B.S. in Healthcare Studies | Southern Connecticut State University

The B.S. Healthcare Studies degree program prepares students for entry-level jobs within the healthcare sector, provides a strong academic foundation for those advancing to graduate school, and prepares students with the prerequisite coursework and advisement to apply to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program.

Nationally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics cites 13 of the top 20 fastest growing occupations as those in the healthcare sector with overall employment in healthcare occupations expected to grow 19%. This is the single largest growth sector among all occupation areas. In Connecticut, healthcare practitioner and technical positions, both clinical and non-clinical, are expected to grow 9.5% in a 10-year period ending 2024 (approximately 24,000 new healthcare jobs will be added statewide by 2024).

Many Connecticut healthcare employment opportunities exist in the Greater New Haven region as the healthcare industry is a dominant contributor to the local economy. Employers are seeking professionals attuned to the dynamics of an evolving healthcare system. They have expressed a growing demand for bachelor-level trained employees in critical non-clinical positions. Employers are seeking employees who possess a skill set that includes knowledge of overall health, health informatics, health systems, and healthcare management. The B.S. Healthcare Studies degree program addresses the development of these skills and helps employers meet these needs.

Program Highlights

Enables students to pursue a broad range of current or emerging careers in the healthcare sector.
Provides students with a strong foundation for application to a variety of medical, health and human services graduate programs.
Prepares Associate’s degree-trained healthcare professionals to pursue opportunities for career advancement.
Curriculum designed with direct input from healthcare professionals and focused on meeting critical workforce needs in healthcare settings.
Program faculty include professionals who are currently working at healthcare facilities in our region.
Coursework includes 40 program specific credits that provide broad, foundational knowledge in all aspects of healthcare.
Program allows students to complete 34 elective credits focused on specific workforce needs or prerequisites for application to graduate healthcare degree programs.
An optional concentration in Healthcare and Clinical Research prepares students for employment as Clinical Trials Research Associates
An optional concentration in Therapeutic Recreation in Aging prepares students for employment as Therapeutic Recreation Directors in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and senior centers

Student Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate a strong foundation in behavioral, natural, social, and health sciences appropriate for entry-level positions in the healthcare sector and/or admission to post graduate programs.
Critically examine and produce sound written analyses of healthcare policy, health interventions, trends and outcomes.
Demonstrate general knowledge of medical perspectives including ethics, healthcare systems, and health professions.
Demonstrate knowledge of best practices of managing and storing patient/client health information.
Adopt competencies of Interprofessional Education (IPE) and interprofessional teaming that promote aptitude with working in multi-professional settings.

Careers

The Healthcare Studies program prepares students for a wide range of graduate health and medical degree programs. Additionally, with substantial input from executives and human resource professionals from hospitals and other healthcare settings, this unique Bachelor of Science degree program was designed to prepare students for immediate entry into careers, including but not limited to:

Patient experience specialists facilitate projects and team initiatives and provide services to achieve strategic organizational improvement in patient, family and employee healthcare experience.
Pharmaceutical sales representatives educate physicians and other medication- prescribing professionals on new developments in the rapidly advancing pharmaceutical industry.
Health research assistants support scientific studies by recruiting participants for clinical trials and community-based research projects, collect and analyze data, and report and present results.
Digital health communication specialists enhance healthcare facilities' internal and external digital health to enhance population and individual health outcomes.
Health care administrators and informatics specialists support the operation of hospitals and other types of healthcare facilities

Program Requirements

Healthcare Studies, B.S.

Program Requirements | Academic Map

Students may choose to add one of the following two concentrations to their program of study.

Healthcare and Clinical Research

This concentration was designed as a pathway to employment in the field of Clinical Trials management. Major research hospitals such as Yale New-Haven Hospital conduct a large number of clinical trials on potential treatments for cancer and other diseases, and this is a large area of employment growth. Clinical trials researchers help recruit and screen patients for clinical trials, work with patients to collect data and ensure research protocols are followed, help manage and report data, ensure quality control, and related duties.

Students who complete this program and who work in clinical trials research for 1-2 years will be eligible to take a certification exam to become a certified clinical research professional (CCRP). This is a valuable and highly marketable credential that will help in long-term career advancement.

If you’re comfortable working with data, and have good attention to detail and a strong work ethic, this might be a good career path to explore.

Program Requirements | Academic Map

Therapeutic Recreation in Aging

Was designed as a pathway to employment as a therapeutic recreation director in skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and senior centers. Therapeutic Rec Directors are responsible for planning, organizing, and implementing individual and group activities for residents of a facility.

The coursework in the concentration is specifically geared toward working with an aging population and developing skills in therapeutic recreation. Additionally, the core coursework in the HLS major (such as courses like HLS 210 Patient Centered Healthcare and HLS 415 Healthcare Systems and Policy) will be extremely helpful in working in these healthcare settings. Graduates of this program will meet the Connecticut Health Code qualifications for therapeutic recreation directors in skilled nursing facilities.

If you enjoy working with an aging population, and are creative, outgoing, and compassionate, this might be a good career path to explore.

Program Requirements | Academic Map

Speech Language Pathology Assistant

This concentration was designed as a pathway to employment as a Speech Language Pathology Assistant working under the supervision of a Speech Pathologist in a school or rehab setting. SLPA’s are support personnel who assist a speech language pathologist in treating individuals with speech, language, fluency and voice disorders in a variety of settings. They provide a wide range of services including implementing speech and language programs designed by the SLP. The SLPA concentration is a flexible option for students who may want to work in the field before choosing to pursue a Master’s degree in Speech Pathology. Students graduating with this concentration will be eligible to apply for the national American Speech-Hearing-Language Association certification. Included in the coursework is 100 hours of practicum experience that meets fieldwork guidelines for the national certification program.

If you enjoy working with people of all ages, in a variety of settings such as schools, health clinics, private practice, early intervention and other work settings with the goal of improving communication and overall quality of life, this might be a good career path to explore.

Program Requirements | Academic Map

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Contact Us

Angela Ruggiero
Associate Director of Healthcare Studies
ruggieroa1@southernct.edu
(203) 392-5302