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Program Objectives:

The Health Sciences program has been designed to meet the needs of three specific student groups: (1) students who want to prepare for entry and mid-level positions in for profit and not for profit health care organizations, (2) students who want to apply to graduate health professions programs, and (3) health care professionals who have already obtained an associate’s degree in an allied health field and would like to obtain a baccalaureate degree. This undergraduate degree is a particularly excellent choice for any student interested in occupational therapy, physical therapy, medicine, nursing, or physician assistant studies.  

Degree Map for Health Sciences

To view the Health Sciences degree map, please refer to the Degree Map website.

Curriculum:

The SHRS-W courses for the Bachelors of Science in Health Sciences (BSHS) are offered both online and in the classroom. The minimum required credit hours for the BSHS degree are 120 credit hours, divided among required core courses, and elective courses. The core curriculum is 76 credit hours; and the remainder of the credit hours are from elective courses.  

For those students seeking to earn one of the three undergraduate Certificates, those credits are applied as elective credits.  For students seeking to attend graduate school, the pre-requisite courses are applied as elective credits.

The BSHS degree program consists of a required set of core courses, and elective courses.  There is also the option to add an undergraduate Certificate.  There are three to from which to choose, as well as the option to prepare for graduate level health profession programs:

  • Gerontology Certificate
  • Global Health and Rehabilitation Certificate
  • Rehabilitation and Disabilities Studies Certificate
  • Preparation for Graduate Health Professions Programs  

The undergraduate Certificate appears on the transcript in addition to the BSHS degree.  Students not enrolled in the BSHS degree may take the courses required for the certificate without enrolling in the BSHS degree program.

Electives:

A student must take 44 credit hours of elective courses in addition to the required 76 credit hours of core courses to total a minimum of 120 credit hours.  Students with a focus on gerontology may want to include additional psycho-social courses directed towards this population. Students with a focus on international rehabilitation may want to include electives in a foreign language. Students with a focus on rehabilitation and disability studies may want to include additional courses in management, finance, and personnel. Students with a focus on preparing for an advanced clinical degree must take additional courses as required for prerequisites in their particular clinical discipline of interest.

Certificates:

As noted above, students may enroll in one or more of the three certificates offered by the department without enrolling in the degree program. A formal application is required to enroll in a certificate without enrolling in a degree program. Application can be made using the University’s online application and paying the application fee.