Chair’s Welcome

The Department of Medicine, Health, and Society functions as a hub for pioneering research and first-rate teaching that focuses on the many, diverse aspects of health care solutions. Our robust cohort of core faculty spans a continuum of expertise including mental health, global health, health policy and health economics, research ethics, military mental health, men’s health and racial disparities, gender and disability studies, literature and medicine, and pre-med curricular innovation, to name but a few!

Over the past decade, the Department of Medicine, Health and Society has earned recognition for its contributions and innovative approach to the study of health care. The program’s impact and importance are readily apparent: MHS is now the second-most-popular major in the College of Arts and Science. And MHS continues to evolve into a cutting-edge research and teaching nexus that boasts a growing cohort of world-class scholars, expanding, innovative undergraduate and graduate curricula, and a number of vital projects and initiatives that cumulatively and creatively address health, health care, and health care solutions.

Our curriculum continues to thrive and evolve into a state-of-the-art site for training the health care leaders of tomorrow. We now offer over 80 MHS courses, and have over 800 undergraduate majors and a smaller number of minors. Our undergraduate major in MHS offers seven important concentration areas, driven by student interest and faculty expertise. Our exciting master’s degree program—the M.A. in Social Foundations of Health—continues to grow as well!  And we collaborate with a number of other departments to help support Ph.D. students.

MHS is always abuzz with activity. Over the past year we’ve hosted an exciting series of events, including wide-ranging conferences and panels that explored media and medicine, health care politics, gender and health, and race in America. Our faculty publish important articles and books, win major grants and awards, and appear on a host of national media outlets. With the added expertise of more than 90 jointly appointed and affiliated faculty members, MHS is truly a trans-institutional hub bridging Vanderbilt’s many intellectual strengths.

Jonathan M. Metzl
Department Chair
Frederick B. Rentschler II Chair and Professor of Sociology and Medicine, Health, and Society