2020-2021 Academic Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Biological Sciences, BS, Concentration: Health Sciences


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About the Program


Apply Now The Health Sciences concentration is intended for students who are interested in applying to a health science related professional program. Students can choose the health science concentration and the pre-professional program of their choice, including pre-dentistry, pre-occupational therapy, pre-medicine, pre-physician assistant, pre-optometry, and pre-chiropractic, as well as a non-degree pre-pharmacy program to prepare students for applications to College of Pharmacy or Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D.) programs. Students can also pursue other health-care related career tracks as well as some pre-professional programs through the BS in Health Studies option within the department. 

Degree Requirements


  • 120 Credit Hours
  • Minimum grade of C required for all BIOL courses
  • Minimum GPA of 2.0 required for graduation

PNW General Education Core (30 Credits Minimum)


Other Required Courses (27 Credits)


Health Sciences Electives (9 Credits)


Maximum 3 credits of independent studies / research / internship (BIOL 39500, BIOL 48800, BIOL 48900, or BIOL 49500 can be used to fulfill this elective requirement. Additional credits can be used as free electives. BIOL 34200 cannot be used as a concentration elective but can be used as a free elective. Choose 3:

Humanities, Social Sciences, or Foreign Language Electives (6 Credits)


This degree requires 6-credit hours of electives from Humanities and Social Sciences in addition to the 3-credits required from each of these areas that must be chosen from the approved General Education list (see General Education Core above). Six credit hours of foreign languages can be used towards this requirement. Note that some professional schools have specific Humanities and Social Sciences course requirements for admission.

Free Electives (12 Credits)


Any four (4) courses from the PNW curriculum are acceptable, students must complete at least two elective courses at the 30000 level or higher.

Total 120 Credits Required


Degree Map


Requirements


Minimum Grade and Grade Point Average (GPA):  Minimum grade of C required for all BIOL courses (unless otherwise noted); 2.0 GPA

Experiential Learning (EL):  One Experiential Learning credit is required for graduation. EL courses are noted by (e) next to the course title. Most students fulfill this requirement by taking ENGL 10500. Courses meeting this requirement in Biology include BIOL 34200, BIOL 39500 Special Assignments, Biological Sciences Practicum, BIOL 48800 Biological Sciences Internship, BIOL 48900 Biological Sciences Research, and BIOL 49500 Special Assignments. Other possible courses that can be used to fulfill this requirement include SCI 49100, ENGL 41101, and IDIS 10001. See the Experiential Learning Course List  for additional courses meeting this requirement.

General Education Core:  General Education notations can be found within the course description.  Please click on a course to see if it meets a Gen Ed requirement.

Milestone Courses noted by (m) next to the course title have been identified as being critical to your success in this field of study. 

Courses that are only offered on one campus will be noted by an (H) for Hammond, or (W) for Westville.

Please see the Additional Information and Guidelines section below for more information.

Semester 6 (14 Credits)


Semester 7 (15 Credits)


Semester 8 (14 Credits)


  • Health Science Elective (See Note 5)
  • Health Science Elective (See Note 5)
  • Free Elective - 30000 level or above
  • Free Elective

Additional Information and Guidelines


Note 1: Additional GPA Requirements for BS Biology Degree: Minimum 2.0 GPA for all biology core (BIOL 10700, BIOL 10100, BIOL 10200, BIOL 24300, BIOL 24400, BIOL 31100 (58000) and BIOL 42600) and concentration required courses.

Note 2: Gen Ed Technology Course Requirement - CIS 20400 is recommend for students with limited experience using Microsoft Suite and can be replaced by BIOL 59500 Bioinformatics or a different course approved by the department. If students choose a course that is not a Gen Ed Technology course, they will have to fulfill this requirement with another course in this area as a free elective. See the Gen Ed Core List for suitable courses .

Note 3: This degree requires 6-credit hours of electives from Humanities and Social Sciences in addition to the 3-credits required from each of these areas that must be chosen from the approved General Education list (see General Education Core above). Six credit hours of foreign languages can be used towards this requirement. Note that some professional schools have specific Humanities and Social Sciences course requirements for admission.

Note 4: Health Sciences Concentration required courses.

Note 5: Health Sciences Elective courses range from 1 to 5 credits. Maximum 3 credits of Health Sciences related independent studies / research / internship (BIOL 34200, BIOL 39500, BIOL 48800, BIOL 48900, or BIOL 49500 can be used to fulfill this elective requirement. Additional credits can be used as free-electives.  At least one of the courses in this category must be a 50000 level class. Social Sciences Elective: CDFS 21000 and PSY 35000 are recommended. See attachment for list of Health Science elective courses. BIOL 34200 - Biological Science Practicum (Health sciences related experience) is highly recommended. BIOL 48900 - Biological Sciences Research and ENGL 41101 - Introduction to writing In the Health Sciences are also recommended.

Note 6: BIOL 21201 - Medical Terminology (2 credits) is offered in the summer semester. This course is required by some professional schools for admission. It may be taken as a free elective prior to BIOL 21300.

Resources


The 8 semester plan of study is a recommended sequence of classes designed to show how this program can be completed within four years.

Visit the 15 to Finish website for information and resources.

For career information, click here to visit the Careers and Employment Trends page.

For Financial Aid eligibility, click here. Annual FAFSA filing deadline is March 10. Financial Aid recipients are required to complete 30 credits per calendar year to stay eligible for the standard financial aid award.

Financial Guarantee: If you follow the degree map and find a course unavailable, you may be able to take the course for free in a future semester.  Certain exclusions apply. 

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