Program Overview

Program Overview

The Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the field, which combines the principles of narrative theory and practice with the clinical applications of literary knowledge. The program aims to foster a deeper understanding of the clinical encounter and the ways in which narrative can be used to improve patient care and outcomes.

Program Structure

The program is offered in both full-time and part-time formats, with students completing 38 points (credits) to graduate. The full-time program can be completed in three terms (Fall, Spring, and Summer A), while the part-time program can take between two and six years to complete. Students are required to take a minimum of 12 points (credits) per semester to be considered full-time.

Core Courses

The program consists of five core courses, which provide students with a foundational understanding of narrative medicine. These courses include:

• Close Reading: Giving and Receiving Accounts of Self
• Applied Writing in the Narrative Medicine Context and Beyond
• Illness and Disability Narratives: Embodiment, Community, Activism
• Self and Other in the Clinical Encounter
• Qualitative Methods & Research

Topics in Narrative Medicine

In addition to the core courses, students can choose from a range of topics courses, which provide more in-depth exploration of specific areas within narrative medicine. These courses include:

• Bodies, Illness and Care: Perspectives from Phenomenology and Beyond
• Works of Art and Wide-Awakeness to the World
• Narrative Ethics
• Narrative, Health, and Social Justice
• Race, Narrative, and Medicine: Descripting African American Bodies
• Narratives of Death, Living & Caring at the End of Life
• Writing Narrative Medicine
• Embodied Borderlands
• Practicum: Facilitating Narrative Medicine Workshops
• Advocacy & Organizing: Narratives of Activism, Social Justice, and Community Health
• Narrative Therapy
• Disability Studies

Special Topics in Narrative Medicine

The program also offers special topics courses, which provide students with the opportunity to explore emerging areas within narrative medicine. These courses include:

• Public Writing and Public Health
• Illness-thought-activism: From HIV/AIDS to COVID-19
• Dementia Narratives

Capstones & Independent Studies

Students can choose to complete a capstone project or independent study, which allows them to develop a research project or creative work under the guidance of a faculty advisor. The capstone project is a 3-point (credit) course, while the independent study can be taken for variable credit (1-4 points/credits).

Academic Progress

Students are expected to maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0 (B) and complete a minimum of 67% of their total attempted credits in a given semester to be considered in good academic standing. Students who earn grades of D or F in a term may be dismissed from the program.

Degree Requirements

The Narrative Medicine graduate degree requires 38 points (credits) to complete. Students must take the five core courses in Narrative Medicine (20 points/credits) and at least 6 points (credits) of NMED topics courses. For the remaining credits (12 points/credits), students may choose a combination of: (a) additional NMED topics courses; (b) elective courses chosen from other departments (must be 4000-level or higher); (c) optional Independent Study (1-4 points/credits) and/or Capstone (3 points/credits). Students may take more than the required 38 points/credits—note that tuition is charged per credit.

International Students

International students are responsible for ensuring they have read and understand the University’s student visa application eligibility and requirements. Please note that it is not permissible to enroll while in B-1/B-2 status. In addition, if studying on a student visa, you must enroll full-time (12 points/credits per term) and study on campus.

Program Advisors

All students are assigned both a program advisor and a narrative medicine faculty advisor to aid in course selection and planning and to offer general support and guidance.