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 Health Promotion track provides students with a solid educational background in basic and health-related sciences and is designed for students pursuing careers as a physical therapist, occupational therapist, clinical/behavioral health researcher, public health specialist and other health-related fields.
Degree Requirements
- Students who change programs and select this major must adopt the most current catalog.
- 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 2.5 overall GPA for graduation.
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)
Core Requirements: Advanced
24 Total Credits
- 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)
Restricted Electives
28 Total Credits
- Earn at least 28 credits from the following types of courses: The Health Promotion track provides the foundation courses required for admission to graduate level clinical and non-clinical health programs including but not limited to physical therapy, occupational therapy, public health, clinical/behavioral health and other health-related professions. Students are advised to check the program website for updated information and suggested electives for specific health professions graduate programs. It is the student's responsibility to check the prerequisites for graduate programs to which they plan to apply. Some courses listed below may have additional prerequisite course requirements. Course selection should be made in consultation with an advisor and 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 General Education Program, Basic Level and Advanced Level requirements may not be used to meet the Restricted Elective requirement. APK 4220C - Applied Biomechanics Credit Hours: 3 ATR 4132 - Human Injuries: Mechanisms & Prevention Credit Hours: 3 APK 4112 - Exercise Physiology I Credit Hours: 3 APK 3200 - Motor Development and Learning Credit Hours: 3 APK 3321 - Exercise is Medicine Credit Hours: 3 APK 4119 - Exercise Prescription for Special Populations Credit Hours: 3 HSC 4943 - Health Sciences Internship Credit Hours: 3 HSC 4553 - Concepts in Pathophysiological Diagnosis Credit Hours: 3 HSC 3432 - Occupational Safety for the Health Care Professional Credit Hours: 3 HSC 4008 - Professional Development in Health Professions Credit Hours: 3 HSC 3110 - Medical Self Assessment Credit Hours: 3 HSC 3102 - Foundations of Health Behavior Credit Hours: 3 COM 4022 - Principles of Health Communication Credit Hours: 3 HSC 4201 - Community Health Credit Hours: 3 HSA 3012 - Issues & Trends in Public Health Credit Hours: 3 HSC 4564 - Health Care Needs of the Elderly Credit Hours: 3 ENC 3453 - Writing About Health and Medicine Credit Hours: 3 SYO 4400 - Medical Sociology Credit Hours: 3 CLP 3143 - Psychopathology Credit Hours: 3 CLP 4314 - Health Psychology Credit Hours: 3 HSC 3559 - Disabilities in American Society Credit Hours: 3 HSA 3111 - U.S. Health Care Systems Credit Hours: 3 HSC 3537 - Medical Terminology Credit Hours: 3 CHM 2210 - Organic Chemistry I Credit Hours: 3 CHM 2211L - Organic Laboratory Techniques I Credit Hours: 2 MCB 3020C - General Microbiology Credit Hours: 5 MCB 4276 - Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases Credit Hours: 3 PCB 3063 - Genetics Credit Hours: 3 PCB 3063L - Genetics Laboratory Credit Hours: 1 PCB 3233 - Immunology Credit Hours: 3 PCB 3233L - Immunology Laboratory Credit Hours: 1
Grand Total Credits: 58
Capstone Requirements
Electives
- Students who transfer to UCF with a Florida College System institution AA degree may need to take upper-level electives to reach the University requirement of 42 semester hours of upper division credits. Students are encouraged to choose courses from the list of restricted electives (see list) that pertain to the graduate program they intend 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
Additional Requirements
Required Minors
Departmental Exit Requirements
- A minimum grade of "C" (2.0) in each program prerequisite, 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 Department of Health Sciences program to obtain the UCF degree in Health Sciences.
- Students must achieve a minimum 2.5 overall GPA for graduation.
University Minimum Exit Requirements
- A 2.0 UCF GPA
- 42 semester hours of upper division credit completed
- 60 semester hours earned after CLEP awarded
- 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 Gordon Rule, and nine hours of Summer credit.
Total Semester Hours Required: 120
Additional Information
Honors In Major
- Interested students should consult with a faculty advisor
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 a college advisor each semester.
- Students should consult with the Office of Pre-Health and Pre-Law Advising before submitting applications to graduate programs.
- 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 in order 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: 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 48 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: https://oeas.ucf.edu/doc/chps/alc_chps_health_sciences_bs.pdf
