Courses

The listing of a course description here does not guarantee a course’s being offered in a particular semester. Please refer to the published schedule of classes on the MyBU Student Portal for confirmation a class is actually being taught and for specific course meeting dates and times.

• GMS MA 710: Medical Anthropology and Qualitative Research Methods and Design
  Introduction to methodology for ethnographic field research in medical anthropology, and qualitative research methods. This course, offered by Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice, examines issues in designing anthropological research, and reviews theoretical approaches to research ethics, designing research, framing questions and questionnaire design, and data collection techniques. 3 cr, Fall sem. W 10:00-1:50, Medical Campus.
• GMS MA 711: Medical Anthropology Fieldwork Pt. 1
  Fieldwork or a related internship experience is an integral dimension of anthropological methodology, and important to conducting qualitative research. Therefore, it represents an essential feature of the curriculum in the Master's in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice. Fieldwork allows students to complement their classroom learning with field-based learning, link theory with practice, and refine their skills. It also helps students establish contacts, develop relationships, and learn from the experience of interacting with different cultural communities and groups. This two-part seminar will review issues likely to arise in the experience of conducting fieldwork, and will provide a forum within which students can discuss their ongoing fieldwork. Prereq: a previously approved Institutional Review Board protocol, and permission of the instructor. 3 cr, Spring or Summer I sem.
• GMS MA 712: Medical Anthropology Fieldwork Pt. 2
  Fieldwork or a related internship experience is an integral dimension of anthropological methodology, and important to conducting qualitative research. Therefore, it represents an essential feature of the curriculum in the Masters in Medical Anthropology and Cross-Cultural Practice. Fieldwork allows students to complement their classroom learning with field-based learning, link theory with practice, and refine their skills. It also helps students establish contacts, develop relationships, and learn from the experience of interacting with different cultural communities and groups. This two-part seminar will review issues likely to arise in the experience of conducting fieldwork, and will provide a forum within which students can discuss their ongoing fieldwork. Prereq: a previously approved Institutional Review Board protocol, GMS MA 711, and permission of the instructor. 3 cr, Summer II or Fall sem.
• GMS MA 734: Reading Ethnography in Medical Anthropology
  This seminar, offered by Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice, will read medical anthropological ethnographies analytically, with a focus on works that feature Applied Anthropology. Starting with a review of the debates, going through selected classic ethnographic studies, the seminar will explore ethnographies that address different cultural meanings of human experiences of suffering and affliction, including illness and violence. Students will engage in studying the methodology, theoretical underpinnings, writing, and social positions represented in these ethnographies. Prereq: Permission of the instructor. 3 cr, Fall sem. T 10-12:50, Medical Campus.
• GMS MA 735: Writing Ethnography in Medical Anthropology
  This seminar, offered by Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice, builds on GMS MA 734 (Reading Ethnography in Medical Anthropology), turning the focus to the actual craft of writing ethnography. It is an integral part of MACCP students' thesis-writing training. Students will learn to identify and employ rhetorical and stylistic strategies and genre conventions. Through a series of exercises that draw on their own field notes and participant observations, students learn to employ three genres of cultural representation- realist tales, confessional tales, and impressionist tales. Students will explore their own authorial voice and style, and their relationship with truth, objectivity, and point-of-view. The class is structured as a seminar, emphasizing class discussion, workshops, and peer- group work. Prereq: Permission of the instructor. 3 cr, Spring sem. W 10-12:50 Medical Campus.
• GMS MA 742: Medical Anthropological and Qualitative Data Analysis
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Not open to undergraduates.
  Graduate Prerequisites: GMS MA 710, GMS MA 770, and Summer Fieldwork Directed Study credits (contact instructor for more information).
  Examines strategies for analyzing medical anthropology data deriving from interviews and documents. In addition to reviewing different coding strategies and the rationales underlying them, the course, offered by Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice, will discuss topics such as approaches to managing textual data; the selection and application of epistemological and theoretical frameworks; narrative and discourse analysis; cognitive anthropology theory and methods; the use of grounded theory. Emphasizes the application of these strategies to the analysis and interpretation of data collected by the students as part of the course process. Prereq: Permission of instructor. 3 cr, Fall sem. W 10-12:50, Medical Campus.
• GMS MA 770: IRB Proposal Development and Writing
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Not open to undergraduates.
  Graduate Prerequisites: GMS MA 700-A1 or permission of the instructor.
  Prereq: Permission of Instructor. In this course, offered by Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice, students will learn to write a medical anthropology research proposal and related Institutional Review Board Proposal, through the structure provided by the IRB of BUSM. We will address theory and methods related to the design and review process. 3 cr, Spring sem. M 10-1:50, Medical Campus.
• GMS MA 786: Final Project Writing Seminar
  Undergraduate Prerequisites: Not open to undergraduates.
  Graduate Prerequisites: GMS MA 710, GMS MA 770, and Summer Fieldwork Directed Study credits (contact instructor for more information), and GMS MA 742, or permission of the instructor.
  This seminar, offered by Medical Anthropology and Cross Cultural Practice, will train learners in the theory and practice of writing up medical anthropology research findings, and of writing ethnography. The course emphasizes analytical writing. Students will learn to identify and employ rhetorical and stylistic strategies and genre conventions. The class is structured as a seminar, emphasizing class discussion, workshops and peer-group work. Prereq: Permission of instructor. 3 cr, Spring sem. F 2-4:45, Medical Campus.
• GMS MD 800: Clin Clerkship
  This course description is currently under construction.
• GMS MH 701: Counseling Theory
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course provides an overview of major theoretical approaches to case conceptualization for clinical mental health counseling, including psychoanalytic, person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and solution-focused theories. Students will begin to develop an understanding of the process for selecting appropriate clinical mental health counseling interventions, consistent with current research standards. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Spring sem.
• GMS MH 703: Counseling Techniques
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course provides an overview of the skills and styles needed for building healthy and therapeutic helping relationships, as well as techniques specific to a variety of psychological disorders and problems with living. Emphasis is placed on experiential exercises and clinical mental health counseling-related skills-building, including interviewing and behaviors influencing the helping process. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Fall sem.
• GMS MH 704: Group Work
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course description is currently under construction.
• GMS MH 705: Psychopathology
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course provides students with an introduction to the etiology, presentation, and treatment of major mental health disorders as classified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Students will become familiar with identifying and differentiating diagnoses across a range of clinical presentations. In addition, there will be discussion of clinical mental health strategies that may be applied when working with a variety of clients, beginning with the first contact and including the therapeutic process and treatment planning. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Fall sem.
• GMS MH 706: Social & Cultural Foundations
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course provides an overview of social justice, the cultural context of relationships, issues, and trends in a multicultural society, in order to enable students to work effectively with people from varied racial, cultural and class backgrounds. The course is organized around the ethical responsibility of counselors to provide clients across a wide range of identities with meaningful and relevant clinical services, and the role of counselors in promoting overall health and wellness across cultures. A contemporary body of professional literature is explored, with an emphasis on self-awareness, knowledge of others, experiential learning activities, and multicultural counseling skills acquisition. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Spring sem.
• GMS MH 707: Research and Evaluation
  This course provides an understanding of research methods, statistical analysis, needs assessment, and program evaluation. There is an emphasis on the importance of research in advancing the counseling profession, varied approaches to research method, and the use of research to inform evidence- based practice. Landmark studies and current articles are used to illustrate applications. Students develop critical thinking skills for examining research information and its use for asking questions that extend knowledge, and for planning studies to address new questions. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Fall sem.
• GMS MH 708: Human Growth & Development
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course provides an overview of biological, psychological, and sociocultural aspects of individual and family development from conception through elder adulthood in a multicultural context. The course is taught from perspectives of cognitive science and behavioral systems as well as sociological, cultural, life span developmental, and comparative approaches. The focus of the course is on normative development; developmental disorders are used to elucidate normative developmental and adaptive processes in language, cognition, and behavioral self-regulation that will serve to introduce students to behaviors and concepts relevant to clinical mental health counseling practice with both children and adults. 3 cr, Yr. 2, Fall sem.
• GMS MH 709: Neuroscience for Mental Health Professionals
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  The general objective of this course is to provide a foundation in the understanding of central nervous system structure and function and the relationship of brain and behavior tailored to the clinical mental health counseling professional. Special emphasis is on the neurobiology of mental illness and neurologic disease. The course is divided into two parts: Part I covers primarily the organization, structure and function of the nervous system, and Part II covers primarily the neurobiology of mental illness, normal aging, and age-related disease. Instructors have earned degrees in a medical field and are designated prescribers. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Spring sem.
• GMS MH 710: Basic Mental Health Assessment
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This course is designed to provide an overview of principles and applications of mental health assessment in a multicultural society. The primary objectives of this course are to facilitate students' understanding of the basic methods of assessment in clinical mental health counseling, to include evaluating, selecting, and using appropriate techniques and standardized testing methods, and to conduct a thorough, culturally sensitive, and ethically responsible assessment. Methods for dissemination of assessment results will also be reviewed. 3 cr, Yr. 1, Fall sem.
• GMS MH 712: Marriage and Family Counseling
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This elective course will help students gain a basic conceptual understanding of the theory, process and practice of marriage and family systems counseling. In addition, students will begin to develop skills and strategies for the assessment and treatment of family systems approaches within mental health systems and to practice these skills during in-class experiential activities. 3 cr, Yr. 2, Spring sem.
• GMS MH 713: Human Sexuality
  Graduate Prerequisites: consent of instructor
  This elective course explores physiological, psychological, and sociocultural aspects of human sexuality, focusing on trends in the field, including teen sexuality, pregnancy, and early sexual experiences, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections, sex addiction, sexuality across the lifespan, and ethics. 3 cr, Yr. 2, Spring sem.