Holistic Health Studies
Minor
About this program
The Minor in Holistic Health Studies helps you explore health and well-being from a whole-person view. You take courses that combine different fields and focus on hands-on learning. Topics include meditation, yoga, stress management, and East Asian medicine. This minor pairs well with many majors and can open new career paths or deepen your personal growth. It also gives you tools to better understand the mind-body connection.
Program Curriculum and Requirements
Program Scope
The Institute for Holistic Health Studies offers a Minor in Holistic Health Studies. The minor is taken in conjunction with one’s bachelor's degree and appears on the diploma along with the major. A minor in Holistic Health Studies is an excellent complement to many SF State majors. It provides unique learning opportunities, a chance to explore or expand career options, and a way to improve personal health and well-being. Course content is interdisciplinary, examines human experience and health from an interdependent or holistic perspective, and focuses on practical, experiential learning in diverse areas such as stress management, autogenic training, East Asian medicine, meditation, yoga, biofeedback, guided imagery and more. Additional benefits to minors include priority waitlisting for Holistic Health Studies courses, individual advising with faculty, and collaboration with others interested in integrative health practices. The minor involves taking 15 units of holistic health studies courses – nine units of core courses (Eastern, Western, Global Human Nature and, Chinese Perspectives), six units of elective courses – and four units of human biology, or anatomy or physiology, or microbiology or, chemistry for a total of 19 units.
Program Learning Outcomes
- Analyze health and wellness from a holistic, whole person or systems perspective.
- Understand theoretical models of complementary and integrative health approaches from Western, Eastern and, Global scientific and traditional healing perspectives, including personal and social factors that influence health equity.
- Gain experiential and skill-based learning of integrative health and wellness emphasizing how integrative and complementary health approaches impact people.
- Deepen knowledge of physiological, psychological, social and environmental aspects of health and wellness through foundational knowledge of scientific research methodologies and data analysis techniques.
- Understand how indigenous, traditional, and integrative health and wellness approaches are used around the world and by various groups for addressing illness as well as improving health.