The Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences is designed for students with an interest in human health who plan to pursue health-focused careers. The Pre-Clinical track provides students with a solid educational background in basic and health-related sciences, while providing the foundation courses required for admission to graduate level clinical programs including but not limited to medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, physician assistant/associate, and other health-related professions.
Degree Requirements
- Students who change programs and select this major must adopt the most current catalog.
- Students must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.0 for acceptance into the Pre-Clinical track.
- Students selecting the Pre-Clinical track are classified as "pending" until the program verifies that they meet the GPA requirements for this track. Students who meet the requirements are changed to the Pre-Clinical track.
- Courses listed below under the GEP and CPP categories usually are completed during the first 60 credit hours and may be taken at an institution within the Florida College System.
- A minimum grade of "C" (2.0) in each program prerequisite course, in each core requirement course, and in each restricted elective is required. Students should note that graduate programs may require a higher level of performance for admission.
- No transfer course will be accepted with a grade lower than a "C" (2.0).
- Students must achieve a minimum 3.0 overall GPA for graduation.
- Students who do not meet the minimum overall 3.0 GPA graduation requirement, and have an overall GPA between 2.5-2.99, will be automatically moved to the Health Sciences – Health Promotion track during their graduation term and will earn the Health Sciences – Health Promotion track B.S. if they have met all other program requirements.
- Students with an overall GPA less than 2.5 will be automatically moved to the General Health Studies, B.S. degree during their graduation term if they have met all other program requirements.
Degree Requirements
Core Requirements: Basic
6 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- Complete the following:
- HUN2201 - Fundamentals of Human Nutrition (3)
- Complete at least 1 of the following:
- HSC2524 - Introduction to Human Disease (3)
- HSC2000 - Introduction to Careers in Health Professions (3)
- HSC3110 - Medical Self Assessment (3)
- If HSC3110 - Medical Self Assessment is not used to complete the basic core requirement it can be used as a restricted elective.
Core Requirements: Advanced
24 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- Complete the following:
- HSC3147 - Introduction to Pharmacology (3)
- HSC3211 - Preventive Health Care (3)
- HSC4555 - Pathophysiology I (3)
- HSC4558 - Pathophysiology II (3)
- HSC4501 - Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases (3)
- HSC4730 - Applied Health Research Methodology (3)
- HSC4572 - Clinical Nutrition (3)
- HSC4930 - Health Sciences Seminar (3)
- HSC 4008 - Professional Development in Health Professions (3) can be substituted for HSC 4930 - Health Sciences Seminar (3), in which case it cannot be used as a restricted elective.
Restricted Electives
28 Total Credits
- Complete all of the following
- The Pre-Clinical track provides the foundation courses required for admission to graduate level clinical and non-clinical health programs including but not limited to medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, physician assistant, and other health-related professions. Students who plan to apply to graduate/professional school program are advised to check the websites of the programs to which they plan to apply for updated information and suggested electives. It is the student's responsibility to check with graduate/professional school programs regarding prerequisite courses that need to be met. Some courses listed below may have additional prerequisite course requirements. Course selection should be in consultation with an academic success coach. Course selection may vary by student depending on career goals and objectives. Students must meet restricted elective credit hour requirements and UCF's 42 upper division credit hour requirements. Courses completed and already used to satisfy Basic Level and Advanced Level requirements may not be used to meet the Restricted Elective requirement.
- Earn at least 28 credits from the following:
- HSC3102 - Foundations of Health Behavior (3)
- HSC3110 - Medical Self Assessment (3)
- HSC3432 - Occupational Safety for the Health Care Professional (3)
- HSC3537 - Medical Terminology (3)
- HSC4008 - Professional Development in Health Professions (3)
- HSC4553 - Concepts in Pathophysiological Diagnosis (3)
- HSC4703 - Clinical Documentation for Health Care Professions (3)
- HSC4813 - Instructional Experiences in Health Sciences (1)
- HSC4943 - Health Sciences Internship (3)
- APK3321 - Exercise is Medicine (3)
- APK4112 - Exercise Physiology I (3)
- APK4119 - Exercise Prescription for Special Populations (3)
- BCH4024 - Medical Biochemistry (4)
- BCH4053 - Biochemistry I (3)
- BCH4054 - Biochemistry II (3)
- CHM2210 - Organic Chemistry I (3)
- CHM2211 - Organic Chemistry II (3)
- CHM2211L - Organic Laboratory Techniques I (2)
- CLP3143 - Psychopathology (3)
- ENC3453 - Writing About Health and Medicine (3)
- ENC3455 - Writing about Science and Technology (3)
- MCB3020C - General Microbiology (5)
- MCB3202 - Principles of Infectious Disease (3)
- MCB3203 - Pathogenic Microbiology (3)
- MCB3203L - Pathogenic Microbiology laboratory (1)
- PCB3023 - Molecular Cell Biology (3)
- PCB3063 - Genetics (3)
- PCB3063L - Genetics Laboratory (1)
- PCB3233 - Immunology (3)
- PCB3233L - Immunology Laboratory (1)
- PCB4805 - Endocrinology (3)
- PHT4112C - Human Gross Anatomy (5)
- PHT4112L - Human Gross Anatomy Lab (3)
- SYO4400 - Medical Sociology (3)
- ZOO4743C - Clinical Neuroanatomy and Neuroscience (4)
- Important Notes: HSC3110 Medical Self Assessment can only be used as a restricted elective if it is NOT used to satisfy the core requirement. HSC4008 Professional Development in Health Professions can only be used as a restrictive elective if it is NOT used as a substitute for HSC4930. HSC4813 and HSC4943 require an application and selection process.
Grand Total Credits: 58
Capstone Requirements
Electives
- Students who transfer to UCF with an AA degree from a Florida College System institution may need to take upper-level electives to reach the University requirement of 42 semester hours of upper division credit. Students are encouraged to choose restricted electives (see list) that pertain to the graduate/professional school program they plan to pursue.
Foreign Language Requirements
Admissions
- Two years of one foreign language in high school or one year of one foreign language in college (or equivalent proficiency exam) prior to graduation.
Graduation
- Students must achieve a minimum 3.0 overall GPA for graduation.
Additional Requirements
Required Minors
Departmental Exit Requirements
- A minimum grade of "C" (2.0) in each program prerequisite course, in each core requirement course, and in each restricted elective is required (see GEP and CPP above). Students should note that graduate programs may require a higher level of performance for admission.
- Students must take a minimum of 27 hours of upper-division Health Sciences courses from the UCF Health Sciences program to obtain the UCF degree in Health Sciences.
- Student must achieve a minimum 3.0 overall GPA for graduation.
- Students who do not meet the minimum overall 3.0 GPA graduation requirement will be automatically moved to the Health Sciences – Health Promotion track during their graduation term and will earn the Health Sciences – Health Promotion track B.S. if they have met all other requirements for the program.
University Minimum Exit Requirements
- A 2.0 UCF GPA.
- 42 semester hours of upper division credit completed.
- 30 of the last 39 hours of course work must be completed in residency at UCF.
- A maximum of 45 hours of extension, correspondence, CLEP, Credit by Exam, and Armed Forces credits permitted.
- Complete the General Education Program, the State Writing and Math Requirement, and nine hours of summer credit.
Total Semester Hours Required: 120
Additional Information
Honors In Major
- More information about Honors Undergraduate Thesis (HUT) can be found at https://honors.ucf.edu/hut/about/. Admission and Eligibility for HUT program can be found at https://honors.ucf.edu/hut/admissions/.
- Interested students should consult with a Health Sciences faculty member.
Related Programs
- Biology (B.S.)
- Biomedical Sciences (B.S.)
Certificates
- Health Communication
- Spanish for Health Professionals
Related Minors
- Biomedical Sciences Minor
- Biology Minor
- Science Education Minor
- Business Minor
- Education Minor
- Health Informatics and Information Management Minor
- Health Services Administration Minor
- Psychology Minor
- Chemistry Minor
Advising Notes
- Students should consult with an academic success coach each semester.
- Use Focus2Career platform for career exploration at: https://bit.ly/UCFFocus2
Transfer Notes
- Completion of an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida College System institution is strongly recommended.
- Students who begin a two-semester sequence course (e.g., General Chemistry, College Physics) at a Florida College System institution are strongly encouraged to complete the sequence before transferring. If it will not be possible to complete the sequence before transferring, the student should postpone beginning the course until enrolling at UCF.
- Students who take Anatomy and Physiology at a Florida College System institution may be required to complete additional upper division credits to meet the University graduation requirement of 42 credit hours of upper division (3000-4000) level credits.
Acceptable Substitutes for Transfer Courses
- BSC 2010C - Biology I: BSC 1010 and BSC 1010L.
- BSC 2011C - Biology II: BSC 1011 and BSC 1011L.
- CHM 2045C - Chemistry Fundamentals I: CHM 1045 and CHM 1045L.
- CHM 2046 - Chemistry Fundamentals II and CHM 2046L - Chemistry Fundamentals Laboratory: CHM 1046 and CHM 1046L.
- PHY 2053C - College Physics I: PHY 1053 and PHY 1053L.
- PHY 2054C - College Physics II: PHY 1054 and PHY 1054L.
- ZOO 3733C - Human Anatomy and PCB 3703C - Human Physiology: Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II (BSC X093 and X094 or BSC X085 and X086). Please note that these acceptable transfer courses do not fulfill the 42 hours of upper division (3000-4000) credit required by UCF for graduation.
- Students that transfer with an AA degree who are pursuing a BS degree must meet the University foreign language admission requirements for graduation.
Program Academic Learning Compacts
- Program Academic Learning Compacts (student learning outcomes) for undergraduate programs are located at: health sciences academic learning compacts.
