The HSSP program, which draws on a considerable range and depth of expertise in the College of Arts and Sciences and The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, is designed to:

• Expand students' understanding of the biological, behavioral, social and environmental factors that promote health or cause illness.
• Introduce students to the political, economic, legal, public-health, and organizational dimensions of health care systems in the United States and throughout the world.
• Provide HSSP majors with ?hands-on experience?? in either an internship (in a health-care delivery, public health or advocacy organization), a laboratory (studying the biological basis of health, behavior or disease), or a field-based research project (investigating aspects of health or illness in a social context).
• Provide HSSP majors with the opportunity to integrate their academic coursework and supervised fieldwork or laboratory experiences across a number of health-related disciplines through a team-taught, capstone seminar.

Students completing the major will achieve significant competency in understanding:

• The nature of disease and illness from a basic scientific perspective.
• The social and cultural contributions to health and illness.
• The impact of health care system in diverse social and cultural settings.
• How public policies in health and health care are developed, implemented, and evaluated.