The following requirements are in addition to, or further elaborate upon, those requirements outlined in the Student Services section of this Web site.

Cluster fellows are required to take three seminars in the second or third year of graduate study. The goals of the seminars are to introduce key concepts, to review integrative approaches to research on human biology and health in the social sciences, and to promote cross-disciplinary dialogue among cluster fellows and faculty. Full descriptions of the seminars are included below.

Integrative seminar in society, biology, and health
The objective of this course is to survey current efforts to understand the dynamic relationships among society, biology, and health.  Many scholars and agencies recognize the need for interdisciplinary approaches that draw on concepts and methods from the social/behavioral sciences as well as the life/biomedical sciences, but successful linkage across levels of analysis has remained an elusive goal.  What are the epistemological and methodological challenges to successful integration, particularly in an era of increasing specialization in training and the production of knowledge?  What can be learned from prior attempts at integration emerging from distinct disciplinary traditions, including biocultural anthropology, biodemography, psychobiology, social epidemiology, and psychosomatic medicine?

Beyond nature vs. nurture: The impact of experience on biology across the life course
Nature (genetics and biology) and nurture (environmental experience) are no longer considered two opposing explanations for human developmental outcomes.  This course discusses theoretical models and empirical findings regarding the interplay among genes, biology, and experience in development, including gene-environment correlations, gene-environment interactions, and epigenetics, and theoretical models for the interplay between biology and ecological conditions, such as life history theory.  A focus on the development of specific physiological systems (e.g., endocrine responses to stress; immune function) provide opportunities to examine environmental influences on biology in a variety of settings, ranging from immediate microsystemic contexts such as interpersonal relationships, day care and school settings, and work settings, to macrosystemic influences such as culture and socioeconomic status.  Examples from all stages of the lifespan (prenatal development, childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging) will be presented.  Implications for developmental and health outcomes, and for public policies regulating human environments are considered.

Biology and social inquiry
The intent of this course is to provide an overview of efforts to integrate human genetic information into social science research, with a particular focus on the interplay of genetics, social conditions, and health outcomes. The course will begin by discussing social science critiques of genetic/biological research, with attention to the history of use/misuse of biological measurement to contextualize the resurgence of genetic research.  The course will consider perspectives on the relationship between evolutionary biology and social science, especially evolutionary psychology and life history theory.  Then the course will consider quantitative and molecular approaches to genetic differences, with respect both to behavioral and medical genetics.  Here, we will consider both individual- and population-level sources of gene-environment interaction and gene-environment correlation.  Finally, we will consider how developments in genetic knowledge make genetic information an object of public opinion and a possible source of inequality in its utilization.

Additional course requirements
Introduction to Biology    Cluster fellows will be required to have at least one year of undergraduate-level biology.  Students will receive credit toward this requirement if they have taken biology as an undergraduate prior to their arrival at NU.  Students with no background in biology will be required to take the compressed, 9-week summer course offered by Northwestern’s School of Continuing Studies. This requirement reflects our commitment to training social scientists who take biology seriously, and who can build on a solid foundation of biological knowledge in their efforts to conduct innovative social science research

Quantitative methods    Cluster fellows will be required to enroll in at least two graduate-level courses in statistical methods of data analysis.  This requirement can be fulfilled by a range of currently available graduate courses.