About

What is Human Biology?

Human Biology is an intellectually vibrant major that challenges students to gain a holistic understanding of the human species with a focus on our biology. The program includes consideration of how our biology is altered by both evolutionary history and a contemporary environment that includes natural, social, and technological components.

Students explore these diverse aspects of humanity while gaining a solid knowledge of our biological foundations. Our program emphasizes the ways in which human biology is shaped by, understood, and interpreted within social and cultural contexts.

Innovative core courses in Human Biology are co-taught by faculty in the life sciences and the social sciences or humanities. Students also pursue coursework at the lower and upper levels in the sciences. You choose an area of concentration that best suits your interests—one that includes classes in the natural and social sciences and the humanities.

Learn about our degrees View our areas of concentration

The Human Biology Learning Goals

Coursework in the Human Biology Program is designed to meet the following seven learning goals:

  1. Scientific Reasoning
  2. Knowledge of human biological processes
  3. Interdisciplinarity and Synthesis
  4. Collaborative problem solving
  5. Communication and writing
  6. Ethical Reasoning
  7. Civic Engagement
Learn more about our program design + learning goals
Andrew Wiley

The interdisciplinary undergraduate-only program in Human Biology is founded on evidence-based teaching practices that enhance student learning. We integrate ideas and perspectives from the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and help our students see how their classroom experience has relevance for policies, practices, and work of all kinds outside of the university.

Andrea S. Wiley