Bachelor of Arts in Health Systems Thiel College

The health systems major provides students interested in healthcare careers with a broad foundation in biology, chemistry, psychology, and ethics. Upon completion of the major, students will be able to design and evaluate scientific questions through hypothesis generation, experimentation, and data analysis; and communicate effectively in oral and written form. Additionally, the major provides many of the prerequisite courses needed for transition to a bachelor of nursing (BSN) and occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and physician's assistant (PA) graduate programs, while also being flexible enough if students interests change once they start college.

Major Features

• The major's core requirements map to common entrance requirements of many health-related graduate programs and BSN programs.
• The major is overseen collaboratively between three departments—biology, neuroscience, and psychology. This ensures that students receive guidance and support from a variety of perspectives and have the option to choose an advisor in the field closest to their interests.
• High-impact advising and mentoring through major advising and the Health Professions Institute will provide students with the support they need to find their path in a health-related field.

Upon completion of the major, students will be able to:

• Design and evaluate scientific questions through hypothesis, generation, experimentation, and data analysis;
• Communicate effectively in oral and written form.

Major Requirements

• BIO 117 Med. Term
• BIO 145 Foundations of Bio
• BIO 212 Microbiology
• BIO 284 Human Anatomy
• BIO 294 Human Physiology
• CHEM 140/160 Gen Chem I & II
• PSY 150 Gen Psychology
• NSCI 202 Intro Neuro
• PSY 215/SOC 233 Statistics for Social Sciences or MATH 211 Elementary Statistics
• PSY 255 Lifespan Development
• PHIL 267 or 387 or REL 200 (an ethics course)

Here are just a few opportunities available upon graduation for health systems majors:

• Enter graduate school to become a Health Services Manager – earn a median salary of $96,540.*
• Move to a BSN program – seamlessly move into a program that will earn you a Bachelor of Science in nursing to earn a median salary of $79,000 working as a registered nurse.*
• Apply to graduate school to become a Physician’s Assistant – earn a median salary of $101,480.*
• Enter an occupational therapy program – earn a median salary of $83,741 helping people optimize their independence after an injury.*
• Enter a physical therapy program - earn a median salary of $84,020 helping people rehabilitate after an injury.*

*Job and salary information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics