A degree in Health Sciences also covers special topics in healthcare that students might find especially appealing, such as environmental law and nutrition. Students of health sciences learn and practice skills that prepare them for diverse education and job opportunities after high school, ranging from apprenticeships and two-year university programs to four-year colleges and graduate programs. A health sciences degree prepares students for entry-level roles in healthcare administration, selling medicine or drugs, and other health-related services. For students not interested in continuing on to a graduate or professional program, graduates of baccalaureate programs in health sciences may pursue careers as health educators, health services managers, or in other healthcare administrative jobs.
The broad, flexible degree equips students for entry-level health care jobs or to apply to health sciences-related professional programs. The health sciences major also will prepare you for higher-level graduate degrees in public and community health, healthcare administration, and other medical programs. Health Science majors are available at all levels of education, and each one will prepare you for a variety of roles in the healthcare field. Health care studies programs offer liberal arts and humanities foundations, and help you to be prepared to enter a starting-level role in the health care field.
The degree is designed to increase the potential for advancement within the health care sector into entry-level and mid-level positions within health-related organizations. While a health sciences undergraduate degree is still an appreciation for the multidisciplinary nature of the field, it provides students with a variety of options for preparation to pursue specific, but diverse, careers within the field of health science. Like most majors, students have options for earning their certification in health sciences, associates, bachelors, or a post-graduate certificate in the field, depending on their overall goals. For instance, you could pursue your Associate Degree in A&E with this bachelors completion program, and get a leg up on the competition in the healthcare industry.
Your associates degree program sets the stage for your health sciences career, so you can expect to take general-level, entry-level courses that give a general basis for your future education, but prepare you for certain entry-level roles. Health sciences provides students with a solid base of knowledge about general sciences, human health, and statistics, setting graduates up for various exciting careers in healthcare, and eventually for grad school, if that is what interests them. Emerging in just the last decade, health sciences for middle schoolers provides the opportunity to build expertise for careers and discover their passions for healthcare before they ever set foot on high school.
UCs online bachelors degree program in health sciences provides students with a thorough science foundation that sets them up to be eligible, with additional training, for careers in fields including physical therapy, medicine, dentistry, exercise science, occupational therapy, public health, health administration, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nutritional medicine. A health sciences degree — which is sometimes called pre-med degree — may also prepare students for applying and entering graduate and professional programs in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and others. This kind of science degree emphasizes the problems and outcomes of health.
Focusing mostly on health problems and outcomes, the field of healthcare also includes the sciences of the natural and behavioral sciences. The latter takes a technical, scientific approach to the discipline, making it perfect for candidates looking to enter clinical positions, whereas BS in science examines general human services systems. A major in health sciences incorporates coursework in natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the humanities, with the goal of training students to use quantitative and qualitative problem-solving skills in their critical analysis of disease processes.
For many college students, an academic degree in the sciences has appeal because it can serve as an excellent entry point for students who are interested in any number of careers. If you have an associates degree in science, associates degree in arts, or at least 30 credits in coursework that you can transfer into an undergraduate degree, including courses prior to nursing, the bachelors degree in applied health sciences (BSAHS) could set you up to pursue any number of healthcare careers.
If you are interested in pursuing a career in the sciences in agriculture, you will major in human-animal studies and choose a program that is geared towards pre-veterinary medicine. MHS programs are an excellent choice if you are interested in pursuing a career in public health and wish to specialize in one specific field, particularly one with an emphasis on science. These types of programs generally cover all of your basic science classes, combined with courses on medical terminology, health and well-being, laws and ethics, research methods, and various topics related to public health.
Biostatistics courses prepare students well for various careers and academic outcomes. While the fields of healthcare administration and environmental health provide concrete paths for employment, the completion of the undergraduate degree and the study of healthcare careers allows students to freely explore a broad array of electives when considering their future. To help you navigate the health care field, we created a guide of healthcare majors, degree programs, career information, and salary and job growth data to help you narrow down where you would like to focus your interests and skills.
Just like many other career fields provide opportunities to work in the front line with patients or behind the scenes with tech support, a health science job will also offer you a choice to either work in the clinical or more academic and research arenas. Perhaps you would like to pursue more technical roles, but you want to remain within health care.
If you have an interest in the human body and human health, pursuing a degree with narrow focuses like biology or chemistry is not going to serve you well. If you are interested in working in health-related careers, or continuing to graduate school for a post-graduate degree in exercise science, medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, sports medicine, or public health, then a degree in a health sciences field–a strong foundational credential for a wide range of careers–should be considered.