Health Sciences

Now also available as a UofM Global fully online degree! 

Promoting Healthy Lifestyles. Building Healthy Communities.

Students who enjoy focusing on the health and well-being of others may want to complete a concentration in health sciences. In our undergraduate program, you will develop the knowledge and skills that will encourage success in your chosen path. With an interdisciplinary approach, this program combines both basic sciences and behavioral sciences into an applied discipline to promote healthy living. It provides students with the foundation, knowledge and skills in the area of health promotion. The program offers elective hours to allow students to pursue interests among the various health professions, such as occupational therapy, physician assistant, physical therapy, pharmacy, dental and more.

Major

Health Sciences

• Concentration: Health Sciences
• Degree: Bachelor of Science
• BS Degree Sheet (subject to change)
• Courses offered by semester
• Also available online through UofM Global! 

Specific academic focus areas in Health Sciences include:

• Health Promotion and Lifestyle Management
• Pre-Dental
• Pre-Dental Hygiene
• Pre-Occupational Therapy
• Pre-Medicine
• Pre-Physician Assistant
• Pre-Physical Therapy
• Pre-Optometry
• Pre-Pharmacy
• Pre-Sonography/Radiology

We encourage you to extend your knowledge and skills beyond the classroom through an internship program where you will take what you have learned in the classroom and apply it in settings across the community. Internship settings will be selected by students according to your professional goals and may include health departments, rehabilitation centers, community centers, hospitals, schools, corporate settings and a variety of other sites. 

Careers

Our graduates begin their careers or continue their education in a variety of areas such as:

Health Promotion
Health Education
Health Counseling/Coaching
Community Wellness
Corporate Wellness
Public Health
Fitness and Wellness Specialist

Pre-Professional Focus
Dental/Dental Hygiene
Occupational/Physical Therapy
Optometry
Pharmacy
Medicine/ Physicians Assistant
Other Allied Health Sciences

Student Testimonials

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"The University of Memphis health promotion/health sciences program offers information around several different health and fitness organizations, courses on leadership, counseling, fitness instruction, and health habits and ways to apply each of these topics into real life scenarios. I feel as if this program is helping me gain the confidence I need to begin a successful career in the field of health and fitness." -Evan Gerrard

"The health sciences program has presented a way to narrow the many career and research opportunities that interested me. My research interests now involve holistic health, motivation and psychological health. Additionally, my background in psychology and counseling was easily integrated within this program and many of its courses." -Michael Gratton

"After one health sciences course I knew this was the right program for me. The curriculum is designed to prepare you for a variety of health sciences/health promotion jobs, the professors care about your success and the classes are fun and interactive. If you have a passion for health and wellness and enjoy working with others the health sciences/health promotion program may be right for you, too." -Tara Hill

"I graduated from the University of Memphis with my master's in health sciences and I am now a student in occupational therapy. There is currently a push in occupational therapy to combine their interventions with health promotion techniques. Not only do I get to learn something new in my current field, I am able to apply what I gained from the health sciences program." -Maddie Meadows

"The classes included in the health sciences curriculum have been the most valuable learning experiences for me. Classes such as marketing, program development, counseling, aerobic and resistance training, and exercise physiology have all really helped. Actually,

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"The health sciences program offers a variety of classes that advanced my skills not just in making healthier lifestyle choices, but also in marketing, leadership, and program implementation and evaluation. These are skills that I will need to take with me to my next career or graduate school." -Stephanie Rozar

"I chose the health promotion field because I wanted to work with people. In this field I get to work with so many different people and I get to help make a difference in their life." -Laura Todd

Research

Within the health sciences and health promotion programs in the College of Health Sciences, faculty pursue research devoted to the applied study of health including personal health and wellness, behavior change, and community programming and design. Faculty members secure external funding to support their research, and their work is published in both national and international peer-reviewed journals.

Recent Projects

PACE - Partnership for Active Community Environments (PACE) was a two year project funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). PACE was a participatory based project focused on the incentives and barriers to building active community environments.

Memphis Healthy U - Memphis Healthy U is an initiative that encourages students, employees, and visitors to our campus to eat healthier, move more, and become tobacco free. HPRO faculty are involved in the ongoing implementation of campus activities and events that promote a healthy lifestyle.

GLITTER - Girls Learning Interrelated Techniques Targeting Environmental Risks (GLITTER) is a home-based intervention implementing multi-systemic practices aimed at increasing physical activity, improving diet quality, and attenuating BMI increase among pre-adolescent girls who are at risk for becoming obese.

Memphis Grizzlies Family Fitness Challenge - The Family Fitness Challenge is a healthy lifestyle intervention and research study sponsored by the Grizzlies as part of the Memphis Grizzlies Healthy Home Court initiative. Four local families have been recruited to participate in this challenge that encourages healthy eating and physical activity through partnerships with local dietitians and fitness professionals at the YMCA.