Interdisciplinary and Ministry Majors

Bioethics is the study of the ethical issues that arise in the study of human biology, ecology, nursing, medicine, public health, and other biological research fields. Drawing on a variety of ethical cases from recent biomedical literature, this course covers the conceptual foundations of moral theory, principles of justice, and the application of conceptual tools developed from those principles. This course includes two units: (1) Moral theories, distributive justice theories, and the ethical treatment of patients, the environment, and communities and (2) Consideration of alternative approaches to rationing health care.

The disproportionate burden of HIV/AIDS in global cities coupled with a decrease in HIV mortality and morbidity provide an opportunity to apply principles of community psychology to guide student understanding of the complex interplay of environmental and individual-level drivers that influence HIV prevention, treatment, and care. This course offers a unique perspective on how social structures, neighborhoods, and individuals shape HIV prevention and care delivery, particularly for communities living in urban poverty. Specific theories of participatory-action research, multi-level community interventions, structural dimensions of HIV stigma, and public health policy implications will be critically examined and discussed.

This course is an interdisciplinary sociology and history course challenging students to analyze the social dynamics of Baltimore City from 1861 to 2023. Critical analysis of topics including urbanization, migration, segregation, socioeconomic dynamics, and public policy. Students learn from the historical demography and contemporary issues that define the structure and culture of Baltimore city. This narrow geographical focus enables students to generate broad and deep sociological analyses of the major social challenges of Baltimore that are shared with many other global cities; and the historical and cultural context that often garner national and international attention.

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution of diseases and determinants of health and illness in diverse human populations. This course provides the opportunity for students to learn the principles and methods of epidemiology, with an applied focus on global and urban case studies. All students participate in a synchronous online epidemiology laboratory (STATA) performing statistical analyses of measures of disease frequency, transmission, and graphical representations of associations between exposures, or risk factors, on health and disease outcomes. This course includes mentorship from epidemiologists and clinicians who integrate Christian faith into public health practice in domestic and international contexts.

This course covers general aspects of undergraduate microbiology with an emphasis on endemic microorganisms and human interaction. Topics include an introduction to microbiology, microbial taxonomy, methods of microbial identification, immunology and infection. This course includes microscopy, staining, and microbiology laboratory applications with over 40 laboratory hours at the Baltimore Underground Science Station.

This course challenges students to learn the foundational principles of human nutrition across the lifespan. Students learn the physiology and functional science of nutrition from all 24 chapters of Discovering Nutrition (Insel et al.). Additionally, the course includes 10 public health nutrition laboratory experiences. Nutrition laboratory includes an analysis of the factors, systems, and structures that impact dietary patterns, dietary behaviors, food assistance, and safety net programs in the US. Students explore the policies, history, and complexities of urban access to healthy food and gain an introduction to the physiological, psychological, and socio-cultural factors that affect eating behaviors.