Health Humanities

Program and courses Health Humanities

Combine a cultural, philosophical, historical and anthropological perspective to critically reflect on topical issues in present-day health and medicine.

DISCLAIMER: Program Discontinuation Notice per 2025

September 2024 is the last intake for this program, after which the Health Humanities Master's track will no longer be offered. Importantly, this decision will not affect students who are currently enrolled in the Health Humanities program. Note that pre-Master's students who have enrolled in the Health Humanities program in September of the academic year 2023-2024, will still have the opportunity to pursue the Health Humanities program. In order to obtain a Health Humanities diploma, the program must be completed in the academic year 2024-2025. 

Check out our Master's programs and find out which program suits you best. 

Program structure

This one-year track of MA Culture Studies consists of 60 ECTS:

  • 4 core courses (24 ECTS)
  • 2 research skills modules (6 ECTS)
  • Internship  or 2 elective courses (12 ECTS in total)
  • Master’s thesis (18 ECTS)

This program starts at the end of August.

Program content

Core courses

Follow these 4 core courses:

  • Diversity and Equity in health and medicine
  • Knowledge Production in Health and Medicine 
  • Digital Futures 
  • The Normal and the Abnormal 
Research skill modules

Choose 2 research skills modules from the following list:

  • Using Digital Literacies 
  • Ethnography and Interview 
  • Ethnomining 
  • Narratology & Discursive Analytical Strategies
  • Anthropology and Fieldwork 
  • Survey Design 
  • Interaction in Digital Culture 
Internship or elective courses

Go for an internship OR choose 2 elective courses (12 ECTS)

Internship 

Do an internship at a research group, or at a company or organisation.

To find an internship you can make use of the network of the lecturers. You can also provide an internship address yourself.

Examples of organizations / departments that are part of our network:

  • Elisabeth Tweesteden Hospital, Tilburg
    • at the department of pediatrics;
    • at the outpatients clinic psychiatry  
  • Catharina Hospital Eindhoven at the medical ethics department
  • DSIN – Disability Studies Netherlands
  • Women Inc
  • Rathenau Institute
  • KNMG
  • Corpus

Elective courses

OR choose 2 electives from the following list:

  • Digital Health Communication
  • Digital Industries and Infrastructures
  • Intercultural Communication On and Offline
  • Media Provocateurs 
  • Performance: Ritual, Art, Body in Digital Culture 
Master's thesis

You write your Master's thesis (18 ECTS) in the fourth and final block.

You can choose the subject of your thesis yourself and will be matched with a supervisor with the most expertise regarding your chosen topic.

Examples of previous Master's thesis topics:

  • “We are not a different breed of people”: How trans people experience research on transgender health
  • Making older adults vulnerable: a critical discourse analysis of government documents on older adults in times of COVID-19
  • Online representations of negative experiences with ADHD medication
  • Discovering metaphors in Russian Cancer narratives; Cancer Ward by Solzhenitsyn and The Life of the Man by Pavlenko

Watch a trial lecture

You will find a detailed description of the courses and required literature in our course catalog.

Go to the course descriptions

Please note: programs are subject to change. We advise you to look up the current program in OSIRIS Student at the start of the year.

Do you want to know more about this Master’s program?

Find out more during one of our events

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Short overview of Health Humanities

  • Reflect on current issues in health and medicine using an interdisciplinary humanities perspective.
  • Study from a practical, thematic, and problem-based approach.
  • Learn to critically analyze opinions, claims, beliefs and practices regarding health and healthcare and gain an understanding of the historical and cultural context in which these have evolved.
  • Approach 'illness' and 'health' not only from a biological perspective but also from a humanities perspective: what meaning does society give to these concepts?
  • Connect theory with practice through in an internship (optional) and by attending guest lectures from professionals.

Interested in MSc Health Humanities?

Check your eligibility and the deadlines for application

Application and admission

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