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Studying Medical Humanities at the University of Sydney

“Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity” Hippocrates


Are you passionate about health practice and the arts? Are you keen to discover how these interests might complement one another in fundamental and important ways?
The Medical Humanities program explores the human side of healthcare. It aims to overcome the separation of clinical care from the human experience of illness through the use of concepts and analytic tools from various arts and social sciences disciplines. The medical humanities provide insight into the human condition (for example suffering, personhood and our responsibility to each other) by offering literary, historical, cultural, and alternate humanistic perspectives on illness and healthcare.

Aims


Students and Graduates of the Medical Humanities demonstrate the ability to:

  1. Identify the differences between biomedical and humanities-oriented, approaches to health, illness and disease.
  2. Describe how conceptions of medicine developed and continue to develop over time, and how they are likely to shape our understanding of health and wellbeing.
  3. Critically assess and respond to the individual and social circumstances in which ill-health takes place.
  4. Improve their skills in the five areas of knowledge, thinking, personal skills, personal attributes, and practical skills.
  5. Develop and implement creative approaches to understanding illness and caring for others.
  6. Recognise the role of artistic media (i.e. painting, cinema, literature etc.) and humanistic thought in enhancing health care.

Outcomes for graduates


There are immense personal and professional gains to be made from the opportunities for critical self-reflection, self-expression, and creativity that emerge from the Medical Humanities. Our graduates include doctors, nurses, allied health professionals, and humanities scholars working in health care, public policy, science communication and related fields. Our postgraduate degrees can add value to an ongoing career in a health-related field*, or assist in building a research career.

*Adding value for medical practitioners

For Health Practitioners

Did you know that your studies in Medical Humanities can be counted as Continuing Professional Development? Medical Humanities is tailored to support the continuing professional development needs of medical practitioners and health care workers. If, for example, you are a member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) and wish to claim credits for undertaking our courses you can submit the activity in the RACP MyCPD Program under “Category 4: Structured Learning Projects" at 50 credits per semester.
If you are a doctor, nurse, or allied health professional and wish to enquire as to how you might use your studies in Medical Humanities to satisfy CPD requirements please contact the Coordinator of Medical Humanities, Dr Estelle Noonan, by phone (02 9036 3417) or email .

For Sydney University Medical Students

Did you know that you can enroll in the Medical Humanities, either as an Independent Learning Activity (ILA) or as an elective? You can also pursue an Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Medical Humanities in conjunction with the Sydney Medical Program MBBS, and with no extension of time taken to complete your MBBS. For more information please contact the Coordinator of Medical Humanities, Dr Estelle Noonan, by phone (02 9036 3417) or email .

Why study Medical Humanities with us


Whilst a number of medical humanities programs and departments exist internationally, we are the only University in Australia to offer discrete learning programs in this field. Our optimal placement within the Centre for Values, Ethics, and Law in Medicine, means that our students have regular access to a range of scholars doing uniquely innovative work at the boundaries of the arts and medicine. Our students also have the option of taking subjects in VELIM’s prestigious Bioethics Program during the course of a Medical Humanities degree.
Popular courses in the Medical Humanities Program at Sydney University include: Medicine and War; Narrative, Literature & Medicine, Medicine and Antiquity; Bodies on Display (Medicine, Museums, Art); and Spirituality, Consumerism and Health.

Study programs available

  • Master of Medical Humanities
  • Graduate Diploma in Medical Humanities
  • Graduate Certificate in Medical Humanities


Here's what some of our students have to say about Medical Humanities.