**NEW** Master of Arts in Women’s Health

DRAFT

Focus of Study: Master of Arts in Women’s Health

Karen M. Freund, M.D., M.P.H., Marianne N. Prout, M.D., M.P.H., and Gail E. Sonenshein, Ph.D.
Boston University School of Medicine

Boston University School of Medicine in conjunction with Boston Medical Center provides a superb opportunity for students to grow while pursuing degrees addressing the clinical and basic science needs of the 21st-century. Our newest 32 credit program, MA in Women’s Health, is distinct from other women studies concentrations in that it is a biologically-based women’s health program initiated by the Women’s Health Interdisciplinary Research Center (WHIRC). The Program is being developed in response to the recent Institute of Medicine Report entitled “Sex Matters”.

The program is open to students with diverse backgrounds including hospital, medical and public health professionals, nurses, media, pharmaceutical and insurance industry representatives, and the fields of law, business, and social work, who hold a bachelor’s degree. Individuals who hope to reenter the work force after an extended absence are also encouraged to apply. The curriculum will include four required courses: (1) An Overview of Women’s Health Research, which includes topics in women’s health research, providing background to the many issues that have emerged over the past decade as most relevant to sex-based differences in health and diseases, (2) Breast Cancer: From Clinical Disease to Basic Science, (3) Research Methodology and Medical Literature, (4) Statistics, and (5) Critical Skills in Scientific Writing. A library or research based thesis is required. Electives courses include Clinical Trials Management, Regulatory and Compliance Issues, Embryology, Teratology and Prenatal Genetics, Neurobiology of Aging, Ethico-legal Issues of Bioscience, Health and Exercise Psychology, Good Practices in Clinical Research, and Behavioral Medicine.

The Program can be completed within 1 year. The MA in Women’s Health will prepare students for a wide range of career opportunities in various aspects of women’s health, depending on previous training, including clinical health services, health research and community outreach, women’s education and fitness, media, advocacy and health policy development. The goal of the program is to prepare students to work towards improving the overall health of women in society.

For more information, please contact Theresa A. Davies: tdavies@bu.edu.