Pre-Professional Requirement (14 hours at a minimum)
Students are required to complete a pre-professional sequence. This sequence will be tailored to the student’s interests. A common Pre-Professional Sequence is: BIOS 2110: Human Anatomy, BIOS 2400: Human Physiology, HSV 2250: Growth, Development, and Aging and MDSC 2010: Medical Terminology. Currently registered, certified, or licensed health and human service providers may be granted academic credit for previous course work completed at an academically or professionally accredited program or institution. These credits will be evaluated on a course-by-course basis and applied to the pre-professional requirements. However, all students must also complete the following course in addition to a pre-professional sequence:
Concentrations/Academic Minors/Accelerated Degrees
The Professional Core will be complemented by advanced study in an area concentration or academic minor. Some concentrations and minors will prepare students for candidacy in professional graduate programs. Others will enable students to enter administrative positions in a variety of public and private agency and institutional settings.
Students who elect a concentration will do so in consultation with their program advisor. A concentration will be designed to fit the student’s individual learning objectives, it must consist of a minimum of 14 semester hours, at least 9 of which must be from 3000-, 4000-, or 5000-level course work. All concentrations must be pre-approved by an advisor.
Internship (4 hours)
www.wmich.edu/healthservices/academics/internships
The capstone experience is a required internship of a minimum of 200 clock hours in the U.S. or abroad (some placements require more hours due to the nature of the position), designed to provide students with the opportunity to integrate and apply the knowledge and abilities learned and to hone skills in readiness for employment or graduate study. The capstone Internship placement is one of the most important courses in the program, giving students needed experience for the next step in their careers. Students should read the internship handbook when they first enter the program to begin to consider what type of internship would be the most helpful to them in their future careers. The requirements of the internship are:
1. Completion of all course work in the Professional Core prior to enrollment in the internship seminar, HSV 4900: Internship (4 hours).
2. Application to the internship program. Application includes the application form (found on the program website at www.wmich.edu/healthservices/internships), the student’s resume and unofficial transcripts. All applications must be submitted to the internship coordinator. Application must be made by the deadline for the semester in which a student wishes to begin the internship. See below for deadlines and please note that they are one academic school year ahead of the semester in which the student wants to complete the internship.
Internship Seminar |
Application Seminar |
Summer |
May 1, of the year before |
Fall |
Nov 1, of the year before |
Spring |
April 1, of the year before |
3. Students should review the listing of internship descriptions on the B.S.-IHS website www.wmich.edu/healthservices/academics/internships/descriptions and mention any placements that they are interested in on their application.
4. After the application is received the student will meet with the internship coordinator and decide on the most appropriate placements for student to apply and interview.
5. Students must enroll in HSV 4900, and attend the internship seminar.
Students who are registered, certified, or licensed health care providers may pursue a clinical experience providing it exposes the student to the development of new skills, or is in a situation outside their usual employment. As an alternative to an internship they may substitute a research project or an approved elective (3 hours) for this internship.
If a health care provider chooses HSV 4890: Independent Research (3 hours), the project must conform to the following standards:
- The student must select a research committee consisting of a faculty mentor knowledgeable in the field of inquiry and a reader who will act as a resource person (the resource person may work outside the University).
- The research project must be approved by the Program Coordinator at the beginning of the senior year.
- The completion of the research project must be documented in a paper written in the professional or academic style appropriate to the discipline and presented in a public forum approved by the Program Coordinator.