Curriculum | Bachelor of Health Sciences

The Bachelor of Health Sciences curriculum provides the depth of knowledge and background theory necessary to understand not only how the human body functions in health and disease, but also how its environment – both physical and social – play major roles in health and disease.

Need help finding your way through Queen’s and beyond? Get BHSc specific advice on academics, extra-curriculars, networking, international opportunities and career development all in one place! The BHSc Program Map, produced by the Career Services Major Map project, provides suggestions – you don’t have to follow all the recommendations. Use the map to plan ahead, and find your own way at Queen’s! View the BHSc Program Map here.

Below you will find the full BHSc program requirements, divided by year. Students are required to complete the specified number of core, option, and elective courses for each year of study. Students who choose to complete the BHSc General degree (3-Year degree) need to complete the requirements for Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3, as outlined below. Information about course prerequisites and term offerings can be found on the individual course pages, which are linked in the course codes.

Note: Students who began their studies in the BHSc program prior to September 2022 may choose to complete the requirements of the archived version of the curriculum, which can be found at the bottom of this page.

Core Courses: 18 Units Required

ANAT 100/3.0 Anatomy of the Human Body

GLPH 171/3.0 Social and Physical Determinants of Health and Disease

HSCI 190/3.0 Introduction to Statistics for the Health Sciences

IDIS 173/3.0 History and Philosophy of Health and Healthcare (previously BMED 173)

PHAR 100/3.0 Introductory Pharmacology

PHGY 170/3.0 Human Cell Physiology

Option Courses: Choose 6.0 units from the following list

IDIS 199/3.0 The Science of Mental Health, Well-being, and Resiliency

PATH 120/3.0 Understanding Human Disease in the 21st Century

BIOL 102/3.0 Introductory Biology of Cells*

BIOL 103/3.0 Introductory Biology of Organisms*

CHEM 112/6.0 General Chemistry (offered in-person only)*

CHEM 113/3.0 General Chemistry I*

CHEM 114/3.0 General Chemistry II*

ENGL 1XX (any 100-level ENGL course)*

MATH 121/6.0 or MATH 126/6.0 or (MATH 123/3.0 and/or MATH 124/3.0) Differential and Integral Calculus*

PHYS 115 (3.0) and/or PHYS 116 (3.0) OR PHYS 117/6.0 OR PHYS 118/6.0 Basic Physics*

PSYC 100/6.0 Psychology (or PSYC 101 or PSYC 102 or PSYC 103)*

WRIT 120/3.0 Fundamentals of Effective Writing*

WRIT 125/3.0 Fundamentals of Academic Essay Writing*

Electives: 6.0 Units

Electives can be any online or on-campus course, including any listed option courses. All Arts & Science Online courses are accepted as electives. Additionally, BHSc On-Campus students may choose courses from the Arts & Science Calendar.

Core Courses: 18.0 Units Required

BCHM 270/3.0 Biochemical Basis of Health and Disease

GLPH 271/3.0 Global and Population Health

HSCI 270/3.0 Fundamentals of Health Research Methodology (previously BMED 270)

PHGY 215/3.0 Principles of Mammalian Physiology I

PHGY 216/3.0 Principles of Mammalian Physiology II

1 of MICR 270/3.0 Infection, Immunity, Inflammation** OR MICR 271/3.0 Introduction to Microbiology** OR MICR 221/3.0 Fundamental Microbiology**

**Students must take one of MICR 270, MICR 271, or MICR 221 to fulfil their core course requirements. If a student chooses to take more than one of these courses, one will count as core and the additional course(s) will count towards their option and/or elective requirements

Option Courses: Choose 6.0 units from the following list:

BCHM 218/3.0 Molecular Biology

CHEM 281/3.0 General Organic Chemistry I*

CHEM 282/3.0 General Organic Chemistry II (Offered in-person only)*

CHEM 285/3.0 General Organic Chemistry II*

GLPH 281/3.0 Racism and Health in Canada

HLTH 230/3.0 Fundamentals of Human Nutrition*

IDIS 280/3.0 Interprofessional Approaches in Healthcare

MICR 270/3.0 Infection, Immunity, Inflammation** OR MICR 271/3.0 Introduction to Microbiology** OR MICR 221/3.0 Fundamental Microbiology**

**Students must take one of MICR 270, MICR 271, or MICR 221 to fulfil their core course requirements. If a student chooses to take more than one of these courses, one will count as core and the additional course(s) will count towards their option and/or elective requirements

MICR 290/3.0 Antibiotic Resistance Lab

PHGY 290/3.0 Investigation of Human Physiological Responses

Electives: 6.0 Units

Electives can be any online or on-campus course, including any listed option courses. All Arts & Science Online courses are accepted as electives. Additionally, BHSc On-Campus students may choose courses from the Arts & Science Calendar.

Core Courses: 15.0 Units Required

BCHM 370/3.0 Genetics and Genomics (previously BMED 370)

IDIS 373/3.0 Health Ethics, Law, and Policy (previously BMED 373)

PATH 310/3.0 Introduction to Pathology and Molecular Medicine

PHAR 370/3.0 Fundamentals of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (previously PHAR 270)

REPD 372/3.0 Reproduction and Development

Option Courses: Choose 9.0 units from the following list:

ANAT 309/3.0 Functional Histology

ANAT 312/3.0 Functional Neuroanatomy (offered in-person only)

ANAT 380/3.0 Clinically Relevant Human Anatomy

ANAT 391/3.0 Introduction to Cadaveric Dissection

BCHM 320/3.0 Applications of Synthetic Biology

CANC 380/3.0 Evolutionary Biology of Cancer

GLPH 385/3.0 Biohacking and Gerontechnology

HSCI 383/3.0 Advanced Research Methodologies (previously BMED 383)

LISC 300/3.0 The Process of Discovery in the Biomedical Sciences (offered in-person only)

LISC 387/3.0 Sex Differences in Health and Disease (offered in-person only)

LISC 390/3.0 Integrative Laboratory Studies

LISC 391/3.0 Integrated Life Sciences Laboratory (offered in-person only)

MICR 320/3.0 Microbes in Health and Disease

MICR 386/3.0 Fundamentals of Immunology in Health and Disease (previously BMED 386)

NSCI 323/3.0 Cellular Neuroscience (offered in-person only)

NSCI 324/3.0 Systems Neuroscience (offered in-person only)

NSCI 325/3.0 The Science of Psychadelics (offered in-person only)

PATH 381/3.0 Clinical Biochemistry

PHAR 380/3.0 Drug and Environmental Toxicology

PHGY 350/3.0 Pathophysiology (offered in-person only)

PHGY 355/3.0 Biomedical Respiratory Physiology (offered in-person only)

HSCI 591/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Design and Methods

HSCI 592/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Design and Methods

HSCI 593/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Interpretation

HSCI 594/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Interpretation

HSCI 595/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Interpretation

Electives: 6.0 Units

Electives can be any online or on-campus course, including any listed option courses. All Arts & Science Online courses are accepted as electives. Additionally, BHSc On-Campus students may choose courses from the Arts & Science Calendar.

Core Courses: 6.0 Units Required

GLPH 471/3.0 Advanced Global and Population Health

REPD 473/3.0 Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

Option Courses: Complete a total of 18.0 Units from the following 3 lists.

Minimum 3.0 units from this list:

ANAT 409/3.0 Selected Topics in Histology (offered in-person only)

ANAT 471/3.0 Human Embryology

BCHM 482/3.0 Proteomics and Metabolomics

CANC 440/3.0 Cancer Biology and Therapeutics (offered in-person only)

CRSS 453/3.0 Principles of Cardiorespiratory Sciences I (offered in-person only)

CRSS 454/3.0 Cardiovascular Sciences

CRSS 456/3.0 Molecular and Cellular Basis of Cardiovascular Disease (offered in-person only)

DDHT 459/3.0 Principles of Drug Discovery (offered in-person only)

DDHT 460/3.0 Principles of Drug Development (offered in-person only)

EPID 401/3.0 Biostatistical Data Analysis

LISC 400/3.0 Neuro-Immune Interactions in Health and Disease (offered in-person only)

LISC 426/3.0 Current Concepts in Sensorimotor Neuroscience (offered in-person only)

MICR 451/3.0 Selected Topics in Viral Pathogenesis (offered in-person only)

MICR 452/3.0 Viral Infection and Immunity (offered in-person only)

MICR 461/3.0 Advanced Immunology (offered in-person only)

MICR 483/3.0 Advanced Topics in Infectious Diseases

MICR 484/3.0 Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses

NSCI 401/3.0 Introduction to Theoretical Neuroscience

NSCI 403/3.0 Introduction to Neuroimaging (offered in-person only)

NSCI 422/3.0 Cellular and Molecular Neurosciences (offered in-person only)

NSCI 424/3.0 Neurodegeneration & Brain Health

NSCI 429/3.0 Disorders of the Neurosystem (offered in-person only)

NSCI 433/3.0 Cellular Elements of the Nervous System (offered in-person only)

NSCI 444/3.0 Controversies in Neuroscience (offered in-person only)

NSCI 483/3.0 Neurobiology of Learning and Memory

PATH 411/3.0 Applied Data Science in Molecular Medicine

PATH 425/3.0 Current Topics in Human Genetics (offered in-person only)

PATH 430/3.0 Molecular Basis of Disease (offered in-person only)

PHAR 416/3.0 Xenobiotic Disposition and Toxicity (offered in-person only)

PHAR 480/3.0 Drug Discovery and Development

PHGY 424/3.0 Ion Channels of Excitable Cells (offered in-person only)

Minimum 3.0 units from this list:

GLPH 482/3.0 Foundations of Humanitarian Health Emergencies

GLPH 485/3.0 Global Application of Health Informatics (*not offered in 2023-2024 academic year)

GLPH 487/3.0 One World, One Health: The Global Link Between Human, Animal, and Environmental Health

GLPH 488/3.0 Global Oncology: Cancer Care, Policy, Research, and Education (offered in-person only)

GLPH 493/3.0 Global Health Practice

HSCI 483/3.0 Applied Qualitative Methods For Health Research

IDIS 473/3.0 Designing Your Life After Queen's

IDIS 480/3.0 Advanced Interprofessional Approaches in Healthcare

IDIS 483/3.0 Applied Health Ethics: Clinical, Organizational, and Research Perspectives

Additional 4th year Options:

ANAT 599/6.0 Research Inquiry in Anatomy

DISC 591/592/593/594 /3.0 Discovery Lab Research Projects for Team-Based Experiential Learning

DISC 598/599 /6.0 Discovery Lab Research Projects for Team-Based Experiential Learning

HSCI 591/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Design and Methods

HSCI 592/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Design and Methods

HSCI 593/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Interpretation

HSCI 594/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Interpretation

HSCI 595/3.0 Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Interpretation

HSCI 598/6.0 Advanced Health Sciences Research: Design and Methods

HSCI 599/6.0 Advanced Health Sciences Research: Data Collection and Analysis

Electives: 6.0 Units

Electives can be any online or on-campus course, including any listed option courses. All Arts & Science Online courses are accepted as electives. Additionally, BHSc On-Campus students may choose courses from the Arts & Science Calendar.

* These courses are offered by the Faculty of Arts and Science, NOT the Faculty of Health Sciences. Note: Some Arts & Science courses may be 6.0 units

**Students must take one of MICR 270, MICR 271, or MICR 221 to fulfil their core course requirements. If a student chooses to take more than one of these courses, one will count as core and the additional course(s) will count towards their option and/or elective requirements

Students registerd in the online Bachelor of Health Sciences program are able to take up to 12.0 units of on-campus/in-person courses offered by the Faculty of Health Sciences in each academic year.

Electives can be any online or on-campus course, including any listed option courses. All Arts & Science Online courses are accepted as electives. Additionally, BHSc On-Campus students may choose courses from the Arts & Science Calendar.

Students who began their studies in the BHSc program prior to September 2022 may choose to complete the requirements of the archived version found here:

Archived April 2022