Minors
Although Nursing students are not required to complete a minor, some choose to complete a minor in order to pursue a secondary area of interest, develop skills and a knowledge base that complements their Nursing major, express themselves in a creative area, or learn more about themselves and/or their heritage. A minor requires approximately six to nine courses.
The School of Nursing offers three minors which are described below. Nursing students also have the opportunity to pursue a minor in the College of Arts and Sciences (College) and the School of Engineering and Applied Science (Engineering). Students should meet with their Nursing advisor to build the minor into their plan of study, and students are encouraged to take a course in the department of interest before formally declaring the minor. Depending upon the specific minor, some courses may fulfill sector requirements or free electives. Students may need to enroll in summer courses to complete coursework required for a minor.
Health Communication Minor (School of Nursing/Annenberg School for Communication)
The Health Communication minor, a collaboration between the School of Nursing and the Annenberg School for Communication, is another unique option at Penn. This program expands students' knowledge of the communication process, theory and behavior. It prepares them for roles as professionals who develop cutting edge models for health behavior intervention or who implement patient education and health communications programs locally, nationally, and globally.
Multicultural/Global Health Care Minor
The Minor in Multicultural/Global Health Care offers students the option of two foci: one domestic/national and one global. Opportunities will be provided, via clinical experiences and the proposed didactic courses, for students to gain advanced multicultural knowledge and skills. Acting in their ensuing professional leadership roles, graduates will serve as catalysts to disseminate new research and practice skills as they work among different social and cultural groups.
Nursing and Health Services Management Minor (School of Nursing/The Wharton School)
Increasingly, the delivery of health care involves decisions that entail considerations beyond clinical or medical issues. With the rise of managed care in the United States, it is important for health professionals and those associated with health care delivery systems to understand not only the clinical factors that affect patients, but also the business environment in which health care institutions function. Recognizing this fact, the School of Nursing and the Wharton School offer a University minor in Nursing and Health Services Management. This group of courses allows students to understand both the nature of the economic and managerial constraints that face health care organizations and how these constraints can be effectively managed to provide the best possible health care for patients.
Nutrition Minor (School of Nursing/School of Arts and Sciences)
The Nutrition minor, a collaboration between the School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences, is designed to provide a broad view of the field of nutrition to complement individual student interests and career goals. The minor features an interdisciplinary approach that illustrates the pervasiveness of nutrition-related issues in such diverse disciplines as anthropology, economics, folklore, history, physiology, psychology, health care, and public policy. Students develop critical thinking skills by analyzing the role of nutrition in today's society from the perspective of several academic disciplines. Students have some flexibility in choosing courses from a core of basic science and nutrition courses, as well as interdisciplinary electives. The Joint Nutrition Minor consists of a minimum of six or seven courses.