Although health science focuses on health problems and outcomes, it is a broad field that includes behavioral and natural science. Since its development in the early 21st century, health science has steadily gained popularity with several programs that did not exist as recently as 15 years ago.
Because it is largely interdisciplinary, health science appeals to students with eclectic interests — especially anthropology, math and social sciences. However, it differs from fields like biology, chemistry and physics because it is solely related to health.
The online Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Health Studies program at Arkansas State University (A-State) prepares students for a wide array of career outcomes under the healthcare umbrella, including public and community health, health promotion and advocacy. The program also prepares students to tailor their degree to their career aspirations. Students can choose between two tracks: Professional and Non-Professional.
Professional Track: Designed for students who have an associate degree in an allied health-related field and aspire to apply for a professional doctoral or graduate program upon graduation from the bachelor’s program.
Non-Professional Track: Designed for students who do not have an associate degree and have non-clinical healthcare job goals.
Both of these tracks help students lay the foundation for their career trajectory, whether or not that includes earning a graduate-level degree. The bachelor’s degree can also be a first step toward earning an advanced degree for more specialized career routes.
Possible Career Outcomes
The amount of career options in the health science field is sprawling, which means having a degree in health studies makes graduates in this space versatile. Here are five directions to take a health science career:
- Speech pathologist: Responsibilities include diagnosing speech and swallowing disorders in clinical settings or private practices. Then, these professionals introduce treatment methods to help patients improve their speech. The national average salary for speech pathologists is $90,327.
- Staff pharmacist: Job duties include coordinating with doctor’s offices and pharmaceutical companies to order prescriptions to meet patient needs. Additional responsibilities include offering people basic medical health measures, such as flu shots. The national average salary for staff pharmacists is $133,631.
- Health services manager: Responsibilities include planning, directing and coordinating business activities for healthcare environments such as hospitals, nursing homes and group medical practices. The national average salary for health services managers is $101,340.
- Health education specialist and health community worker: Job duties for health education specialists include developing programs to educate the public about conditions that affect overall health at a hospital, nursing facility or school. Responsibilities for health community workers promote wellness by helping instill healthy behaviors. The national average salary for health education specialists and health community workers is $48,860.
- Radiation therapist: Responsibilities include treating cancer patients in a hospital setting by operating radiation equipment, communicating with them about treatment methods and monitoring treatment and abnormal post-treatment symptoms. The median annual salary for radiation technologists is $94,000.
Individuals with strong people skills thrive in all areas of the health science field because it is a hands-on space that often focuses on applying scientific knowledge to real-world problems. Although these five are just a few options for graduates of A-State’s online B.S. in Health Studies program, graduates will understand population health and the factors that influence overall health.
Learn more about A-State’s online B.S. in Health Studies program.