Oct 03, 2024  
2024-2025 University Catalog 
    
2024-2025 University Catalog

Biomedical Health Sciences/Interdisciplinary Health Science Concentration, BS

Location(s): West Lafayette


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About the Program


The Biomedical Health Sciences (BMHS) major is designed to prepare students for entry into professional and graduate schools in a wide arena of health professions and health sciences. This concentration is specifically designed for students interested in health care careers and want the flexibility to design their own path or have not decided on a specific professional program. Students in this concentration will be prepared for the many professional programs in healthcare that are not specifically covered by other concentrations, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, chiropractic, podiatry, and cardiovascular perfusion. In addition, students are well prepared for graduate studies in areas of the biomedical sciences, such as occupational health and safety, toxicology, molecular medicine, medical scientist, exposure science, and other biomedical sciences. The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences (IDHS) concentration is more flexible so students can fit the requirements of their professional or graduate program of choice. However, this program goes beyond minimum requirements to ensure that students are prepared for the rigors of a professional program across any of the biomedical health sciences, including students interested in the focus areas of the other BMHS concentrations, such as medical or dental school.

School of Health Sciences

Biomedical Health Sciences Major Change (CODO) Requirements  

Degree Requirements


Departmental/Program Major Requirements (67 credits)


Interdisciplinary Health Science Concentration (24 credits)


  • HSCI Humanities, Behavioral/Social Sciences Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science and Health Selectives - Credit Hours: 21.00

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (15-16 credits)


Electives (13-14 credits)


  • An Ethics course (such as PHIL 11100 Ethics or PHIL 27000 Biomedical Ethics) is highly recommended.

GPA Requirements


  • 2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Science degree.

Pass/No Pass Policy


  • A student may elect the Pass / Not-Pass grading option for elective courses only, unless an academic unit requires that a specific departmental course/s be taken Pass / Not-Pass.  Students may elect to take University Core Curriculum courses Pass / Not-Pass; however, some major Plans of Study require courses that also fulfill UCC foundational outcomes.  In such cases, students may not elect the Pass / Not-Pass option.  A maximum of 24 credits of elective courses under the Pass / Not-pass grading option can be used toward graduation requirements. For further information, students should refer to the College of Health and Human Sciences Pass / Not-Pass Policy.

University Requirements


University Core Requirements


For a complete listing of University Core Course Selectives, visit the University Senate Website.
  • Human Cultures: Behavioral/Social Science (BSS)
  • Human Cultures: Humanities (HUM)
  • Information Literacy (IL)
  • Oral Communication (OC)
  • Quantitative Reasoning (QR)
  • Science #1 (SCI)
  • Science #2 (SCI)
  • Science, Technology, and Society (STS)
  • Written Communication (WC) 

Civics Literacy Proficiency Requirement


The Civics Literacy Proficiency activities are designed to develop civic knowledge of Purdue students in an effort to graduate a more informed citizenry. For more information visit the Civics Literacy Proficiency website.

To obtain the Civics Literacy Proficiency, students will complete an educational activity as part of their chosen Civics Literacy Pathway and pass the Purdue Civics knowledge test.  The knowledge test can be completed at any time while the pathway is being perused.  There are three different pathways:

  • Civics Event pathway - Attend six approved civics-related events and pass the required exam; or
  • Civics Literacy Podcast pathway - Complete 12 podcasts created by the Purdue Center for C-SPAN Scholarship & Engagement that use C-SPAN material and pass the required exam; or
  • Approved course pathway - Complete  one of the following approved courses and pass the required exam.

More details about each pathway and how to complete the requirement can be found on the Civics Literacy Student Dashboard in myPurdue.

Upper Level Requirement


  • Resident study at Purdue University for at least two semesters and the enrollment in and completion of at least 32 semester hours of coursework required and approved for the completion of the degree. These courses are expected to be at least junior-level (30000+) courses.
  • Students should be able to fulfill most, if not all, of these credits within their major requirements; there should be a clear pathway for students to complete any credits not completed within their major.

Sample 4-Year Plan


16-17 Credits


14 Credits


14 Credits


16 Credits


Fall 3rd Year


15 Credits


Spring 3rd Year


  • Science and Health Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science and Health Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • HSCI Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • HSCI HBSS Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Fall 4th Year


  • Science and Health Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science and Health Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • HSCI Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • English Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00

15 Credits


Spring 4th Year


  • Science and Health Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Science and Health Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • HSCI Selective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Elective - Credit Hours: 2.00 - 3.00

14-15 Credits


Pre-Requisite Information


For pre-requisite information, log in to mypurdue.purdue.edu and click here.

World Language Courses


World Language proficiency requirements vary by program. The following list is inclusive of all world languages PWL offers for credit; for acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor. (ASL-American Sign Language; ARAB-Arabic; CHNS-Chinese; FR-French; GER-German; GREK-Greek(Ancient); HEBR-Hebrew(Biblical); HEBR-Hebrew(Modern); ITAL-Italian; JPNS-Japanese; KOR-Korean; LATN-Latin; PTGS=Portuguese; RUSS-Russian; SPAN-Spanish)

Critical Course


The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major. Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful. These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program.”

Disclaimer


The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements. Consultation with an advisor may result in an altered plan customized for an individual student. The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.

Comparative information about Purdue University and other U.S. educational institutions is also available through the College Navigator tool, provided by the National Center for Education Statistics, and through the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

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