Health Sciences, Bachelor of Science (564)
- Undergraduate
- Bachelor of Science
- Health and Human Services
- Public Health
Overview
The major in Health Sciences, requires 58-68 health sciences credit hours, including a required concentration ranging from 21-27 hours. The Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences is designed for students who are interested in pursuing a health and human services related career. The program is an interdisciplinary program with three primary purposes:
- Allowing students with a general interest in Health Sciences to pursue a B.S. while obtaining a concentration in a specific area of Health and Human Services.
- Permitting students to prepare for post-graduate or professional health sciences programs.
- Providing an option for students with a health-related associate degree or appropriate Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in a focused health area who wish to continue their education.
Concentrations
- Health Sciences Allied Health (AHAH)
- Preparatory Health Science (APHS)
- Health Services, Leadership & Management (ASLM)
Students pursuing the major are required to select one of the following concentrations: Preparatory Health Sciences, Health Services Leadership and Management, or Health Sciences Allied Health building on an Associate Degree or appropriate Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) in a focused health field (approved by the health science advisor). Students who transfer to WKU with an applied associate degree (e.g., Associate of Applied Science) from a health-related program and students with an appropriate MOS with American Council of Education (ACE) approved military credit receive a 12-hour waiver from the overall upper-level course requirement for the health science major; these students will need 23 hours in the major upper-division hour requirement.
Students must earn a “C” or better in each course in the major. Additionally, in accordance with university policy, an overall grade point average of 2.0 or better must be attained upon completion of required curriculum.
Program Requirements (58-68 hours)
A baccalaureate degree requires a minimum of 120 unduplicated semester hours. More information can be found at www.wku.edu/registrar/degree_certification.php.
Students who began WKU in the Fall 2014 and thereafter should review the Colonnade requirements located at: https://www.wku.edu/colonnade/colonnaderequirements.php.
Health Sciences Core
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| HMD 211 | Human Nutrition | 3 |
| PSY/PSYS 100 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| or PSY/PSYS 220 | Introduction to Lifespan Developmental Psychology | |
| or PSY/PSYS 440 | Abnormal Psychology | |
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
BIOL 113 | General Biology | |
BIOL 120 & BIOL 121 | Biological Concepts: Cells Metabolism and Genetics and Biological Concepts: Cells, Metabolism, and Genetics Lab | |
BIOL 131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology | |
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
CHEM 105 & CHEM 106 | Fundamentals of General Chemistry and Fundamentals of General Chemistry Laboratory | |
CHEM 109 | Chemistry for the Health Sciences | |
CHEM 116 | Introduction to College Chemistry | |
PHYS course | ||
| AH/HIM 290 | Medical Terminology | 2 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
PE 310 | Kinesiology | |
PE 311 | Exercise Physiology | |
PE 313 | Motor Development | |
PH 390 | Wellness and Fitness Assessment | |
NURS 335 | Health Assessment | |
MKT 220 | Basic Marketing Concepts | |
MKT 321 | Consumer Behavior | |
MKT 323 | Services Marketing | |
PR 255 | Fundamentals of Public Relations | |
| PH 381 | Public and Community Health | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
PH 383 | Biostatistics in the Health Sciences | |
SOCL 300 | Social Statistics | |
BIOL 382 | Introductory Biostatistics | |
STAT 301 | Introductory Probability and Applied Statistics | |
PSY/PSYS 313 | Statistics in Psychology | |
MATH 183 | Introductory Statistics | |
| PH 384 | Introduction to Epidemiology | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
PH 447 | Human Values and the Health Sciences | |
FACS 312 | Professional Ethics for Family Life | |
PHIL 322 | Biomedical Ethics | |
PHIL 323 | Social Ethics | |
MGT 305 | Ethics and Critical Thinking | |
SWRK 433 | Ethical Issues and Dilemmas in Social Work | |
LEAD 330 | Leadership Ethics and Decision-Making | |
| HCA 340 | Health Care Organization and Management | 3 |
| Select one of the following: | 3-4 | |
HCA 446 & HCA 447 | Health Care Informatics and Information Systems Laboratory | |
BDAN 305 | Data Modeling and Analysis | |
CIS 321 | Emerging Technologies with Artificial Intelligence | |
HIM 330 | Electronic Health Record Systems | |
| Select one of the following: | 2-3 | |
HCA 441 | Legal Aspects / Health Care | |
HIM 225 | Legal Issues in Health Information Management | |
MGT 200 | Legal Environment of Business | |
MGT 301 | Business Law | |
| Total Hours | 37-41 | |
One of the below-mentioned concentrations is required:
Preparatory Health Sciences Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 24-27 hours of the following courses: | 24-27 | |
Biology: | ||
BIOL 120 & BIOL 121 | Biological Concepts: Cells Metabolism and Genetics and Biological Concepts: Cells, Metabolism, and Genetics Lab 1 | |
BIOL 122 & BIOL 123 | Biological Concepts: Evolution, Diversity, and Ecology and Biological Concepts: Evolution, Diversity, and Ecology Lab | |
BIOL 131 | Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 | |
BIOL 207 & BIOL 208 | General Microbiology and General Microbiology Laboratory | |
BIOL 224 & BIOL 225 | Animal Biology and Diversity and Animal Biology and Diversity Lab 1 | |
BIOL 231 | Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology | |
Chemistry: | ||
CHEM 107 & CHEM 108 | Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry and Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry Laboratory | |
CHEM 116 | Introduction to College Chemistry 1 | |
CHEM 120 & CHEM 121 | College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Laboratory | |
CHEM 222 & CHEM 223 | College Chemistry II and College Chemistry II Laboratory | |
CHEM 304 | Biochemistry for the Health Sciences | |
CHEM 340 & CHEM 341 | Organic Chemistry I and Organic Chemistry Laboratory I | |
CHEM 342 & CHEM 343 | Organic Chemistry II and Organic Chemistry II Laboratory | |
Health Information Management: | ||
HIM 291 | Advanced Medical Terminolgy | |
HIM 292 | Pharmacology and Laboratory Diagnostics | |
Hospitality Management and Dietetics: | ||
HMD 360 | Advanced Nutrition | |
HMD 361 | Life Stage Nutrition | |
Math: | ||
MATH 117 | Trigonometry | |
MATH 136 | Calculus I | |
Nursing: | ||
NURS 324 | Pathophysiology for Nursing | |
NURS 337 | Health Promotion and Disease Prevention | |
NURS 343 | Mental Health Nursing | |
NURS 415 | Complementary Health Care | |
Psychological Sciences: | ||
PSYS 160 | Introduction to Biopsychology | |
Public Health: | ||
PH 365 | Human Sexuality | |
PH 464 | Women’s Health | |
PH 468 | Sexuality Education | |
Physics: | ||
PHYS 201 | College Physics I 1 | |
PHYS 231 & PHYS 232 | Introduction to Physics and Biophysics I and Laboratory for Physics and Biophysics I 1 | |
PHYS 233 & PHYS 332 | Laboratory for Physics and Biophysics II and Introduction to Physics and Biophysics II 1 | |
PHYS 255 & PHYS 256 | University Physics I and University Physics I Lab 1 | |
| Total Hours | 24-27 | |
- 1
Unduplicated.
Health Services Leadership & Management Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Select 24-27 hours from the following: | 24-27 | |
Counselor Education: | ||
CNS 110 | Human Relations | |
CNS 432 | Helping Skills | |
Communication: | ||
COMM 348 | Interpersonal Communication | |
Exercise Science: | ||
EXS 455 | Exercise and Aging | |
Family and Consumer Sciences: | ||
FACS 310 | Management of Family Resources | |
FACS 311 | Family Relations | |
FACS 395 | Child and Family Stress | |
FACS 491 | Seminar in Family Economics | |
FACS 497 | Family Home Visiting | |
Finance: | ||
FIN 161 | Personal Finance | |
Gerontology: | ||
GERO 100 | Introduction to the Aging Experience | |
GERO 461 | Person-Centered Dementia Management | |
Health Care Administration: | ||
HCA 345 | Long-Term Care Administration | |
HCA 347 | International Comparisons of Health Care Systems | |
HCA 353 | Quality and Patient Safety in Long-Term Care | |
HCA 446 & HCA 447 | Health Care Informatics and Information Systems Laboratory | |
Health Information Management: | ||
HIM 100 | Health Data Content and Structure | |
HIM 252 | Healthcare Payment Systems | |
HIM 291 | Advanced Medical Terminolgy | |
HIM 292 | Pharmacology and Laboratory Diagnostics | |
Hospitality Management and Dietetics: | ||
HMD 360 | Advanced Nutrition | |
HMD 367 | Nutrition in Aging | |
HMD 368 | Dietary and Herbal Supplements | |
Interdisciplinary Studies: | ||
IDST 369 | Career Related Field Experience | |
IDST 390 | Applications of Interdisciplinary Studies | |
IDST 395 | Investigative Methods in Interdisciplinary Studies | |
Leadership: | ||
LEAD 200 | Introduction to Leadership Studies | |
LEAD 300 | Leadership Theory and Application | |
LEAD 325 | Leading Change | |
LEAD 330 | Leadership Ethics and Decision-Making 1 | |
Management: | ||
MGT 200 | Legal Environment of Business 1 | |
MGT 301 | Business Law 1 | |
MGT 305 | Ethics and Critical Thinking 1 | |
MGT 333 | Management of Nonprofit Organizations | |
Public Health: | ||
PH 100 | Personal & Public Health | |
PH 165 | Drug Abuse | |
PH 261 | Foundations of Public Health Education | |
PH 365 | Human Sexuality | |
PH 410 | Global Perspectives on Population Health | |
PH 443 | Health and Aging | |
PH 444 | Death, Dying and Bereavement | |
PH 464 | Women’s Health | |
PH 467 | Drug Abuse Education | |
PH 468 | Sexuality Education | |
Psychological Sciences: | ||
PSYS 333 | Cognitive Psychology | |
PSYS 423 | Psychology of Adult Life and Aging | |
PSY/PSYS 440 | Abnormal Psychology | |
Sociology: | ||
SOCL 342 | Aging in Society | |
SOCL 440 | Sociology of Health and Illness | |
Special Education: | ||
SPED 200 | The Culture of Disability | |
Social Work: | ||
SWRK 101 | Foundations of Human Services | |
SWRK 300 | Diversity and Social Welfare | |
SWRK 330 | Human Behavior in the Social Environment | |
SWRK 326 | Services for the Older American | |
SWRK 357 | Case Management | |
SWRK 375 | Social Work Practice I | |
SWRK 437 | Military Social Work | |
Other courses with advisor approval | ||
| Total Hours | 24-27 | |
- 1
Unduplicated.
Health Sciences Allied Health Concentration– (Health Related A.S. / A.A. / A.A.S. or MOS to Health Sciences Allied Health B.S. Concentration)
An associate degree in a focused health area or an appropriate military occupational specialty (MOS) in a focused health area with American Council of Education (ACE) approved military credit may fulfill the concentration requirement with the approval of a Health Sciences academic advisor. Students with a completed A.A. or A.S. degree from a KCTCS college will be considered to have completed the WKU Colonnade general education requirements. Twenty-one credit hours is required within the concentration.
In addition to completing the Health Sciences core, students need to fulfill all other appropriate major and degree requirements.
Finish in Four Plans
Health Sciences Preparatory Concentration
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 100 | 3 | COMM 145 | 3 |
| HIM 290 or AH 290 | 2 | HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 |
| PSY 220, PSYS 220, PSY 100, or PSYS 100 | 3 | Colonnade: Arts & Humanities | 3 |
| MATH 116 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective OR World Language (if needed) | 3 |
| BIOL 120 & BIOL 121 | 4 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 200 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| HMD 211 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| CHEM 109 or CHEM 116 | 3-4 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Connections (Social & Cultural) | 3 | ENG 300 | 3 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | PH 383, SOCL 300, BIOL 382, STAT 301, PSY 313, PSYS 313, or MATH 183 | 3 |
| 15-16 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PE 310, PE 311, PE 313, PH 390, NURS 335, MKT 220, MKT 323, or PR 255 | 3 | HCA 441, MGT 200, MGT 301, or HIM 225 | 2-3 |
| PH 381 | 3 | HCA 340 | 3 |
| PH 384 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Colonnade: Connections (Local to Global) | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 14-15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PH 447, HCA 247, PHIL 322, MGT 305, or SWRK 433 | 3 | HCA 446 & HCA 447 , BDAN 305, or CIS 321 | 3-4 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15-16 | ||
| Total Hours 119-122 | |||
Health Sciences Allied Health Concentration
The Health Sciences Allied Health concentration is designed for students who have earned an associate degree in a focused health area or an appropriate military occupational specialty (MOS) in a focused health area with American Council of Education (ACE) approved military credit. In addition to completing the Health Sciences core, students need to fulfill all other appropriate major and degree requirements. Students should consult with an advisor in planning their four-year degree program.
While working on the Health related Associate degree at KCTCS or WKU, students are encouraged to complete the following courses as a foundation for the Health Sciences major. KCTCS Courses: i) NFS 101; ii. (PSY 110 or PSY 223); iii. (MATH 146 or 150 or higher); iv. (CHE 130 or 140 or PHY ***); v. (AHS 115 or CLA 131); and vi. (BIO 112/1121/1122/1123/1124, or BIO 114/115, or BIO 150/151, or BIO 135 or 137 or 139). Corresponding WKU Courses, if not completed at KCTCS: i. HMD 211; ii. (PSY 100 or PSYS 100); iii. (MATH 109 or MATH 116 or higher); iv. (CHEM 105/CHEM 106, or CHEM 109, or CHEM 116, or PHYS ***); v. (HIM 290 or AH 290); and (BIOL 113 or BIOL 120/BIOL 121 or BIOL 131). WKU Associate Degree seeking students are also encouraged to complete ENG 100 (FW-1) and Arts & Humanities (E-AH) in the first two years.
| Third Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PE 310, PE 311, PE 313, or PH 390 | 3 | PH 383, SOCL 300, BIOL 382, STAT 301, PSY 313, PSYS 313, or MATH 183 | 3 |
| PH 381 | 3 | HCA 340 | 3 |
| Upper Level Elective/Major/Minor | 9 | Upper Level Elective/Major/Minor | 9 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| HCA 441, MGT 200, MGT 301, or HIM 225 | 2-3 | HCA 446 & HCA 447 , BDAN 305, or CIS 321 | 3-4 |
| PH 384 | 3 | PH 447, HCA 247, PHIL 322, PHIL 323, MGT 305, or SWRK 433 | 3 |
| Upper Level Elective/Major/Minor | 9 | Upper Level Elective/Major/Minor | 9 |
| 14-15 | 15-16 | ||
| Total Hours 59-61 | |||
Health Services Leadership and Management Concentration
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 100 | 3 | COMM 145 | 3 |
| HIM 290 or AH 290 | 2 | HIST 101 or HIST 102 | 3 |
| PSY 220, PSYS 220, PSY 100, or PSYS 100 | 3 | Colonnade - Arts & Humanities | 3 |
| MATH 116 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective or World Language (if needed) | 3 |
| BIOL 113 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 3 |
| BIOL 114 | 1 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENG 200 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 9 |
| HMD 211 | 3 | ENG 300 | 3 |
| CHEM 105 | 3 | PH 383, SOCL 300, BIOL 382, STAT 301, PSY 313, PSYS 313, or MATH 183 | 3 |
| CHEM 106 | 1 | ||
| Connections - Social & Cultural | 3 | ||
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | ||
| 16 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PE 310, PE 313, PH 390, MKT 220, MKT 321, MKT 323, or PR 255 | 3 | HCA 441, MGT 200, MGT 301, or HIM 225 | 2-3 |
| PH 381 | 3 | HCA 340 | 3 |
| PH 384 | 3 | Major/Minor/Elective | 9 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 3 | ||
| Connections - Local to Global | 3 | ||
| 15 | 14-15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PH 447, HCA 247, PHIL 322, PHIL 323, MGT 305, or SWRK 433 | 3 | HCA 446 & HCA 447 , BDAN 305, or CIS 321 | 3-4 |
| Major/Minor/Elective | 12 | Major/Minor/Elective | 12 |
| 15 | 15-16 | ||
| Total Hours 120-122 | |||