Medical Sociology has been in existence at the University of Amsterdam since about 1970. The first professor in Medical Sociology was Egbert Tellegen. After Tellegen, Abraham de Swaan and Gerhard Nijhof held chairs in the field of Medical Sociology. Among other things, De Swaan published on the sociogenesis of health, health care and related institutions. Nijhof's focus was on language and health.

Medical Anthropology became a specialization for teaching and research around 1980. Its 'founding fathers' were Klaas van der Veen and Sjaak van der Geest. The latter was appointed professor in Medical Anthropology in 1994. Other chairs in Medical Anthropology have been held by Pieter Streefland, Anita Hardon, and Corlien Varkevisser. Research in that period was mainly focused on pharmaceuticals, health care systems and Primary Health Care. The Amsterdam Master's in Medical Anthropology (AMMA) started in 1997.

In 1984, the then Department of Science Dynamics, led by professor Stuart Blume, added Medical Science to its research programme as an additional focus for research work. Involving both historical and sociological approaches, a major concern was with understanding the different ways in which medical practice influences research in both the laboratory and the clinical sciences.

The above three specialisations started to work together in teaching, research and other academic activities around 1995. MASU is the unit that bundles these activities.