Health Sciences, Accelerated 4+1 BS/MS

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Elizabeth Domholdt, Director, School of Health Science

The 5-year B.S. + M.S. in Health Sciences is an accelerated degree completion program designed for high-performing undergraduates in the General Interest or Associate Degree Completion (2+2) tracks of the Health Sciences major. This program is designed to respond to the growing job opportunities in health-related settings by shortening the time for completion of a Master’s degree. Students can jump-start their careers as professionals in health sciences by accelerating the completion of the two degrees.

Admission Requirements

To be eligible for admission to the program, the student must:

Have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher;
Have completed 90 credit hours of the Bachelor of Science and BSHS program requirements

Undergraduate students must submit two application forms:

Accelerated 4+1 Master’s program application submitted to the graduate program director of the Master of Science in Health Sciences (MSHS) program no later than spring semester of junior year (junior year standing).
MSHS application

The 4+1 Program consists of the following courses/requirements:

Undergraduate-Level

HSC 200 Introduction to Health Professions (Waived for 2+2 students) (3)
HSC 203 Medical Terminology (1)
MTH 347 Applied Statistics (3) OR
PSY 317 (3)
PHL 240 Bioethics (3)
COM 362 Health Communication (3)
36 credit hours of approved electives (36)
HSC 484 Advanced Research and Writing Capstone (3) OR
HSC 410 Evidence-Based Practice (3) OR
HSC 487 Community Participatory Research (3)

Graduate-Level

HSC 501 - Issues in Health Science *
HSC 502 - Leadership Roles in Health Sciences *
HSC 503 - Research & Analysis *
HSC 504 - Seminar in Health Sciences Professions
HSC 505 - Culture & Health Care *
1 Area of Emphasis course:
HSC 510 - Principles of Evidence-Based Practice in Health Sciences OR
HSC 513 - Outcomes Assessment OR
HSC 523 - Educational Evaluations in Health Sciences OR
HSC 533 - Program Development & Evaluation
- 2 HSC courses (6)
- 3 Elective courses (9)
HSC 691 - Thesis OR
HSC 692 - Masters Project
*To be completed during the undergraduate portion of the 4+1. Must earn a “B” or higher. Course applies to both the BSHS and the MSHS programs.

Overview of Procedures:

Students admitted to the joint five-year Bachelor/Master of Science program retain undergraduate status until they meet the requirements for the bachelor’s degree, at which point they will receive the BSHS degree.

Students must apply to the MSHS Program during Spring semester of Junior year. Once admitted to the combined program, students may complete up to 12 credit hours of graduate courses while enrolled in the undergraduate program. These 12 credit-hours count towards BOTH the undergraduate degree and the graduate degree requirements.

Upon receipt of the Bachelor’s degree, students who have been accepted into the combined program and who have a 3.0 or better average in their graduate courses will AUTOMATICALLY be admitted to the Graduate Program. They will have up to 12 hours of graduate coursework (and grades) placed on their graduate transcripts.

NOTE: STUDENTS MUST ATTEND THE NEXT REGULAR SEMESTER AFTER RECEIVING THE UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE AS A GRADUATE STUDENT TO CONTINUE IN THE PROGRAM. Graduate students must maintain a GPA of at least 3.0 to remain in the program.