A new Culture, Health and Human Development minor will be offered starting in the fall for University of Connecticut undergraduate students.
The minor offers a cultural perspective on human development and health including issues related to diversity, according to the press release.
The minor is managed by the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences. According to the press release, it includes 54 designated classes offered by 17 departments in three of UConn’s schools and colleges. The interdisciplinary minor is open to students majoring in any program.
Professor Charles Super, co-director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Health and Human Development led the effort to create the minor for undergraduate students.
“The CHHD minor is designed in part to help students explore systematic relationships among culture, health, and human development in a way that suits their interests and supplements their major,” Super said.
“The CHHD minor is designed in part to help students explore systematic relationships among culture, health, and human development in a way that suits their interests and supplements their major.”
Professor Charles Super, co-director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Health and Human Development
The minor will require completion of five classes at the 2000 level or above that are divided among the three categories: culture, health and human development. According to the course catalog, no more than six credits can be applied from any one category.
According to the course catalog, the minor is intended to improve understanding and respect across cultural, racial and ethnic boundaries and encourage culturally informed approaches in the social and health services.
“Understanding health and human development in other cultural places is the foundation for building a pluralistic and peaceful society,” Professor Sara Harkness, director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Health and Human Development, said.
Harkness said the minor will allow students from different departments to work together and use the minor to complement their own studies.
“Thanks to the efforts of many people around the university, undergraduates who choose the CHHD minor will have a chance to explore new connections and maybe even make some new friends,” Harkness said.
“[The minor] will set aspiring speech-language pathologists and audiologists on a path toward embracing cultural diversity in their future practices.”
Derek Houston, department head of the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major
According to the press release, the minor is a collaboration between faculty, department heads and deans from the college of liberal arts and science, the college of agriculture, health and natural resources and the college of nursing.
Derek Houston, department head of the Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences major, explained the importance of culture in human communication and the benefits of the minor for students in his department.
“[The minor] will set aspiring speech-language pathologists and audiologists on a path toward embracing cultural diversity in their future practices,” Houston said in the press release.
The minor is organized by the Center for the Study of Culture, Health and Human Development, whose stated mission is to promote scientific collaboration, training and outreach related to human development and health in a cultural context. They also offer a graduate seminar, which gives students an opportunity to earn a graduate certificate.
More information about the minor is available on their website. For questions, contact charles.super@uconn.edu, or sara.harkness@uconn.edu.