B.S. in Health Sciences

4 Years On Campus Bachelors Program

Rutgers University

Program Overview

The B.S. in Health Sciences at Rutgers University’s School of Health Professions provides a flexible foundation for students preparing for healthcare careers or further professional study in areas such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition, and healthcare leadership. The hybrid degree combines health sciences, clinical knowledge, healthcare systems, ethics, research, and interprofessional practice, with students choosing from Pre-Physical Therapy, Pre-Occupational Therapy, Pre-Nutrition, or Customized tracks.

Curriculum Structure

Year 1:
Students establish their healthcare foundation through courses such as BINF 3010 – Medical Terminology, IDST 3201 – Anatomy & Physiology I, and IDST 3510 – Principles of Scientific Inquiry. They also develop an understanding of healthcare organizations, statistics, communication, biomechanics, quality management, and leadership through courses including IDST 4115 – Healthcare Organizations and Inter-professional Practice and IDST 3500 – Fundamental Statistics in Health Sciences.

Year 2:
The second year moves further into clinical and professional topics through courses such as BINF 3411 – Disease Pathology, IDST 4700 – Introduction to Gerontology, and NUTR 3710 – Introduction to Nutrition. Students also explore disability-informed care, healthcare law and ethics, scholarly and technical writing, and discipline-specific electives, allowing them to develop a pathway aligned with their chosen health profession.

Customized Track:
Students entering through the Customized Degree Completion Track can focus more heavily on healthcare operations, leadership, research, and advanced professional development. Courses include IDST 4650 – Quality Management in Healthcare, IDST 4550 – Management and Leadership in Health Professions, and IDST 4900 – Disability Informed Care: Policy and Practices, with opportunities to include selected graduate-level coursework.

Focus Areas:

Health sciences, healthcare delivery, anatomy and physiology, disease pathology, biomechanics, nutrition, healthcare management, interprofessional practice, statistics, scientific inquiry, healthcare ethics, disability-informed care, gerontology, clinical research, healthcare informatics.

Learning Outcomes:

Students learn to understand U.S. healthcare delivery systems, identify healthcare professionals' roles and responsibilities, develop interdisciplinary patient plans, apply biological and scientific concepts to healthcare, interpret health-science research, understand healthcare data and privacy, and evaluate legal, ethical, and policy issues affecting healthcare delivery.

Professional Alignment (Accreditation):

The B.S. in Health Sciences is designed to prepare students for graduate and professional healthcare programs, particularly physical therapy, occupational therapy, and nutrition/dietetics, while the Customized Track can support advancement into healthcare operations and leadership. Rutgers University is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE); the B.S. in Health Sciences itself is not presented as a separately professionally accredited clinical qualification.

Reputation (Employability):

Rutgers School of Health Professions states that the B.S. in Health Sciences is offered within a university ranked #1 out of 582 schools nationally for Best Colleges for Health Professions by College Factual. Rutgers also reports an average salary of $70,000 for a B.S. in Health Sciences graduate, as presented on the program's official page.

Experiential Learning (Research, Projects, Internships etc.)

Rutgers’ B.S. in Health Sciences combines health-science coursework with practical exposure to healthcare environments. Students can participate in patient-care simulations, mock interprofessional activities, student-run clinics, and a dedicated health-services practicum, giving them opportunities to apply healthcare, communication, management, and research skills in realistic settings.

Key experiential-learning opportunities include:

Patient-care simulations: Students can participate in high-fidelity simulations and mock interprofessional collaborative-practice events that replicate healthcare-team situations.
Student-run patient clinics: The program provides access to student-operated patient clinics, giving students opportunities to interact with the community and observe team-based care.
Health Services Practicum — IDST 4400: The 4-credit practicum provides 160 hours of directed field experience through management, administrative, teaching, or research internships in educational, government, and healthcare agencies and facilities.
Virtual Health Care Simulator: Rutgers SHP has developed an immersive Rutgers Health Virtual Health Care Simulator, where students can take part in realistic role-play, case-based activities, small-group discussions, and interprofessional exercises within a simulated academic health system.
AI-supported digital learning: The Virtual Health Care Simulator uses AI prompts and custom AI tools to create realistic healthcare scenarios involving patients, clinicians, administrators, and other healthcare professionals.
Interprofessional learning: Students work through scenarios involving different healthcare roles, helping them practise teamwork, communication, clinical reasoning, cultural humility, and decision-making before entering real healthcare environments.
Research and instructional facilities: Rutgers SHP's Newark facilities include dedicated research spaces, instructional spaces, computer labs, and laboratory spaces, supporting health-professions education and research.
Healthcare environment: The School of Health Professions has locations in Newark and Piscataway, with the Piscataway location sharing the Busch Campus with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, School of Public Health, Pharmacy, and University Behavioral Health Care, creating access to a wider health-sciences environment

Progression & Future Opportunities

The B.S. in Health Sciences at Rutgers School of Health Professions can prepare graduates for professional advancement in healthcare as well as further study in areas such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition/dietetics, healthcare operations, leadership, gerontology, clinical research management, and health education. The program also offers a Customized Track designed for students who already hold an associate degree and want to progress into leadership or other advanced healthcare roles.

Typical career roles include: Healthcare Operations Coordinator, Clinical Research Coordinator, Health Services Manager, Health Education Specialist.

Students can build their professional pathway through Rutgers' career resources, graduate pathways, and connections within the health-professions environment:

Career support: Rutgers School of Health Professions provides a Career Resources Center with current job opportunities for health professionals, together with guidance on resume writing, interview skills, and job searches.
Graduate-program pathways: The B.S. in Health Sciences provides pathways into Rutgers SHP graduate programs, and the university states that students receive preferential consideration for SHP graduate programs.
Dual-enrollment opportunity: Students on the Customized Track can have an opportunity for dual enrollment into the M.S. in Clinical Research Management, creating a direct route toward advanced study in clinical research.
Employment and salary: Rutgers reports an average salary of $70,000 for a B.S. in Health Sciences graduate on the official program page. The same page cites U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projections of approximately 1.9 million healthcare-occupation openings annually through 2033; these are broader healthcare-sector figures rather than a prediction for individual graduates.
Healthcare professional network: Rutgers SHP has more than 12,000 graduates represented through its School of Health Professions Alumni Association, providing a substantial professional alumni network across healthcare, research, and related fields.
Industry and clinical connections: Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences brings together health-professions education alongside institutions and programs such as Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, School of Public Health, and Rutgers Health, giving students access to a broader academic healthcare environment.
Accreditation value: The B.S. in Health Sciences is a broad academic health-sciences degree rather than a separately licensed clinical credential. For regulated professions such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, or dietetics, graduates can use the degree as preparation for the relevant professional or graduate program and its required professional credentialing pathway.
Graduate outcomes: Rutgers identifies pathways from the degree into physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition/dietetics, healthcare management and leadership, gerontology, clinical research management, and health education, allowing students to tailor their next step to their career goals.

Further Academic Progression:
After completing the B.S. in Health Sciences, students can continue into graduate and professional programs in physical therapy, occupational therapy, nutrition/dietetics, clinical research management, healthcare leadership, and other health-related disciplines. At Rutgers SHP, the Customized Track can also provide an opportunity for dual enrollment in the M.S. in Clinical Research Management, while students pursuing clinical professions can use the bachelor's degree as preparation for the appropriate professional program.