Health Services

The Bachelor of Sciences in Health Services (BSHS) is a degree offered by the College of Health Professions. The BSHS degree includes a mix of academic and technical training that meets the needs of regional health care employers. The degree is designed to provide an efficient, flexible, and technically relevant path to a four-year degree, which allows students to pursue entry-level employment in a health care setting and/or prepare for graduate/advanced professional-level training programs. Individuals who hold an associate degree, technical degree, or professional certification, and who currently work in a health care setting will also find the program to be a flexible degree completion program that facilitates career advancement.

The Program

The BSHS program has broad requirements, and allows students tremendous flexibility to tailor their plan of study to meet their unique career interests. To earn the degree, students must complete:

• 120 or more credits (125-130 credits is strongly encouraged)
• 37 or more credits at the 300 level and higher
• All NDSU General Education Requirements
• All NDSU Residency Requirements (Applicable to Transfer Students)

Additionally, students must complete the following courses:

• CHP 190, Critical Thinking and Academic Success (2 credits)
• CHP 300, Introduction to the U.S. Healthcare System (3 credits)
• CHP 301, Research Methods in Health Services (3 credits)
• CHP 391, Catholic Healthcare Ethics (3 credits)
• CHP 489, Health Services Capstone (1 credit)
• PH 101, Introduction to Public Health (3 credits)
• Select one course from the following (3 credits)*
  • CHP 400, Interprofessional Health Care Practice
  • PH 474, Epidemiology
  • CHP 450, Complementary and Alternative Therapies
  • CHP 460, Advanced Writing for Health Professionals
  • CHP 479, Global Seminar (must be 3 or more credits)
  • CHP 491, Seminar on Catholic Health Care Ethics II

*Students must meet existing prerequisites to enroll in any of these courses.

• 15 or more credits of coursework emphasizing clinical, research, or internship experiences. Students must complete at least 6 of the 15 clinical, research, or internship credits at the 200 level (or lower).

Students are required to meet with their academic advisor to create a plan of study that addresses all program requirements. The plan must be approved by the student’s advisor and the College of Health Professions’ Dean’s Office at least one semester prior to graduating with the BSHS degree.

Experiential Training

A core element of the BSHS degree is that students gain hands on learning experiences that prepare them for their own, unique health care career.  Students must complete at least 15 credits of approved experiential training, although students are highly encouraged to complete additional experiential credits. As previously noted, those experiences may be based in research, clinical work, or general internship experiences.

Students may complete experiential credits offered by the College of Health Professions, other departments at NDSU, other colleges and universities in the Tri-College system (i.e., NDSU, Minnesota State University Moorhead, Concordia College, North Dakota State College of Science, and Minnesota State Community and Technical College), and other North Dakota University System campuses. Experiential credits offered through the College of Health Professions will include both research opportunities, as well as opportunities to complete clinical experience credits at hospitals and health systems within the region.

While students have tremendous flexibility in selecting their experiential training, each college/university, academic department, and clinical site may have additional requirements (or assess tuition that differs from NDSU) to complete those experiences. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic advisor to ensure that all academic prerequisites and professional requirements necessary to enroll in their intended experiential education courses are met.

Students who hold an associate degree, technical degree, or professional certification in a health-related field may, upon approval from the student’s advisor and the College of Health Professions’ Dean’s Office, use those previously earned credits to satisfy BSHS experiential training requirements.

Career Opportunities

Regional and national workforce estimates indicate an increased need for qualified physicians, physician assistants, medical records and health information management personnel, as well as a variety of technically oriented health care workers between now and 2026.  North Dakota job growth percentages for different areas (2014-2024) compared to national (2016-2026) suggest similar workforce needs (U.S. Department of Labors projections and US Bureau of Labor Statistics Healthcare Occupation Outlook):

• Physicians: North Dakota 8%; National 15%
• Physician Assistants North Dakota 31%; National 37%
• Cardiovascular Technologists/Technicians: North Dakota 34%; National 10%
• Surgical Technologists: North Dakota 24%; National 12%
• Medical Laboratory Technologists: North Dakota 25%, National 12%
• Medical Records and Health Information Technologists: North Dakota 23%, National 13%

Many entry-level health care careers require a unique mix of traditional academic and professional/technical education, which are not included in any current degree offerings at NDSU. Students may obtain this training in graduate and/or professional programs (pharmaceutical sciences, public health, etc.) or at community and technical colleges (surgical technology, health information technology, etc.). The BSHS degree provides students flexibility in planning to meet the unique academic requirements of their professional/graduate/technical program of interest while completing a well-rounded bachelor degree.

Transferring Credits

View NDSU equivalencies of transfer courses at: www.ndsu.edu/transfer/equivalencies

Please note this is a sample plan of study and not an official curriculum.  Actual student schedules for each semester will vary depending on start year, education goals, applicable transfer credit, and course availability. Students are encouraged to work with their academic advisor on a regular basis to review degree progress and customize an individual plan of study.