Programs

Overview

The Health Sciences Baccalaureate Degree Completion Option is open to allied health personnel who hold a certificate or associate degree from an accredited program and active registration, certification, or licensure in their health disci­pline. It is primarily intended to lead to second baccalaureate or advanced first professional degree programs.

Program Highlights 

• Flexible full- or part-time curriculum
• For students with an earned baccalaureate degree (or sufficient credits) and who have satisfactorily completed prerequisite courses
• Fall semester start
• Strong foundation for a range of careers
• Excellent springboard to transfer into these MCPHS programs: dental hygiene, nursing, medical imaging and therapeutics

Program Details

This MCPHS Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences program is designed as an entry-level option for students who are undecided about which allied health discipline to pursue and who wish to prepare for study in a post bachelor's degree allied health professional program.

It is primarily intended to lead to second baccalaureate or advanced first professional degree programs, but could also be used as a terminal degree for employment in jobs in health sciences areas such as medical and dental products sales, patient education, and research technician.

The degree completion option is open to allied health personnel who hold a certificate or associate degree from an accredited program and active registration, certification, or licensure in their health discipline.

Up to 40 semester credits will be awarded for the discipline specific courses of the associate degree or certificate. Students must meet the MCPHS Arts and Sciences core curriculum. Courses already completed that meet MCPHS transfer requirements and are deemed equivalent to the core will be accepted in transfer. Thirty semester credits of health sciences core and concentration courses must be completed through MCPHS.

Please Note: This program is not intended for those interested in medicine, physician assistant studies, dentistry, optometry, osteopathy, veterinary, occupational therapy, pharmacy or physical therapy careers. Students interested in these disciplines are advised to enroll in the MCPHS Bachelor of Science in Premedical and Health Studies degree program, which is designed to prepare individuals for entry into study in these disciplines.

Baccalaureate Degree Completion Option

This option is open to allied health personnel who hold a certificate or associate degree from an accredited program and active registration, certification, or licensure in their health discipline. Upon admission, students will be awarded credit for the prior allied health professional coursework completed in their certificate or associate degree up to a maximum of 40 semester credits. For those students who completed a certificate for which academic credit was not awarded (e.g., a hospital-based program), credit will be awarded if the certificate program was accredited by the appropriate allied health program accrediting agency and if the quality of the program has additionally been validated by the applicant’s successful registration, certification or licensure. Students must complete the MCPHS Arts and Sciences course requirements, the Health Sciences Core, and a Health Sciences Concentration. The curriculum is flexible, allowing students to build, with the program advisor, schedules that are full-time or part-time. Transfer Students must complete the Health Sciences Core and Health Sciences Concentration through MCPHS but may transfer up to a maximum of 92 semester hours in the other curriculum areas (including 40 for prior professional coursework).

1. Prior degree or certificate

Up to 40 credits will be awarded to students for professional coursework completed through an associate degree or certificate in an allied health discipline through a programmatically or regionally accredited institution.

2. Arts and Sciences courses

The designated Arts and Sciences courses (34-43 semester credits) must be met. Courses already completed that are deemed equivalent to these courses will be accepted as transfer credits. The remaining requirements beyond those transferred during the admission process may be completed at MCPHS or at other colleges or universities. Note: First Year Seminar is not required for this option.

*Students must take A&P I and II and Basic Chemistry I and II if they plan on pursuing a post baccalaureate degree in dental hygiene, nursing, medical imaging, or other allied health science field. Students in the management, generalist, and education concentrations need only one college level life science course (3sh) and one college level chemistry course with a laboratory (4sh)

**Students interested in a post baccalaureate MRI degree must complete, MAT 151 and 152.

3. Health Sciences Core***

Students must successfully complete twelve (12) credits in the Health Sciences Core.

***HSC301O and HSC401O, respectively, fulfill behavioral science and social science requirements in the Arts and Sciences core curriculum described in the College catalog.

4. Health Sciences Concentration

Students choose one of the following concentration options. The concentration will comprise a minimum of 18 credits.

General Concentration (online)

Management Concentration (online)

Education Concentration (online)

General, Management and Education Concentration Online Electives (when not required for the concentration)

Independent Concentration (on campus only)

Oral Health Concentration (Online or Blended)

Dental Hygiene associate degree students who are interested in an in-depth study of oral health and/or interested in graduate study in oral health should consider this concentration. Students considering continuation into the Master of Science Dental Hygiene degree are given the opportunity to complete DHY 701, the first course required in this graduate program.

OH Concentration Electives

Courses offered online:

Courses offered on the Boston campus:

5. General Electives

Students complete between 9 and 18 semester hours of general electives to reach the minimum 122 s.h. required for the degree. General electives are eligible for transfer credit.

Minimum number of credits to complete option requirements: 122 s.h.
Prior allied health program (40), Arts and Sciences courses (34-43), Health Sciences Core (12), Health Sciences Concentration (18), and general electives (9-18)

Accreditation

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (MCPHS) is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is authorized to grant undergraduate and graduate degrees in the health sciences and related fields. MCPHS is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), Inc. through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education. 

For Transfers

MCPHS welcomes students from other institutions. Any applicant to MCPHS who has completed at least one semester of college coursework (12 credits or more) is considered to be a transfer applicant. Students who have been out of high school for more than two years are strongly encouraged to take math and science courses at another accredited college or university and then to apply for transfer to MCPHS.

The transfer requirements may be different for different MCPHS programs. To find the requirements for transferring into this program, please click the link below.  

Transfer Requirements for Health Sciences (BS Degree Completion Option) (Boston)