Long before she came to the University of Richmond, 2022 alum Eva Kemal knew she wanted to pursue a career in health care — but she was equally drawn to the humanities. She wondered if there was an interdisciplinary path, one that blended her interests.

During a campus visit for accepted students, she sat in on a health care studies class taught by Rick Mayes, a 1991 alum and chair of the Department of Health Studies.

“It opened up that there are multiple paths I could go down,” she said. “I thought Richmond would be a great place for me to figure out what I'd want to do within health care.”

Kemal signed up for Mayes’ Roadmap pre-orientation course, knowing he would be assigned as her first-year advisor. She enrolled in his global health Sophomore Scholars in Residence course the following year.

“That set me down a trajectory of pursuing this interdisciplinary curriculum,” said Kemal, who double-majored in health care studies and leadership with a minor in business administration.

That interdisciplinary perspective is at the heart of the health studies major, which explores the social, environmental, biological, economic, and legal influences on individual and population health. The program prepares students for clinical professions, and the diverse courses also help them understand the full scope of opportunities in one of the nation’s broadest industries.

Health studies graduates work in health policy and reform, research and data analysis, and business development. They’ve also pursued graduate degrees in public health, health administration, business, and counseling psychology. And some are health care professionals in hospitals and clinics or through the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps.

The program started as an organic response to pre-med students looking to strengthen their medical school applications. In Mayes’ health policy and politics course, they learned about bioethics, finance, and patient rights, which led some to rethink their next steps. The course became a medical humanities minor, which many students used as the foundation for a self-designed interdisciplinary studies major.

At the same time, Mayes began teaching an early iteration of his healthcare-themed Sophomore Scholars in Residence course. Students participated in hands-on learning experiences, such as working with Remote Area Medical in southwest Virginia, traveling to medically underserved communities in the Dominican Republic and Peru, and partnering with local medical organizations.

Not all students want to be doctors and sought other options. In 2021, the University announced a new Department of Health Studies, adding more experiential learning opportunities and broader faculty expertise like epidemiologist Courtney Blondino. She teaches courses in epidemiology and health research methods, and global health, including a new course that applies a global context to her research in mental health and substance use.

Blondino has worked in various health care settings, ranging from the Richmond medical examiner’s office to nonprofits and consulting.

“Our health studies discipline is so broad, and students can go in so many different directions, but some can be intimidated by that,” she said. “I can leverage people in my network and be a bridge for students to ask questions.”

Many alums return to campus to share their stories and advice with current health studies students at the department’s annual Deconstructing Health networking event.

Kemal says connecting with alumni helped her continue to narrow down career possibilities and consider unexpected options. After her sophomore year, she landed an internship with Guidehouse, working in the consulting firm’s health care practice. She returned the following summer and secured a full-time position on the commercial practice team after graduation. Today, she’s focused on provider strategies, such as health system facility planning projects and value-based care initiatives.

She said, “I found a good balance of being challenged and having opportunities to stretch myself.”