Health Science
What this major studies in college, the health tracks it can lead to, and careers open with a bachelor’s degree. Every fact below names its source.
Last checked:
What it is
At the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the Health Sciences B.S. is designed for students who are committed to joining the community of health care professionals, and the curriculum emphasizes the preparation needed to be competitive for admission to graduate or professional school. [1]
At the University of New England (UNE), the Health Sciences B.S. is designed to provide a generalist exploratory science degree, and it does not lead to licensure in any health discipline or field. [2]
Typical college courses
UNE's Health Sciences B.S. also requires introductory anatomy and physiology I and II, pathophysiology, a chemistry course, scholarly inquiry and research methods, social determinants of health, and abnormal psychology. [2]
The required courses include introductory biology, human anatomy and physiology, general chemistry, introductory physics and psychology, medical terminology, pharmacology, general medical conditions, research interpretation, the U.S. health care system, and a statistics course. [1]
The rows below show one named program as an example: the University of New Hampshire, B.S. in health sciences, current catalog. Course descriptions are in our own words. Course names and numbers differ at every college; confirm each college’s own list.
| Course | Status | What it covers (example: UNH catalog) | Comes after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II, with labs | Required in this example program[1] | Human Anatomy and Physiology I (BMS 507) covers the cell, body chemistry, tissues, skin, bones, muscles, nerves, the brain and spinal cord, and the senses, and Human Anatomy and Physiology II (BMS 508) covers the endocrine, blood, heart and blood vessel, respiratory, immune, digestive, urinary and reproductive systems, both with labs. [3] | No prerequisite is listed for BMS 507, and BMS 508 comes after BIOL 411, BMS 507 or BIOL 413. [3] |
Get ready with these topics: Anatomy, physiology and levels of organization · Anatomical position, directional terms and body planes · Homeostasis and feedback loops · Cells and membrane transport · Tissues: epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous · The heart and the cardiac cycle · Body systems working together | |||
| General Chemistry I and II, with labs | Required in this example program[1] | General Chemistry I and II (CHEM 403 and CHEM 404) apply the basic laws and concepts of chemistry to nonmetals, metals and their compounds, with labs. [4] | General Chemistry I recommends previous chemistry and requires knowledge of algebra, exponentials and logarithms, and General Chemistry II comes after CHEM 403. [4] |
Get ready with these topics: Atoms and electron arrangement · Periodic table patterns · Ionic and covalent bonding · The mole and molar mass · Stoichiometry and conservation of mass · Acids and bases · Quantities, units and rates · Literal equations and formulas | |||
| Medical Terminology | Required in this example program[1] | Medical Terminology (HS 501) introduces the medical words used across health care, organized by body system, including word roots, prefixes, suffixes, abbreviations and acronyms. [5] | No prerequisite is listed for it. [5] |
Get ready with these topics: Medical terminology: word parts · Medical terminology: body systems and abbreviations · Anatomical position, directional terms and body planes | |||
| United States Health Care Systems | Required in this example program[1] | United States Health Care Systems (HMP 401) looks at how health care services and professionals work, how social, political, economic, ethical, professional, legal and technological forces shape health care, and current health policy issues. [6] | No prerequisite is listed for it. [6] |
Get ready with these topics: How healthcare is organized · Paying for healthcare · Healthcare teams · Legal responsibilities · Ethics in healthcare | |||
| General Medical Conditions for Health Professions | Required in this example program[1] | General Medical Conditions for Health Professions (HS 770) introduces common medical conditions, with emphasis on their causes, how they affect the body, signs and symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. [5] | It comes after Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II (BMS 507 and BMS 508), each with a C- or better. [5] |
Get ready with these topics: Diseases and disorders · Body systems overview for health careers · Homeostasis and feedback loops · When homeostasis fails: disease across the systems | |||
| Pharmacology for Health Professions | Required in this example program[1] | Pharmacology for Health Professions (HS 767) introduces how drugs work, the organ systems they affect, drug classes, common prescribing, and the U.S. laws on selling, supplying and giving drugs. [5] | It comes after General Chemistry I and II (CHEM 403 and CHEM 404), each with a C- or better. [5] |
Get ready with these topics: Medical math: measurement and conversions · Medicine safety and opioids · Solutions and concentration · The chemistry of the body | |||
| From Lab to Life: Interpretation of Research to Guide Clinical Practice | Required in this example program[1] | From Lab to Life (HS 702) teaches how to use research to improve clinical practice: types of research, database searches, research ethics, reading research articles critically, and differences in health outcomes. [5] | No prerequisite is listed for it. [5] |
Get ready with these topics: Experiments and observational studies · Sampling methods and bias · Research methods: experiments, correlation and ethics · Evaluating health information and research | |||
| Statistics (one course) | One of the choices in this example programStudents take one statistics course: Statistics in Psychology, Statistics (sociology), or Statistics for Health and Human Service Professionals. [1] | Statistics for Health and Human Service Professionals (HMP 540) teaches the logic and purpose of statistics in the health and human service professions, including study design issues such as random assignment and control groups. [6] | No prerequisite is listed for it. [6] |
Get ready with these topics: Measures of center · Measures of spread · The normal model · Conditional probability and independence · Confidence intervals for a proportion · Significance and p-values | |||
Typical high school preparation
- UNH's General Chemistry I course recommends previous chemistry and requires knowledge of algebra, exponentials and logarithms. [4]
Only what a cited source states is listed here.
Pre-Health Foundations: coming soon
Health tracks this can lead to
Each card opens that track’s page. A reason is shown only where a cited source gives one. Every program sets its own prerequisites, so confirm them with each school.
Pre-PA (Physician Assistant)
Future PAs first need to earn a bachelor's degree, and majoring in the health sciences (the field in general, not one named major) is strongly recommended. [7]
Physician assistant studies are among the fields of advanced training its Health Sciences students pursue. [1]
Pre-Med (MD / DO)
Medicine is one of the fields of advanced training its Health Sciences students pursue. [1]
Pre-PT (Physical Therapy)
Physical therapy is one of the fields of advanced training its Health Sciences students pursue. [1]
Nursing: the career ladder
Nursing is one of the fields of advanced training its Health Sciences students pursue. [1]
Pre-Occupational Therapy (OT)
Where this degree can lead with a bachelor’s
National figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Pay varies by state, setting and experience. This is not a promise of pay or a job.
Examples from the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook. Other careers may need more study after the bachelor’s degree.
Medical and health services managers
Medical and health services managers plan, direct and coordinate the business activities of healthcare providers. [8]
The median annual wage for medical and health services managers was $123,860 in May 2025. [8]
Employment of medical and health services managers is projected to grow 24 percent from 2025 to 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations. [8]
Medical and health services managers typically need a bachelor's degree to enter the occupation, in fields such as health administration or nursing. [8]
Health education specialists
Health education specialists develop programs to teach people about conditions affecting well-being. [9]
The median annual wage for health education specialists was $64,070 in May 2025. [9]
Employment of health education specialists is projected to grow 6 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations. [9]
Health education specialists typically need at least a bachelor's degree in health education or health promotion. [9]
Questions people search
Chosen from our search-question research. Every answer is cited.
What can you do with a health science degree?
Medical and health services managers typically need a bachelor's degree to enter the occupation, in fields such as health administration or nursing. [8]
Health education specialists typically need at least a bachelor's degree in health education or health promotion. [9]
Future PAs first need to earn a bachelor's degree, and majoring in the health sciences (the field in general, not one named major) is strongly recommended. [7]
What is a health science degree?
At the University of New Hampshire (UNH), the Health Sciences B.S. is designed for students who are committed to joining the community of health care professionals, and the curriculum emphasizes the preparation needed to be competitive for admission to graduate or professional school. [1]
At the University of New England (UNE), the Health Sciences B.S. is designed to provide a generalist exploratory science degree, and it does not lead to licensure in any health discipline or field. [2]
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Sources
- University of New Hampshire. Health Sciences Major (B.S.). https://catalog.unh.edu/undergraduate/health-human-services/programs-study/health-sciences/health-sciences-major-bs/. no year shown on this page (the Health Sciences department page shows Academic Year 2026–2027). Checked .
- University of New England. Health Sciences, B.S.. https://catalog.une.edu/programs/health-sciences-bs/. no catalog year shown on the page. Checked .
- University of New Hampshire. Biomedical Science (BMS) course descriptions. https://catalog.unh.edu/undergraduate/course-descriptions/bms/. no year shown on this page (the Health Sciences department page shows Academic Year 2026–2027). Checked .
- University of New Hampshire. Chemistry (CHEM) course descriptions. https://catalog.unh.edu/undergraduate/course-descriptions/chem/. no year shown on this page (the Health Sciences department page shows Academic Year 2026–2027). Checked .
- University of New Hampshire. Health Sciences (HS) course descriptions. https://catalog.unh.edu/undergraduate/course-descriptions/hs/. no year shown on this page (the Health Sciences department page shows Academic Year 2026–2027). Checked .
- University of New Hampshire. Health Management and Policy (HMP) course descriptions. https://catalog.unh.edu/undergraduate/course-descriptions/hmp/. no year shown on this page (the Health Sciences department page shows Academic Year 2026–2027). Checked .
- Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). Become a PA (one-page handout). https://paeaonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Become-a-PA-one-page.pdf. no date shown in the document (PDF; the link redirects to PAEA’s file host). Checked .
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Medical and Health Services Managers. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/medical-and-health-services-managers.htm. OOH page last modified August 27, 2026 (pay data May 2025; projections 2025–35). Checked .
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook: Health Education Specialists. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/health-educators.htm. OOH page last modified August 27, 2026 (pay data May 2025; projections 2025–35). Checked .
Format: Publisher. Page title. URL. Edition or catalog year. Checked date.