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Female athletes walking together in Gill Center.

Health Sciences

“A healthy person has a thousand wishes, a sick person only one.” That’s an old saying, but a profound one. If it resonates with you — if you believe there’s nothing more important than helping people get healthy, stay healthy, and live a life without pain, then you’ve found your home as a Health Sciences major at McDaniel.

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Degree Types
Major
Institution
Complementary Programs
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Distinctive Requirements
Capstone

Why McDaniel for Health Sciences?

Our Health Sciences program is designed to help driven, compassionate students like you pursue meaningful careers in what we call the “allied health professions.” We offer several personalized tracks within the Health Sciences program that will help you prepare for a variety of careers. Opportunities in research, study abroad, and pre-health advising turn McDaniel Health Sciences majors into experienced, inter-disciplinary graduates prepared for their chosen careers. 

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Distinctive Courses

BIO 1120 - Human Anatomy

A study of the anatomical structure of the human body. The basic concepts of anatomy: gross, microscopic, developmental, and clinical - will be studied by organ systems. Form-function relationships will be emphasized. This functional anatomy approach will explain how the shape and composition of the anatomical structures allow them to perform their functions. This course is appropriate for students interested in careers in health, fitness, wellness, recreation, physical therapy, athletic training, coaching, medicine, nursing, or other fields where knowledge of the human body may be important.

KIN 2001 - Medical Terminology

This course examines medical vocabulary including root words, prefixes and suffixes used in various health professions. Students review the nervous, skeletal, cardiovascular, muscle and other major systems of the human body, and discuss terms related to physiology, anatomy and pathological conditions. Students will develop a working knowledge of medical terms and abbreviations.

BIO 2203 - Genetics

A study of the concepts of classical and contemporary genetics. The action of genetic mechanisms at various levels of biological organization (molecular, cellular, organismal, and population) and in a variety of cells and organisms is included. Course includes laboratory.

KIN 3330 - Biomechanics

This course enables the student to develop an understanding of the basic mechanical principles that explain movement.   Upon completing the course students will be able to identify and understand the laws that govern rest and motion of the human body.   This preparation is useful for the student considering a career in medicine, physical and occupational therapy, athletic and personal training, coaching, safety engineering, and risk management.

The McDaniel Commitment in Action

The McDaniel Commitment—a series of opportunities guaranteed to all students—provides enhanced mentoring and coaching, and ensures every undergraduate student completes at least two meaningful experiential learning opportunities.

Special Opportunities

Three students working in a lab.

Student-Faculty Research

The Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Program will maximize your research time and provide expert guidance. 

Two students studying in the STEM Center.

STEM Center

The McDaniel STEM Center provides academic support to any student enrolled in STEM courses, and the opportunity to become a peer tutor.

Students using a large touchscreen to view anatomy.

Pre-Health Club

Get involved in student organizations like the Pre-Health Club to meet your peers and find your campus community. 

A student in a lab coat stands in front of a white background while wearing a pair of science goggles on their head and blue gloves and holding up a beaker with a blue liquid inside.

Meet an Alum Class of 2024: Lauren Logue Hands-On Lab Experiences

Through her Health Sciences major, Lauren Logue was introduced to her love for Chemistry. "I was able to conduct research on cobalt complexes with Dr. Craig. Thanks to this experience, I was then able to attend and present my research at the National American Chemical Society conference in New Orleans during the spring of 2024. This experience was amazing, and it allowed me to create connections with others from all around the world, while also vastly broadening my own chemical knowledge."

Giulia Pires

Alumni Spotlight Class of 2022: Giulia Pires Active Internships

"I worked at a physical therapy office which specialized in pelvic floor health and women’s health ... I am grateful for this experience because I was able to interact and build relationships with a variety of patients, as well as learn valuable skills that I hope will shape me into an exceptional healthcare provider one day."

Students on treadmills in Gill Center.

New labs and classrooms open in Gill Center

The newly renovated Gill Center bustles with activity. After all, this is the epicenter of McDaniel’s study of movement — the place Health Sciences students and faculty alike call home. Three classrooms, three labs, nine faculty offices and a seminar room were newly built inside Gill Center to support a program that prepares students for careers as health professionals, coaches, athletic trainers, physical education teachers, personal trainers and others whose work centers on the science of physical activity and movement.

Student internship in Chile.

Student savors lifetime opportunity interning at Chilean hospital

Rowail Khan’s medical internship in Santiago, Chile, intensified what already was her passion for medicine, but she also hopes it serves as an empowering example to other health-related majors that study abroad is indeed within their reach.