Learning Outcomes - Health - The University of Utah

University of Utah Learning Framework

The University of Utah wants every undergraduate student to obtain a well-rounded educational experience. This means that we want students to be part of a Community where they form positive and enriching relationships and connections are made with their interest areas. By developing personal autonomy and self-direction, we believe that students will experience a Transformation. We expect students to develop Knowledge and Skills within their coursework. We also want students to make an Impact where personal interest, motivation, and application to real-world issues can be demonstrated. These four categories are what the University of Utah wants every undergraduate students to experience.

HSP Program Purpose & Learning Outcomes

The Health, Society & Policy Program (HSP) is an interdisciplinary undergraduate degree (BA or BS), in which students select coursework from a number of different departments. The coursework is intended to guide students toward an understanding of the multidimensional character of human health. After completing the HSP major, students will recognize that human health is determined not only by things like pathogens, illness, and genetics; but also by lifestyle and behavioral choices, environmental exposures, socioeconomic resources, and cultural affiliation. Furthermore, HSP students will learn how institutional levels of influence, such as public policy and access to health care, affect health outcomes and create disparities across the globe and within subgroups of the population. This interdisciplinary approach to the study of human health allows students to explore how public policies and healthcare practices that integrate and act on these multiple layers of influence hold promise in improving both individual and population health. After completing a degree in HSP, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Skills
Community and Impact
Transformation

Apply what they have learned from different disciplines to understand the complexities of human health and health care. This includes being able to discuss how specific politics, policies, and health care practices influence human health at the individual, social, cultural, ecological, and/or global levels [Knowledge & Skills*]

Work together with interdisciplinary teams [Community*] to address concerns related to human health and health care in the community [Impact*]

Articulate how an interdisciplinary study of human health and health care has informed their own professional identity and career aspirations [Transformation*]

Outcomes Assessment

All learning outcomes (LO) will be assessed during the required Capstone course (HSP 5000) taken during a student’s final spring semester.

LO #1 and Knowledge & Skills will be demonstrated through an essay where students reflect upon and integrate the most significant learning achieved during the degree.
LO #2, Community and Impact will be demonstrated through the completion of a final team-created capstone project in which they develop a policy, program, health care practice, or community-based initiative that addresses an important, timely, and practical issue related to the semester’s topic.
LO #3 and Transformation will be demonstrated through the creation of a personal biosketch where students describe their personal purpose, vision, and goals.