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Curriculum Overview
6-Year BSc/MD Program
Degree Awarded: 6-Year BSc/MD Program
Program Length: 2 Years (4 Semesters)
Year 1
Semester 1: 14 Credits
Semester 2: 15 Credits
Semester 3: 14 Credits
Year 2
Semester 4: 15 Credits
Semester 5: 15 Credits
Semester 6: 17 Credits
Total: 90 Credits
Year 1
Semester 1
14 Credits
BSC 100
Scientific Inquiry
3 Credits
The course Scientific Inquiry will enable students to develop skills related to scientific reasoning and problem solving. In addition, it will introduce students to the basics of the design and execution of research.
BSC 101
Introduction to College Writing & Comprehension
3 Credits
The course Introduction to College Writing & Comprehension is an introductory English class based on college writing and reading skills with a focus on the study and practice of reading comprehension through structure, meaning, and evaluation.
BSC 102
Math for Biological Sciences
4 Credits
The course Math for Biological Sciences consists largely of precalculus topics, but also includes a substantial treatment of probability. The “precalculus” topics include relations, functions, coordinate systems, graphing, polynomials, trigonometric functions, algebra and logarithmic and exponential functions. Probability topics include random experiments and random variables, algebra of sets, methods of enumeration, sampling, conditional probability, and distributions of discrete types.
BSC 103
Principles of Medicine
(including Advanced Learning Methods)
4 Credits
This course consists of two integrated components: advanced learning methods; and medical terminology. Advanced learning methods will help students preparing to enter medical school develop the study, learning, and test-taking skills they will need to successfully deal with the volume and complexity of information involved in the medical school curriculum. Medical terminology prepares pre-medical students for the complex language of medicine. Students will become familiar with the vocabulary for accurately describing the human body and associated components, conditions, and processes in a scientific manner. This course will also help students understand unfamiliar medical terms and appreciate their clinical applications.
Semester 2
15 Credits
BSC 104
Organismal Biology
3 Credits
The course Organismal Biology provides students with a basic understanding of the diversity as evidenced in myriad biological systems. Concepts related to the diversity of life will be introduced. Students will also learn about phylogenetics as well as microbial, plant and animal structure and function.
BSC 105
Organic Chemistry I
(with lab)
4 Credits
This course offers students the opportunity to learn the nature of carbon in organic compounds. It presents general principles of organic chemistry related to structure, stereochemistry, nomenclature, synthesis, uses and reactions of alcohols, ethers and aliphatic hydrocarbons; alkanes, alkynes, alkenes, cycloalkanes.
BSC 106
Introduction to Nutrition
4 Credits
The course Introduction to Nutrition presents basic nutrition information which will help students understand the relationship between diet and the prevention and/or control of diseases.
BSC 107
Introduction to Psychology
4 Credits
The course Introduction to Psychology is an in-depth introduction to the science and profession of psychology. It will present a summary of what is known about human nature, how it reveals general principles of the functioning of the brain, and the behavior of individuals and groups.
Semester 3
14 Credits
BSC 200
Organic Chemistry II
(with lab)
4 Credits
This is an advanced course in the structure and reactivity of functional groups (aromatic compounds, carbonyl compounds, carbohydrates, organometallic compounds, carboxylic acids and their derivatives, amines, and amino acids). This course covers all the essential prerequisite material needed for Biochemistry.
BSC 201
Community Health
3 Credits
The course Community Health provides an understanding of population-based health as opposed to individual health. Basic concepts in epidemiology will be addressed.
BSC 202
Medical and Scientific Communication
3 Credits
The course Medical & Scientific Communication is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of effective communication. Both written and oral communication will be addressed. It will consider the importance of communication and cover speech building (including the collection and collation of material, structure, and content), speech writing, elements of effective written communication and medical/scientific event management.
BSC 208
Health & Disease
4 Credits
The course Health & Disease introduces students to basic concepts related to nutrition, microbiology, (co-) evolution, heritable disease and substance abuse. It provides students the opportunity to understand biology, health and disease in the context of heredity and infectious disease.
Year 2
Semester 4
15 Credits
BSC 204
Physics for Life Sciences
3 Credits
The course Physics for Life Sciences introduces many of the basic principles and concepts in physics. It includes base and derived units, vectors and scalars, kinematics in one and two dimensions, dynamics, circular motion and gravitation, equilibrium, elasticity, fluids and hydrostatics, fluid dynamics, vibration and waves, sound, electrostatics, current electricity, magnetism, light and basic geometrical optics, heat, and introductory atomic and nuclear physics.
BSC 205
Microbiology
(with lab)
4 Credits
In the course Microbiology, a general introduction to the microbial world with information on microbial physiology, growth and its control, nutrition, interactions within various ecosystems, endogenous human organisms, human disease, biotechnology, and industrial aspects will be presented. Virtual laboratory exercises are a component of this course.
BSC 206
Biochemistry
(with lab)
4 Credits
The course Biochemistry covers the structure and function of biological molecules, enzyme structure, function and regulation, the biochemical pathways of intermediary metabolism and their regulation in normal and aberrant states. It is designed to help students integrate the biochemical information covered by this course into meaningful knowledge with an emphasis on the functional significance and regulatory mechanisms governing metabolic pathways. Virtual laboratory exercises are a component of this course.
BSC 207
Introduction to Biostatistics
4 Credits
The course Introduction to Biostatistics is designed to assist students in acquiring a good intuitive grasp of statistics, specifically in terms of what they are, how and when to apply various statistical techniques, how to interpret results, and how to draw meaningful conclusions from the data.
Semester 5
15 Credits
BSC 303
Communication for Health Professionals
3 Credits
The course Communication for Health Professionals develops students’ skills in locating, selecting, evaluating, and using research to answer questions, which are personally and professionally relevant. The course will help students to develop skills in reading, paraphrasing, summarizing, writing clearly and effectively and in appropriately documenting sources. Students will learn to evaluate research methods, introduce students to basic concepts in evidence-based medicine and will analyze structure and writing style in research articles.
BSC 304
Clinical Cases
4 Credits
The course Clinical Cases is designed to introduce students in the final year of the premedical program to clinical medicine. It provides an insight into the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values individual students need to acquire as physicians, as well as an understanding of how material taught in individual courses coalesce in clinical medicine.
BSC 305
Introduction to Health Research Methods
4 Credits
The course Introduction to Health Research Methods examines philosophical and methodological foundations of health science research. Several quantitative and qualitative research approaches are explored and students work in teams reviewing and critiquing peer-reviewed research articles associated with the approaches examined.
BSC 306
Genetics
4 Credits
In the course Genetics, the principles of classical, molecular, and population genetics will be discussed. The course will provide a historical background of heredity and a review of advances in gene structure and function. Students are expected to develop problem-solving skills in the course of their study. The application of genetic principles to medicine will be emphasized throughout the course.
Semester 6
17 Credits
BSC 307
Abnormal Psychology
4 Credits
The course Abnormal Psychology examines the etiology, epidemiology, description/classification, and treatment of disordered behavior. Major mental disorders are systematically examined from several different theoretical viewpoints, including psychodynamic, learning, cognitive, and physiological. A survey of psychological disorders is provided and students are introduced to the DSM-5 classification system. Treatment approaches based upon the major theoretical perspectives are covered.
BSC 301
Physiology
4 Credits
During this course students learn the normal functions and regulation of cells, organs and organ systems and physiological integration of the systems to maintain homeostasis—with emphasis on clinically relevant concepts. Lectures cover the neural and humoral homeostatic mechanisms and understanding of the physiology of muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, reproductive, gastrointestinal and renal systems. In addition, the pathophysiology of selected disease states is explored.
BSC 300
Anatomy
4 Credits
This is a lecture and laboratory course where students will acquire a basic knowledge of both the gross structure and functional anatomy of organs and systems. Concurrent with lecture and small group work, students participate in laboratory sessions and study a variety of imaging techniques (including X-rays, CT, and MRI scans). Emphasis is on the identification of normal gross structures with lectures and demonstrations to illustrate clinically relevant normal and abnormal findings.
BSC 302
Cell & Molecular Biology
5 Credits
In this course, students will gain an understanding of cellular functions. Topics include: macromolecular function and regulation, mechanisms of gene expression and inheritance, cell structure and function and diagnostic biotechnology.