Health Science, B.S.
Majoring in health science begins with a passion for helping others. Whether you envision yourself working in developing nations, educating populations about disease prevention and sanitation or working in your own community reducing health disparities and improving quality of life, serving as an administrator or clinician in a traditional hospital setting or volunteer health agency, or collecting and analyzing data to inform health policy and improve patient outcomes, health science prepares you to take on that role.
Each of our concentrations is built upon a core curriculum incorporating the five pillars of public health. With each class, you’ll gain a fundamental understanding of the many factors that influence health and well-being while developing marketable skills to promote a healthy population. You’ll explore personal interests that will strengthen your expertise and prepare you for a wide variety of careers in the health field. No matter your ultimate career goal, we will provide the tools and training that will allow you to succeed in one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the nation. It’s a big claim, but it’s one backed up by Clemson graduates and professors working across the globe in every imaginable health-focused area.
Which concentration is the one for you?
-
Health Services Administration
The health services administration concentration allows students to develop skills and competencies in health administration/management for careers or graduate study in this area. The department developed this concentration in response to emerging trends and changes in health administration and the increasing desire of students to work in the field of health administration. Students accepted into this concentration will take 120 to 121 credit hours of coursework, including the health science core and courses specific to the HSA concentration. A minor in business administration is a required component of this concentration.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment of medical and health services managers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations as the health services industry continues to expand and diversify.
-
Health Promotion and Behavior
The health promotion and behavior concentration area prepares graduates to assess health problems and develop, implement and evaluate health promotion and behavior programs that address those problems. The health education profession has established standards for approval and accreditation of professional preparation programs. Students accepted into this concentration will take 122 to 123 credit hours of coursework, including the health science core and courses specific to the HPB concentration.
The occupation of “health educator” has been included in the revisions to the public health occupation categories within the Standard Occupation Classification system by the Department of Labor and the Department of Commerce. Professionals in this occupation “design, organize, implement, communicate, provides advice on and evaluate the effect of educational programs and strategies designed to support and modify health-related behaviors of individuals, families, organizations and communities.” Courses within this concentration area allow a student to qualify for the Certified Health Education Specialist exam.
-
Preprofessional Health Studies
The preprofessional studies in health concentration is designed for students who plan to attend graduate or professional school in one of the health concentrations, such as medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, PA school and more. Students in this concentration gain valuable training and understanding in epidemiology, healthcare delivery models, health finance, medical terminology, health appraisal skills, health research methods, and other competencies emphasized by the health systems science approach followed by many academic health centers.
Students accepted into this concentration will take 120 to 121 credit hours of coursework, including the health science core and foundational science courses necessary for acceptance into various graduate programs in the clinical health professions.
