One thing that not everyone knows about Harvard is that there is no “pre-med” concentration (what we call majors!).

But as you might be able to guess, that doesn’t prevent a lot of students from going to medical school. Those interested in attending medical school can concentrate in anything that they want! A lot of students do end up studying in the sciences as that is where their main interests lie. However, others choose to pursue fields in anything from English to Economics. I am one of these students, and I am studying History of Science!

I have always wanted to attend medical school, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study in college. When I got to college, I started on some of my pre-med requirements. Harvard students don’t declare their concentration until their sophomore fall, so I had some time to think! At that time, I was looking into the different biological sciences fields that Harvard offers (there’s actually around four biology concentrations!) because I had enjoyed biology the most out of the sciences in high school. I would look through the course catalog at each concentration’s requirements, and while I didn’t hate the idea of any of the classes, I just wasn’t excited about them.  

And then... I had a great conversation with my freshmen seminar professor. At the time, I was taking a freshmen seminar entitled A Brief History of Surgery. I loved the class, I loved the readings, the professor, everything. He mentioned to me that a lot of his students end up concentrating in History of Science. I had never even heard of this concentration before! But when I went through the course listings that night, I was so much more excited by the offering! I ended up declaring the Medicine and Society track within History of Science. This is what I’m naturally more attracted to, but it does have an added bonus. Several of the requirements can be fulfilled by the same classes that fulfill pre-med requirements. Two birds, one stone!

Beyond my freshmen seminar, I’ve also taken Madness and Medicine which discusses the history of psychiatry/mental illness, Medicine/Gender/Sexuality in the Modern Middle East, and Case Studies in Global Health! There’s also the sophomore and junior tutorials which are required classes where the skills and practices of the field are taught to all concentrators. I have found that I am most interested in studying the history of medicine and disease, specifically mental illness, and understanding how things such as society, culture, history, and stigma interacts to affect treatment and patients.

This past summer I was able to receive one of the Rosenkrantz Travel Study Grants that is offered only to rising junior in the department. It funds 5-7 days worth of travel to study anything within History of Science that peaks your interest. I traveled to London for a week to study how the history of mental illness is portrayed in scientific museums. To do this, I looked at how the history of medicine more broadly was displayed within science museums. Some of the places I visited included the Museum of Science, Museum of the Mind at Bethlem Royal Hospital, the Freud Museum, and the Royal College of Physicians. I was also able to do some touristy things like seen Big Ben and Borough Market as I had never been to London before!  

Thanks to History of Science, I have been able to consistently take classes that I am actually interested in and truly love, I’ve gained confidence in my academic abilities specifically around research, I’ve traveled out of the country, I’ve seen/held cool things like a document with Tennessee Williams’s handwriting on it, and I’ve gained a perspective focused on learning the history and context of medicine which I think will help me be a better doctor one day!