Health Studies Minor

The minor in Health Studies will prepare students to identify the various factors that influence health and wellness at individual, community, and global levels. Students will understand the policies and systems that shape our healthcare practices and acquire the skills to understand and critique health research at the population level. In addition, students will partner with individuals and communities to understand how to improve health outcomes and advocate for ethics in healthcare practice and for just distribution of healthcare resources.

Watch the videos below to learn more about how the Health Studies minor has helped advance students’ careers and contributions to the health of the community.


Requirements

Students are required to complete a total of 30 credits of coursework (shown below). Please note that some courses may have pre-requisites that students will need to include in their graduation plan.

Required Health Studies core courses, 10 credits:

  • BHS 201 Introduction to Public Health
  • BHS 302 Social Dimensions of Health

ONE of the following research courses for 5 credits:

  • BHS 300 Principles of Health Research*
  • BIS 312 Approaches to Social Research
  • BES 301 Science Methods and Practice
  • BNURS 460 Translating Scholarly Knowledge to Nursing Practice

15 credits of approved Health Studies Elective courses. Of these 15 credits, a minimum of 5 credits must be completed with a BHS or B HLTH prefix.

*BHS 210 (Community Health Promotion & Communication) is a pre-/co-requisite to BHS 300. If you would like to pursue a pre-requisite exception request, please contact the Health Studies Academic Advisor, Kaitlin Wolf (wrightkr@uw.edu).


Course petitions

If you are interested in petitioning a course to satisfy a requirement in the Health Studies minor, please connect with the Health Studies Academic Advisor Kaitlin Wolf (wrightkr@uw.edu) to learn more about the process.

Course petitions are reviewed by the Health Studies Curriculum Committee during the Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters. Note: petitions are NOT reviewed during Summer quarters. All petitions must be submitted by the 6th week of the quarter in order to be reviewed and processed prior to the end of the quarter.


Questions?

Interested students should review the minor requirements and declare the minor as early as possible. To declare the Health Studies minor, please contact your primary major academic advisor by email or during an advising appointment.

If you would like to take a BHS course in an upcoming quarter, please reach out to the Health Studies Program via email (uwbnhs@uw.edu).

For any other questions, please feel free to contact with the School of Nursing & Health Studies Office by phone (425.352.5376), email (uwbnhs@uw.edu), or in person in UW1-211.


Updated June 2023