BHS in Health Science with Emphasis in Pre-Professional
Degree Program Description
The pre-professional emphasis in the health science major prepares students to apply for graduate and professional programs in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician assistant studies, optometry and related areas. The pre-professional emphasis may also prepare students who have appropriate work experience as an undergraduate to work for clinical research companies, medical or pharmaceutical sales or other non-clinical health careers that require a background in science and knowledge of health care.
The pre-professional emphasis area includes 20 hours of core required courses, general education, professional emphasis requirements and required electives that complement the student's pathway. In addition, the health science program requires an internship that is appropriate for a student's career goals. Examples of internships for the pre-professional emphasis include Missouri Telehealth Network, MedZou Community Health Center, PhysAssist, and Scribe America.
Major Program Requirements
In addition University of Missouri requirements, including University general education, and BHS in Health Science Core requirements, students pursuing the Pre-Professional emphasis must complete the following requirements, each of which requires a grade of C- or higher.
| Emphasis Requirements | ||
| ENGLSH 1000 | Writing and Rhetoric | 3 |
| or ENGLSH 1000H | Honors Writing and Rhetoric | |
| MATH 1100 | College Algebra | 3-5 |
| or MATH 1160 | Precalculus Mathematics | |
| BIO_SC 1500 | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 1500H | Introduction to Biological Systems with Laboratory Honors | |
| BIO_SC 2200 | General Genetics | 4 |
| or BIO_SC 2200H | General Genetics - Honors | |
| CHEM 1400 & CHEM 1401 | College Chemistry I and College Chemistry I Laboratory | 4 |
| or CHEM 1400H & CHEM 1401H | College Chemistry I - Honors and College Chemistry I Laboratory - Honors | |
| CHEM 1410 & CHEM 1411 | College Chemistry II and College Chemistry II Laboratory | 4 |
| or CHEM 1410H & CHEM 1411H | College Chemistry II - Honors and College Chemistry II Laboratory - Honors | |
| CHEM 2100 | Organic Chemistry I | 3 |
| or CHEM 2030 | Survey of Organic Chemistry | |
| MPP 3202 | Elements of Physiology | 5 |
| or BIO_SC 3700 | Human Physiology | |
| PHIL 2440 | Medical Ethics | 3 |
| PHYSCS 1210 | College Physics I | 4 |
| PSYCH 1000 | General Psychology | 3 |
| or PSYCH 1000H | General Psychology - Honors | |
| PTH_AS 2201 & PTH_AS 2203 | Human Anatomy Lecture and Human Anatomy Laboratory | 5 |
| STAT 1200 | Introductory Statistical Reasoning | 3 |
| or STAT 1300 | Elementary Statistics | |
| or STAT 2500 | Introduction to Probability and Statistics I | |
| or ESC_PS 4170 | Introduction to Applied Statistics | |
| Approved Person-Centered Care Course (choose one) *This requirement may overlap with the Health Science Electives requirement, but not emphasis requirements. | 3 | |
| Inclusion and Equity in Health Care | ||
| Culture and Health Literacy for the Health Professions | ||
| Culture and Health Literacy for the Health Professions - Honors | ||
| Humanism and Health Literacy | ||
| Gender and Public Health | ||
| Race, Ethnicity, and Health: An Intersectional Examination of Health Inequalities | ||
or P_HLTH 4610H | Race, Ethnicity, and Health: An Intersectional Examination of Health Inequalities - Honors | |
| Health Science Electives * | 18 | |
Students must complete 18 hours of approved elective coursework. At least 9 credit hours must be taken as 3000/4000 level courses. Transfer courses taken at the freshman-sophomore level and accepted as equivalent to a 3000/4000 level course at the University may not count towards the 9 hour upper-level Health Science Elective requirement for the Health Science degree. | ||
- *
See Health Science Electives for a course list of electives that count towards this requirement.
Semester Plan
Below is a sample plan of study, semester by semester, for the Rehabilitation Sciences emphasis. A student's actual plan may vary based on course offerings, course choices where options are available, and a student's academic/career goals.
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| BIO_SC 1500 | 5 | BIO_SC 2200 | 4 |
| HLTH_SCI 1000 | 3 | CHEM 1400 & CHEM 1401 | 4 |
| MATH 1100 | 3 | ENGLSH 1000 | 3 |
| PSYCH 1000 | 3 | Humanities course | 3 |
| Elective | 1 | Elective | 1 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| CHEM 1410 & CHEM 1411 | 4 | CHEM 2100 | 3 |
| HLTH_SCI 2400 | 3 | HLTH_SCI 3700 | 3 |
| STAT 1200 | 3 | Writing Intensive course | 3 |
| HIST 1100, 1200, or POL_SC 1100 | 3 | 2000+ level Approved Health Science Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 2 | Elective | 2 |
| 15 | 14 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| HLTH_SCI 3000 | 1 | HLTH_SCI 4480 | 3 |
| Person-Centered Care course | 3 | HLTH_SCI 4200W | 3 |
| PTH_AS 2201 | 3 | MPP 3202 | 5 |
| PTH_AS 2203 | 2 | 3000+ level Approved Health Science Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Humanities course | 3 | ||
| 15 | 17 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| HLTH_SCI 4975 | 3 | HLTH_SCI 4985 | 3 |
| PHIL 2440 | 3 | 2000+ level Approved Health Science Elective | 3 |
| PHYSCS 1210 | 4 | 3000+ level Approved Health Science Elective | 3 |
| 3000+ level Approved Health Science Elective | 3 | Elective | 3 |
| Elective | 1 | Elective | 3 |
| 14 | 15 | ||
| Total Credits: 120 | |||
Degree Audit
The degree audit is an automated report reflecting a student’s academic progress toward the completion of a degree.
MU students can request a degree audit by logging in to myDegreePlanner. Students may also access myDegreePlanner via myZou, in the Student Center, click on the Academic Progress Tile, then select Request Degree Audit. The audit automatically pulls in the student’s MU course work, transfer courses and courses in progress. This is available to current students, admitted students, and those who last attended less than three terms ago.
Past MU students can request a degree audit by contacting the Academic Advising Unit of the division in which they were last enrolled at MU. For contact information, go to https://advising.missouri.edu/contact/.
Prospective students, can access a preliminary MU degree audit via https://www.transferology.com. Information on the college credits already earned will have to be manually entered before it can be evaluated against current degree requirements.
For additional details on degree audits, go to https://registrar.missouri.edu/degrees-audits/degree-audits/.
Major and Career Exploration
The University of Missouri has many resources to assist you in exploring majors and career possibilities. For guidance, visit the Majors and Careers website or view specific resources below.
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If you are considering a change of major or are exploring multiple majors, schedule an appointment with an advisor in the Discovery Center by calling (573)884-9700 or through MU Connect Discovery Center service in you success network.
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If you have decided on a major, visit an academic advisor in the School or College that you are interested in to discuss the process of declaring the major.
- If you would like to learn more about your career interests, abilities, values and talents, visit the MU Career Center. No Appointment is necessary to explore career options with one of our staff members.
- If you would like information about MU majors and degree programs, visit:
- the Degrees, Majors (Degree Programs), Emphasis Areas, Minors and Certificates page in the catalog,
- the MU Majors website.
For additional major and career exploration resources, visit Major & Career Exploration in the catalog.