How the Liberal Arts Improve Health and Well-being
What does it mean to be healthy, and who gets to be well? In CLA, we believe health and wellness are shaped not only by science and medicine, but by history, language, culture, policy, and human connection. From sociology to Spanish, music therapy to medical ethics, CLA students and faculty are using the tools of the liberal arts to address complex public health challenges and improve well-being across communities.
This story collection highlights how interdisciplinary liberal arts education contributes to healthcare innovation, health equity, and community well-being. Meet music therapists helping patients heal through sound, bilingual scholars bridging language gaps in healthcare access, and sociologists uncovering how racism impacts health outcomes. Learn how CLA students pursuing health careers build essential skills—like cultural competency, ethical reasoning, and critical thinking—through communication studies, anthropology courses, and more.
In a time when health issues demand broader thinking, the liberal arts offer powerful insights and solutions. Explore how CLA makes health and healing more human.
A Destination for Pre-Health
The liberal arts are increasingly a pathway for careers in healthcare, and the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts provides the foundational skills for that journey.
CLA Courses That Connect Health and Humanity
Planning your Fall 2025 schedule? Explore CLA courses that examine health, medicine, and well-being through the lens of culture, communication, ethics, and the environment—perfect for pre-health students, future policymakers, and anyone interested in how we care for ourselves and others.
Racial Health Disparities are No Accident
Sociologist Michael Esposito is challenging widespread misconceptions about racial health disparities—and showing how they are not accidental, but the result of deeply embedded systems. His research confronts the legacy of redlining, the limits of investment, and the urgent need to rethink who holds power in shaping health outcomes.
Translating Compassion: Medical Spanish Minor Launches in CLA
CLA’s new medical Spanish minor prepares students to bridge language and cultural divides in healthcare—equipping them with the skills and empathy to serve Spanish-speaking communities across Minnesota and beyond.
Speaking the Language of Care: Introducing the New Medical Spanish Minor
Healing Through Evidence-Based Music Interventions
In the School of Music, music therapy students learn to transform lives using personalized, evidence-based approaches—combining rigorous training with hands-on clinical experience in a vibrant community setting.
Health Begins Here
CLA is an excellent place to prepare for a health career! Whether you’re thinking about medical school, pharmacy, dentistry, or another branch of healthcare, you can find the resources you need as a CLA student.
With 65 majors to choose from in CLA, you can create your own custom-designed plan to complete the necessary prerequisite coursework for your intended professional program in healthcare. We provide opportunities for you to develop into a well-rounded candidate who is academically prepared, demonstrates initiative, contributes to the community, and creates meaning in your life’s work. A team of professionals is available to support you throughout this process.
Ideas that Change the World
CLA faculty are at the forefront of groundbreaking research and thought leadership across diverse disciplines. From public health and bioethics to innovative approaches in dance and science, these stories showcase how the college’s scholars are shaping conversations and advancing knowledge that impacts both our local communities and the world.
New research from the University of Minnesota and Boston University shows that death rates for early adults (ages 25-44) increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic and remain high. Associate Professor Elizabeth Wrigley-Field (sociology) breaks down the findings.
University of Minnesota audiologist Matthew Winn weighs in on intriguing new research showing that tiny ear muscles—long thought to be useless in humans—may activate during difficult listening tasks.
Medical ethicist Carl Elliott confronts how training and culture in medicine can desensitize doctors to violations of dignity and consent — and why real change may need to come from outside the profession.
In Medicine, the Morally Unthinkable Too Easily Comes to Seem Normal
UMN's landmark twin research center has followed 10,000+ pairs for decades, creating a treasure trove of data that has produced nearly 900 scientific publications.
Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research: Tracking Psychological Development for 35 Years
It’s easy to think of journalism as newspapers, advertising as commercials, and public relations as spin. But the depth of study in journalism and mass communication really knows no bounds. Hubbard School faculty members are taking deep dives on numerous topics, including health communication research.
Healthier. Here, There, and Everywhere.
At the University of Minnesota, we are uncovering the secrets to a healthy world. And we’re not afraid to go where the path of discovery leads us. Wherever the University of Minnesota reaches, healthier follows; for our state, our nation, and the world.
Trailblazers and Changemakers
CLA alumni are making a meaningful difference in their fields and communities—whether championing human rights on a global stage, leading healthcare innovation, or expressing profound experiences through art. Discover how graduates of the college continue to inspire, lead, and transform the world around them.
Alumni of Notable Achievement recipient Dr. Tenbit Emiru (BA ‘99, PhD ‘03, psychology, MD ‘07), a “transformative healthcare provider and leader," promotes health equity and improving outcomes for underserved communities.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis as a teenager, CLA alum May Ling Kopecky uses art and music to communicate the realities of living with a chronic illness—and to help others feel seen.
"There is no environmental justice without human rights,” says Natika Kantaria (MHR ’24). “I believe this message, conveyed by civil society during COP28, speaks for itself.”
Where Disciplines Collide
Innovation thrives where disciplines intersect. These stories highlight collaborative CLA projects that blend arts, sciences, and humanities to explore new methods of understanding complex challenges—from using dance to model cancer therapies to theatrical productions that give voice to rare disease experiences.
In 2022, the University's Center for Orphan Drug Research and Theatre Arts and Dance Department—in collaboration with rare disease community members— produced a play that examined the challenges of those living with rare disorders.
Launched in 2017, the BA/MD Scholars Program provides a unique pathway for a small cohort of high-achieving high school seniors to become physicians. These students complete a bachelor’s degree from the College of Liberal Arts and then move directly into the four-year Medical School program.
What is "bodystorming"? It's brainstorming with your body, using simple choreography to create a fast and flexible modeling system that informs scientific research.This practice is at the heart of a longtime collaboration between Carl Flink (Theatre Arts & Dance) and David Odde (Biomedical Engineering).
Support Health and Healing in CLA
Support health and healing through the liberal arts. Your gift to these funds helps advance student success and innovative care in fields like music therapy, speech-language-hearing sciences, and healthcare more broadly.
