Biology Health Sciences Degree

Get on track for the most demanding and rewarding medical careers anywhere. Our graduates get accepted into professional graduate programs such as medical school, dentistry, pharmacy, and more.

This degree program provides an intensive course of study in the basic sciences, social sciences, communication, and mathematics to prepare students for entry into professional programs. Our science classes include hands-on labs with professors, a strong emphasis on medical application, and critical thinking about case studies and relevant biomedical research.

The program meets or exceeds prerequisite requirements for graduate schools of:

All Pre-Professional Pathways and Resources

 


Courses in health management, medicine microbiology, biochemistry, and molecular and cell biology also provide preparation for careers in biotechnology or graduate work in public health, medical administration or science PhD programs.

There are several faculty advisors in our program and we encourage students to work closely with the advisor they connect best with. The Biology–Health Sciences program also urges students to begin volunteering in medical settings, possibly during high school and especially during college. Our Health Sciences student club helps students get connected with volunteering and shadowing opportunities, often at the hospital located just across the street from Oregon Tech, or at nearby medical offices.

Program Overview 

A Biomedical Sciences Master’s degree at Oregon Tech prepares students to apply techniques of scientific research to real-world biological problems encountered in industry, government, education, and business.

The research-based thesis option pairs graduate students with a research advisor in order to pursue a research project in the biomedical sciences, in addition to a set of core courses and graduate electives. It requires roughly two years to complete. 

The Biomedical Sciences thesis option is open to all applicants, regardless of the undergraduate field of study. However, the following criteria must be met:

  • Baccalaureate Degree: Graduate students must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or institution.
  • Letters of recommendation: Submit two letters of recommendation addressing the student’s qualifications and aptitude to succeed in the program.
  • Research mentor: Students pursuing the Thesis option should include a letter of support from a potential faculty research mentor.
  • Cover letter: Include a cover letter discussing the student’s research/internship interest and describe the student’s goal/purpose for obtaining the degree.

Apply 

Students must fill out an application for Oregon Tech provided below. Please also send your cover letter, CV, names and contact info of three references, and transcripts in a single PDF to the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Coordinator Travis Lund – Travis.Lund@oit.edu

Masters Program Curriculum

Program Overview 

A Biomedical Sciences Master’s degree at Oregon Tech prepares students to apply techniques of scientific research to real-world biological problems encountered in industry, government, education, and business.

The course-based non-thesis option is based on completion of a set of core courses and graduate electives. It can be completed in as little as one full-time academic year.

The Biomedical Sciences non-thesis option is open to all applicants, regardless of the undergraduate field of study. However, the following criteria must be met:

  • Baccalaureate Degree: Graduate students must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or institution.
  • Letters of recommendation: Submit two letters of recommendation addressing the student’s qualifications and aptitude to succeed in the program.
  • Cover letter: Include a cover letter discussing the student’s goal/purpose for obtaining the degree

Apply 

Students must fill out an application for Oregon Tech provided below. Please also send your cover letter, CV, names and contact info of three references, and transcripts in a single PDF to the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Coordinator Travis Lund – Travis.Lund@oit.edu

Masters Program Curriculum

Admission Requirements

The Biomedical Sciences 3+2 Programs offer students the unique opportunity to graduate with both Baccalaureate and Master's degrees in five years.  
Students interested in the Biomedical Sciences 3+2 Program must declare their major as Bachelor of Science in Biology-Health Sciences.  
In the third year of the program, students must apply to the  Biomedical Sciences 3+2 Program. Upon acceptance, students begin graduate coursework the following fall.

The application for Admission to the 3+2 plan must include:

  1. An Oregon Tech transcript
  2. Two letters of recommendation from two Oregon Tech faculty
  3. A statement of research interests
  4. Complete a graduate admissions application
  5. Pay the admission application fee

Students must meet the following qualifications:

  1. Must have declared BHS as your major
  2. Must have achieved an overall grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  3. Must have achieved a grade point average of 3.25 in required Biology coursework
  4. Must have completed 100 credits, including twelve upper-level credits in Biomedical Sciences.
  5. Prior to enrolling in the first 500-level course, students are expected to have completed a significant portion of the requirements for their undergraduate major.

Program Overview

A Biomedical Sciences Master’s degree at Oregon Tech prepares students to apply techniques of scientific research to real-world biological problems encountered in industry, government, education, and business.

The research-based 3+2 thesis option pairs graduate students with a research advisor in order to pursue a research project in the biomedical sciences, in addition to a set of undergraduate and graduate core courses and electives.

If you are interested in the 3+2 program, please speak with your Faculty Advisor or contact the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Coordinator Travis Lund – Travis.Lund@oit.edu

 

Master of Science
Minor in Applied Physics
Minor in Biology
Minor in Chemistry
Minor in Medical Sociology
Minor in Psychology
Minor in Sustainability

Careers

With 100% of Oregon Tech Biology-Health Sciences graduates either employed or seeking an advanced degree within six months of graduation, our graduates who apply to graduate programs are often accepted. Our alumni in graduate school often report that they are better prepared than their peers from other universities, and they often become leaders within their graduate programs and are highly successful in their professional careers.

Average annual salary** for medical professions our graduates work in after receiving advanced degrees:

Family Practicioner
$187,000
Obstetrician
$248,000
Surgeon
$253,000
Dentist
$192,000
Veterinarian
$91,000
Optometrist
$100,000
Occupational Therapist
$84,000
Occupational Therapist
$84,000
Physical Therapist
$84,000
Physician Assistant
$110,000

**U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oregon, May 2016

Some paths other than grad school include:

  • Clinical or research lab tech
  • Phlebotomist
  • Clinical Lab Science
Mick_Malia
Student, Class of 2026
“My greatest learning experience at Oregon Tech was my Writing 121 class with Professor Markie Scheidegger. I feel that I made significant improvements with my writing skills in that class.”

Core curriculum includes:

  • Full-year freshman/sophomore classes with labs in General Chemistry, Principles of Biology and General Physics that are foundations for everything else, and required for most graduate programs.
  • Math including calculus and statistics to increase your quantitative skills.
  • Classes in communication and humanities to complement your scientific education.
  • Classes in social sciences including medical sociology and psychology that are increasingly needed to understand healthcare needs today.
  • Full-year, upper-division classes in Advanced Anatomy & Physiology, including hands-on cadaver dissection, and in Pathophysiology to learn how the human body can fall out of normal.
  • Medical Microbiology where you will learn about microorganisms, explore how pervasive they are in our environment, and test different infection-control measures.
  • Full-year, upper-division classes in Organic Chemistry and in Biochemistry that focus on medical applications and include inquiry-driven labs where students design some of their own experiments.

Our students also choose among classes in medical terminology, nutrition, medical genetics, neuroscience, developmental biology, cell biology, clinical pharmacology, nanoscience, parasitology, kinesiology, immunology, epidemiology and others. While the curriculum is very challenging, admission into medical schools is highly competitive and requires excellent academic achievement. These courses feed student interests as well as helping them become strong applicants for the graduate school programs of their choosing.

 

Cadaver Lab
Hands-on learning with cadavers