At the undergraduate level, students interested in studying health have a variety of majors to choose from at UMBC. Students typically acquire a background in biology, chemistry, psychology, public health, emergency health and sociology while also meeting the pre-requisites for an Allied Health plan or Pre-Med/Pre-Dental pathway. Internships and research are recommended to supplement and extend in-class learning. Alternative and complementary practices may also be considered within the Integrative Health concentration. Students who graduate with an Individualized Study BA or BS with a concentration in Integrative Health may pursue professional schools related to healthcare or a career in healthcare.
You can also consider these majors offered at UMBC:
Public Health
Biology
Emergency and Disaster Health Systems
Sociology
Examples of Students with INDS degrees related to Health:
Abby Brenowitz – INDS B.S.: The Patient-centered Approaches to Physical Therapy **Attending Emory University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program
Katie Ataviado – INDS B.A.: Child Development and Communication Studies **Attending University of Delaware’s Speech-Language Pathology Masters program
Cortney Elick – INDS B.A.: Rehabilitation in Persons with Limb Loss **Currently an Occupational Therapist for Harford County Public Schools
Erin Kosloski – INDS B.A.: Psycholinguistics Applied to Autism **Currently a PhD Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Candidate at The University of Texas at Dallas
Schedule an appointment with an Advisor today!
All students are required to take the INDS core curriculum as part of their self designed degree.
INDS 330 Ways of Knowing
INDS 335 Degree Plan Writing Seminar
INDS 430 Special Topics or INDS 410 Internship
INDS 480 Capstone Project Seminar
INDS 490 Capstone Project
Research Methods Course
Other course work in your self designed degree may be drawn from the following. You are not limited to these courses. Your INDS degree theme could include courses from other disciplines. Be sure to check the prerequisites for any course you want to take. It is recommended that you work with your INDS advisor as you develop your own list and timeline which will be formalized in INDS 335. Use the INDS Course Idea and Timeline worksheets to help you create a list of courses and tentative timeline.
Other courses to consider
AFST 390 – American Health Care System and the Black Community
AFST 430 – Health Care in Africa
ANTH 211 – Introduction to Cultural Anthropology
ANTH 312 – Medical Anthropology
BIOL 233 – Nutrition and Health
BIOL 251 – Human Anatomy and Physiology I
BIOL 251L – Human Anatomy and Physiology I Laboratory
BIOL 252 – Human Anatomy and Physiology II
BIOL 252L – Human Anatomy and Physiology II Laboratory
BIOL 302 – Molecular and General Genetics
BIOL 303 – Cell Biology
CHEM 351 – Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 351L – Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
CHEM 352 – Organic Chemistry II
CHEM 352L – Organic Chemistry II Laboratory
EDHS 200 – Introduction to Emergency and Disaster Health Systems
EDHS 230 – Community Lifelines
EDHS 311 – Stress and Burnout: Personal and Professional Issues
EDHS 340 – Cultural Diversity in Healthcare
EDHS 345 – Death and Dying
EDHS 350 – Supervision and Operations in Emergency Health Service Systems
EDHS 423 – Public Health Emergency Preparedness
EDHS 426 – Health System Resilience
EDHS 431 – Leadership, Crisis, and Risk Communication
EDHS 432 – Emergency and Disaster Health Systems Law and Policy
HIST 350 – History of Medicine
HIST 450 – Social History of American Medicine
MLL 305 – Introduction to Intercultural Communication
PBHL 200 – Human Health and Disease
PBHL 202 – Introduction to Environmental Health
PBHL 280 – Global Health and Disease
PBHL 310 – Population and Reproductive Health
PBHL 316 – Introduction to Health Policy and Services
PBHL 329 – Geography of Disease and Health
PBHL 340 – Health Communication
PBHL 350 – Public Health Ethics
PBHL 355 – Public Health Justice and Advocacy
PBHL 357 – History of Public Health in the United States
PBHL 398 – Selected Topics in Public Health
PBHL 401 – Occupational Health Policy and Practice
PBHL 405 – Contemporary Issues in Long Term Care
PBHL 409 – Migration, Health, and Human Rights
PBHL 411 – Health Regulation
PBHL 497 – Health Planning and Administration
PHIL 358 – Bioethics
PHIL 375 – Philosophy of Medicine
POLI 436 – Health Law
POLI 452 – Politics of Health
PSYC 304 – Adolescent Psychology
PSYC 306 – Lifespan Human Development
PSYC 335 – Physiological Psychology
PSYC 385 – Health Psychology
SOCY 321 – Race and Ethnic Relations
SOCY 332 – Sex and Society
SOCY 351 – Sociology of Health, Illness and Medicine
SOCY 352 – Issues in Health Care
SOCY 354 – Social Bases of Public and Community Health
SOCY 374 – Drugs and Alcohol in Society
SOCY 420 – Epidemiology
SOCY 430 – Sociology of Aging
SOCY 431 – Family and Aging in Society
SOCY 451 – Sociology of Health and Illness Behavior
SOCY 452 – Health Care Organization and Delivery
SOCY 454 – Comparative Health Systems
SOCY 455 – Disability and Rehabilitation
SOCY 458 – Sociology of Mental Health and Illness
SOWK 388 – Human Behavior and the Social Environment
Updated 01/28/2026