakers (See below)
    • Mid-Year Report & Final Report

    See additional details about these required application components below.

    Please note that if your application materials include any documents that are not in English, you must provide an official English translation in addition to the original documents.

    $80 application fee or fee waiver

    Applicants should pay the $80 application fee via the Common Application or Coalition Application website.

    Applicants using the Common Application or Coalition Application may request that the application fee be waived. Learn more on the fee waiver page. The fee waiver scale is based on family size and income in US dollars but is applicable to all international students.

    Recommendations from two teachers and one counselor

    Request recommendations from two teachers who have taught you in core academic subjects (e.g. English, Foreign Language, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies) who know you well, and who have seen you at your best. It is preferable, but not required, that recommendations come from teachers who have taught you during your final or next-to-final year of secondary school.

    Also request a recommendation from your school’s college counselor. If your counselor does not know you well, the recommendation may still provide helpful contextual information about your school and its academic programs. If your school does not have someone serving as a college counselor, please request a recommendation from a school administrator such as a house master, principal, or academic advisor. 

    School Report with transcript

    Your counselor or other school official should submit a School Report with an official transcript that includes all your secondary school courses. If a question on the School Report form is not applicable to your secondary school, leave it blank. 

    Recommendations and transcripts should be submitted electronically through the Common Application or Coalition Application website. If necessary, teachers and counselors may also submit their recommendations and transcripts via mail or digital upload. Recommendations may be sent before or after you submit your application; materials that arrive before your application will be kept on file. The admissions office will make reasonable allowances for late school documents in situations where it is not possible for teachers and counselors to meet the application deadlines.

    Standardized test results

    In response to the extraordinary circumstances associated with the pandemic, Yale has temporarily suspended its requirement that first-year and transfer applicants submit results from the ACT or SAT. The change will be in effect during the 2022-23 admissions cycles for applicants who intend to matriculate in fall 2023. 

    More information on Yale’s test policies is available on the standardized testing page. Standardized tests are just one component of a student’s application and are viewed within the context of the student’s entire file. There is no minimum score required for admission, nor is there a score that will guarantee admission.

    English proficiency exams

    Yale requires that non-native English-speakers who have not taken at least two years of secondary education where English is the medium of instruction submit the results from any of the proficiency tests listed below.

    The TOEFL requires pre-registration for available testing dates. Yale’s most competitive applicants have scores of at least 100 on the internet-based TOEFL.

    The IELTS offers proficiency tests in locations around the world. Pre-registration is required. Yale’s most competitive applicants have IELTS scores of 7 or higher.

    Cambridge English exams are available at testing locations around the world. Pre-registration is required. Yale’s most competitive applicants have Cambridge English scores of 185 or higher on the C1 Advanced, C2 Proficiency, or B2 First exams.

    Applicants may submit the Duolingo English Test (DET), which combines an English proficiency test with a brief video interview. Duolingo’s technology and format allows applicants to complete the test at any time or place with internet access. Yale’s most competitive applicants have DET scores of at least 120.

    InitialView provides live, unscripted video interviews that candidates may submit to colleges for consideration with other application materials. Interview times must be reserved in advance. There is no scoring associated with these interviews.

    Mid-Year Report & Final Report

    Students who do not receive new secondary school grades by February 1, including students who have already completed secondary school, are not required to submit a Mid-Year Report. This includes many international students. Applicants who receive new grades by February 1 should submit a Mid-Year Report.

    Only admitted students are required to submit the Final Report, which provides final secondary school grades and examination marks. Admitted students submit the Final Report in the summer before fall matriculation.

    If your secondary school provides predicted results for external exams such as A-levels, the International Baccalaureate, and other international or national testing organizations, they should be submitted by your school alongside your transcript or Mid-Year Report.

    Fee Information

    Application Fee 80

    How to Apply

    All applicants for first-year admission must submit one of the following:

    • The Coalition Application with Yale-Specific Questions
    • The Common Application with Yale-Specific Questions
    • The QuestBridge National College Match Application

    Yale will accept any one of these applications, without preference for one over another. Students should submit one—and only one—application per admissions cycle.

    History of Science, Medicine, and Public Health

    Yale University

    Yale University

    United States of America

    United States of America, New Haven