The Department offers a major, which combines work in natural science, history of science, medicine, and technology, and other courses in humanities or social science. A senior thesis is optional, allowing students a chance to explore a subject in depth.We also offer a minor, consisting of 21 credits (7 courses) in the Department. 1. Will I get into medical school with this major?
Yes, assuming you have good grades and do well on the MCAT exams. Medical admissions committees are very interested in students with the kind of breadth that our major provides. At the medical school interviews, students only need to start talking about their senior thesis research to spark a lively conversation. Our students have been accepted to some of the top medical schools in the country, including Johns Hopkins, Duke, Penn, Harvard, Vanderbilt. 2. Can I combine this major with another major?
Many students pursue double majors, often with Biology or Earth and Planetary Sciences, or Engineering majors, but also with humanities majors ( e.g., Philosophy, Writing Seminars). 3. Could I take more science classes with this major, in case I am interested in a scientific career?
Yes, you should have plenty of room especially in your senior year for additional courses in science. Some of our majors have gone to graduate school in the natural sciences. 4. How do I know if this major is right for me? Is it easy to switch from this major to another one in the natural sciences?
Take a course or two in the department and see how you like it. There are at least a couple of classes for freshmen each semester. Often our upper-level courses are open to freshmen: ask the professor teaching the course if you may take the class. If it turns out the major doesn't suit you, it is easy to switch to another major in the sciences if you are taking the standard first-year program in mathematics and science (which you would need for our major too). 5. What other career choices have students with this major made?
Some go to graduate school and advanced study in history of science, or to prepare for careers in museum work. Apart from medical school, students may go on to public health courses at the graduate level. Others go into law school or to graduate school in the natural sciences. Some graduates have become science writers, teachers, or have gone into business. 6. What is the senior thesis?
In the senior year students with a solid academic record may pursue an independent research project, working closely with a faculty adviser. A written thesis of about forty pages is submitted in April, for honors credit. Students are encouraged to follow their interests in choosing a research project. In recent years students have studied such subjects as medieval Islamic spiritual medicine, the debate about life on Mars in the early twentieth century, modern bridge design and engineering, and medical humanitarianism in Rwanda. 7. Whom should I contact for more information?
Prof. Bill Leslie, swleslie@jhu.edu. | 
