Biocultural Health Track

Integrating biomedical science, Indigenous knowledge, local wisdom, and environmental care, students analyze the connections between culture, territory, and health equity through fieldwork, storytelling, and collaborative research.

This track is a specialized option for the study of Biocultural Health. Students not interested in enrolling in a track may opt to participate in our standard, direct-enrollment program.

Why Study Biocultural Health in Southern Chile?

Southern Chile—and Valdivia in particular—provides a privileged starting point for students to study the links between territory, culture, and well-being. Rich in ancestral knowledge, vibrant ecosystems, and active community initiatives, Valdivia serves as an ideal living laboratory for intercultural health, biocultural conservation, and eco-social justice.

Who is this Track For?

This track is ideal for students who are:

• Interested in health, social sciences, humanities, and/or environmental studies
• Ready to explore intersections between health, environment, and culture, and value community-based and ecosystemic approaches.
• Curious about ancestral and traditional medicine, emotional and collective well-being, and the intercultural dimensions of health.
• Open to interdisciplinary and intercultural learning experiences, including dialogue with local communities, elders, and traditional health practitioners.
• Prepared to work collaboratively in diverse settings and are willing to engage in participatory and reflective fieldwork.

Track Structure

Students on the Biocultural Health track take two elective courses at the host university, a required Middlebury course called Writing for Linguistic and Cultural Competence, and either a guided research project or an internship. 

• University Courses: Two courses in medicine*, anthropology or environmental sciences, taken at the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACH). Examples of available courses:

  Spring Semester

  • Medicine: Promoting Health / Medical Psychoanthropology
  • Anthropology: Indigenous Peoples / Latin American Anthropology

  Fall Semester

  • Medicine: Applied Public Health / Family and Community Medicine
  • Anthropology: Sociocultural Anthropology / Anthropology of Health
  • Environmental Sciences: Water, Ecosystems, and Society
     

• A guided research project, developed in collaboration with faculty affiliated with the Transdisciplinary Center for Environmental Studies and Sustainable Human Development, from fields such as Anthropology, Medicine, and Biology. Through group sessions, tutorials, participatory methodologies, and fieldwork, projects will promote collaboration with academics, institutions, and community stakeholders. Depending on their interests, students may explore the relationships between human and environmental health, emotional and collective well-being, ancestral and traditional health knowledge and practices, the intercultural and territorial dimensions of care, and the impacts of local and global environmental  and eco-social issues.

  Some possible areas of research include:

  • Ancestral health knowledge and practices of Indigenous peoples in the region, including in Mapuche-Huilliche and Lafkenche communities
  • The importance of cultural and ancestral knowledge for community and territorial health
  • Relationships among human health, communities, and ecosystems through the lens of Biocultural Ethics.
     
• An internship in a local organization, public health center, NGO, or intercultural initiative focused on health. Students must review the program’s internship requirements before applying.
  
  Some possible internship placements include:
  • Family Health Centers in Valdivia, like CESFAM Niebla
  • Community and intercultural health initiatives, like the Intercultural Health Roundtable
  • Projects related to the environment and sustainable development, like those being conducted within the Socioecological Restoration Laboratory at UACH

If a student is unable to receive credit for the internship, they may still participate in the experience as a non-credit activity, provided they meet the same commitments and requirements established by the program. In that case, they must enroll in three academic courses to meet the required academic load. This ensures that all students maintain a full and enriching educational experience.

*Courses with clinical components are not available to visiting students.  For advanced courses, students must have the necessary pre-requisites.