About Us

The Program in Human Biology is an interschool, interdepartmental, undergraduate major. The program's mission is to provide an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the human being from biological, behavioral, social, and cultural perspectives.

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Capstone

The Human Biology Capstone gives students a chance to reflect upon their undergraduate career alongside their broader interests and values.

Watch the Capstone Overview video

Science Communication

Because Human Biology is an interdisciplinary program with an emphasis on both empirical inquiry and applied knowledge, excellent communication skills are critical to majors.

Watch Dr Preston

Data Literacy

Data in the social and biological sciences are used to make observations and judgments regarding patterns of human behavior and function. These data are sometimes imperfect or incomplete, but are used nevertheless to make decisions and policies.

Watch Professor Kurina

Scientific Literacy

Human Biology students learn to critically evaluate evidence in support of claims and write for a range of audiences, from peer-reviewed research journals to more popular science journalism.

Watch Shay Brawn

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Director's Message

Dear HumBio Students, Faculty and Friends,

Welcome to Human Biology! As the new Director of Human Biology, I am thrilled to be a part of this wonderful program.

The Human Biology program is dedicated to training students in diverse disciplinary perspectives to allow students to think about and tackle some of the most important problems facing humanity. In Human Biology, students design their own course of study so that they can become experts in the particular topic that interests them the most. Human Biology is diverse and high-energy and we are so proud of what our students and alumni accomplish.

To learn more about the program, please stop by Building 20 on the Inner Quad any time. Our Student Advisers in the HumBio Hub (room 21A) can tell you almost anything about our various degree options: major vs. minor; B.S. vs. B.A.; and various areas of concentration.

In this, my first year of directing Human Biology, I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. My own path – trained in biology and ecology and then moving to epidemiology – is a little like a Human Biology story in and of itself. After my PhD at Stanford in 1998, I spent time at Oxford and then the University of Chicago before returning to Stanford six years ago. It is terrific to be back at this optimistic and ambitious institution, and a particular privilege to now be directing HumBio. In addition, I will continue to teach – HumBio 88 (Introduction to statistics for the health sciences) and HumBio 154B (Principles of epidemiology) – and to pursue my research program, focused on active-duty servicemember health outcomes.

Please feel free to email me lkurina@stanford.edu any time you want to connect.

Looking forward to the wonderful work that we will all do together!

Lianne Kurina, PhD

The Bing Director, Human Biology

Director, The Stanford Military Data Repository