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Health Science and Wellness

School of Health Sciences and Wellness Health Science and Wellness Degree

Major

Study Both Disease and Well-Being

The health science and wellness major at UW-Stevens Point provides you with broad skills and opportunities for a variety of careers within the health field. The interdisciplinary major will prepare you for the art of working with people and the science of health and disease. Around the world, UW-Stevens Point is considered the  home of wellness. We bring this into the classroom, preparing you to be a resilient health and wellness professional.

Why study Health Science and Wellness at UW-Stevens Point?

The curriculum is designed to support you throughout your time at UW-Stevens Point – from a student success course to pre-professional retreat and capstone or internship. Additional core courses emphasize leadership, person-centered communication, professional and personal resilience, and critical thinking, which are crucial skills needed in health occupations.

Alexis Walters ’21

Hired Before Graduation

Alexis Walters ’21

Alexis Walters ’21 was hired before graduation at TVG-Medulla in Oak Brook, Ill., as a chiropractic technician.

Intern

Insights of Interns

Mikayla Toboyek

Mikayla Toboyek interned at the Marshfield Clinic Health System as an innovation, quality and patient safety intern.

Alumni Map

Alumni Map

Where are they now?

UW-Stevens Point alumni live and work all over the world—so if you’re looking for networking opportunities close to a new home or contact info for fellow Pointer in another city, you’re in luck. Looking for a fellow Pointer near you or want to add your pin? Start with our map.

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Health and Human Performance Lab

Health Career Opportunities

Students in the health science and wellness major enjoy a wide variety of academic and career opportunities that complement their core major requirements. Share your interests and goals with an adviser in the School of Health Sciences and Wellness Student Success Center so we can help you reach your goals!

Learn more about each of the opportunities below:

A Pathway to Advance Your Allied Health Career

The Health Science and Wellness – Clinician Degree Option at UW-Stevens Point is a bachelor’s degree completion program for clinical allied health professionals. Step into career advancement by earning your bachelor’s degree, enhancing your expertise, and gaining valuable leadership skills. Diversify your healthcare knowledge and prepare for greater opportunities in the growing healthcare field.

The Best of Both Worlds:  Combining Physical Health with Wellness

This program offers a unique opportunity to study both health science and wellness, equipping you with an understanding of physical health, mental health, healthcare administration, and overall wellness. By integrating these critical areas, you’ll gain the skills needed to deliver holistic care that meets the diverse needs of today’s healthcare environment.

Transfer Your Credits

Students must transfer a minimum of 30 credits* from an allied health program to apply toward a Bachelor of Science in Health Science and Wellness. UW-Stevens Point can accept any number of credits and could apply up to 72 from a technical college towards their bachelor’s.

*Students with smaller allied health programs (<30 credits) who did not earn 30 credits in their allied health program can complete a Health and Wellness Coaching Certificate (12 credits) at UW-Stevens Point to meet the credit requirement.

Professional Eligibility

Applicants must be eligible for or hold a current registration, certification, or licensure in a clinical allied health discipline.

Flexible Options Designed for Working Adults

  • Customize Your Education: Take 18 credits of core Health Science and Wellness courses; you choose the classes that best match your goals and interests.
  • Convenient Learning Formats: Program available 100% online, in person, or as a hybrid option.
  • Pace That Works for You: Complete your bachelor’s degree part-time or full-time each semester.
  • Year-Round Course Offerings: Take advantage of courses offered during winter and summer to accelerate your progress, skills and knowledge.

Examples of Eligible Allied Health Programs

  • Dental Assistant
  • Dental Hygienist
  • Health and Wellness Coach
  • Massage Therapist
  • Medical Assistant
  • Medical Billing and Coding
  • Medical Laboratory Technician
  • Nursing (LPN, RN)
  • Occupational Therapy Assistant
  • Paramedic
  • Physical Therapy Assistant
  • Radiography
  • Respiratory Therapist
  • Sonography

This is not an exhaustive list. Please contact us to determine if your program meets our criteria.

Take the Next Step in Your Career

Advance your skills, expand your career opportunities, and earn your bachelor’s degree with the Health Science and Wellness – Clinician Degree Option program at UW-Stevens Point. Start your journey today! Email us with a copy of your unofficial transcripts to receive an estimate on how many credits are needed to complete this program.

Sample Graduation Plan

Accelerated Bachelor’s + Master’s – 3+2 Dual Degree

Students can complete a B.S. in Health Science and Wellness and an M.S. in Athletic Training in five years. Incoming and first-year students should declare Health Science and Wellness, BS + MS-AT (3+2 Dual Degree) as their major for proper advising.
  • Year 1: Declare your major and review the 3+2 requirements with your advisor
  • Year 2 and 3: Complete HSW 3+2 undergraduate degree requirements and maintain retention standards for the program.
  • Start of Year 3: Complete the application for Admission into the MS-AT program.
  • Year 4: Start the 2-year MS-AT curriculum. 15 credits from the MS-AT count in both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Retention Standards for the 3+2 Program

Students declared 3+2 Dual Degree majors must meet retention standards and are not guaranteed admission to the MS-AT. To maintain good standing and be eligible to apply to the MS-AT program, 3+2 students must:

    1. Maintain an undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher

    1. Attain a C grade in prerequisite coursework for the MS-AT.
        1. BIO 101, Chem 101/105, Physics 101/203, BIO 287 or 387, HSW 312 and 375, HSW 301 or MATH 255, Psych 101 and FN 354.

3+2 students not accepted into the MS-AT will transition to the traditional 4-year plan for HSW – Pre-Athletic Training. Students can reapply to the MS-AT program. Proactive advising is key to a 3+2 student’s success – please make sure to seek out your early career adviser in the Academic and Career Advising Center, visit the SHSW Student Success Center, or stop in to talk to one of the MS-AT faculty in the Science Building.

Athletic training encompasses the prevention, examination, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of emergent, acute, or chronic injuries and medical conditions. Services provided by athletic trainers include primary care, injury and illness prevention, wellness promotion and education, emergent care, examination and clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Becoming a licensed athletic trainer involves completing a Master of Science in Athletic Training program.

Occupational therapists evaluate situations, listen to their patients, and develop intervention plans to improve or maintain a patient’s ability to perform daily activities (such as getting dressed, interacting with others, or improving memory function). Becoming a licensed occupational therapist involves completing a master’s or doctoral program in occupational therapy.

Physical therapists are movement experts who improve quality of life through prescribed exercise, hands-on care, and patient education. They work with multiple patient populations and people impacted by disease, injury, disability, and movement dysfunction. Becoming a licensed PT involves completing a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program.

Pursue industry leading certification and careers in settings such as public health agencies, hospital community health, employee wellness centers, and health advocacy organizations.

Businesses and organizations of all types often invest in their staff by having a program designed to holistically support employee wellbeing, including all aspects of wellness.

Enhance your knowledge about how food and dietary patterns influence wellbeing in ways behind nutrients. Become a health and wellness professional who incorporates knowledge of food and cooking in disease prevention and treatment.

As a health and wellness coach, you will guide individuals during their transformative journey of achieving lasting changes and enhanced well-being by helping them overcome hurdles, surpass limitations and tap into their own unrealized personal and professional potential.

Every medical organization needs leaders who understand the complexities of health and wellness along with elements of business. Healthcare administration professionals may work in functional areas such as financial management, quality assurance, patient and employee advocacy and more. Additionally, people with interest in this area may find a good fit within companies related to healthcare, such as insurance companies or medical equipment facilities.

  • Classes to add to your degree plan for route: Business Administration minor, Econ 111, Econ 324

Exercise performance professionals teach and/or coach individuals’ lifelong fitness and movement skills in a variety of settings. Courses in this program are designed to prepare students for additional certifications in athletics, exercise, and fitness professions. Woven into this curriculum is real-world, hands-on skills application.

What to Expect?

Graduates in the field of health science and wellness are employed in a wide variety of health-related careers. Whether located in a corporate, community, hospital, or educational setting, professionals are actively involved in facilitating behavior change and promoting healthy lifestyles. Possible career options include: 

  • athletic trainer* 
  • physical therapist* 
  • occupational therapist* 
  • health coach
  • exercise physiologist* 
  • wellness center manager 
  • fitness specialist 
  • health educator 
  • employee wellness director 
  • community outreach coordinator 
  • nursing home administrator 
  • patient access coordinator 

*Requires advanced degree. 

Get Involved on Campus

Joining a health-related student organization, you may help with blood drives, raise funds for overseas orphanages, attend state and national conferences, strategize and plan for graduate school, and network with professionals from allied health care fields.

  • Health Care Organization
  • National Wellness Institute
  • Sports Medicine Club
Major Map
Health Science and Wellness

Navigate Your Major

Major Maps help students map their first day to the first job in their chosen field. While a four-year plan outlines classes to get a degree, Major Maps help students learn how to build career-ready skills and experiences outside the classroom. Each Major Map shows how students can get the most of their UW-Stevens Point journey from enrollment to graduation and beyond. It’s a roadmap to discovering your purpose!

Meet Your Faculty and Staff

The faculty and staff members of the School of Health Sciences and Wellness are committed to developing professionals who study, promote and model lifelong wellness for individuals, families and communities, building a stronger, healthier community.
Corey Huck

Corey Huck

  • Professor – Health Sciences and Wellness
Beth Kinslow

Beth Kinslow

  • Assistant Professor – M.S. in Athletic Training
  • Clinical Assessment Coordinator – M.S. in Athletic Training
  • Program Director – Health Science and Wellness
  • Manager – SPLASH Swimming Program
  • College of Professional Studies Diversity Task Force
715-346-4870
Dan McCarty

Dan McCarty

  • Academic Director – Health Information Management and Technology (HIMT)
  • Professor – Health Science and Wellness
715-346-2508
Sallie Scovill

Sallie Scovill

  • Professor – Health Sciences and Wellness
  • Coordinator – UW-Stevens Point Employee Wellness
715-346-4614

Accreditation

National Wellness Institute

NWI Accreditation

UW-Stevens Point was the first in the United States to achieve accreditation by the National Wellness Institute.