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The Faculty of Health Sciences introduced a new degree programme in 2005, the Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) which, in line with new higher education policy, offers flexible entry and exit points, is multi-disciplinary and spans faculties, thus offering a far wider choice of specialisation as well as opportunities for broader formative education. The BHSc is tailored to produce graduates for specific professional, managerial and leadership positions in their chosen fields.
Our aim is to provide graduates who will enter a variety of health-related professions with a broad basic education, while at the same time offering indepth specialisation in a field related to human health and disease, and health care provision.
Career Paths
The degree offers three different tracks catering for the different needs of the health care sector. The Biomedical Sciences track has a strong scientific emphasis and aims to develop much needed medical scientists. The Human Sciences track provides for graduates interested in entering career paths in the commercial, managerial and psychosocial domains. The Biokinetics track is aimed towards the fields of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine.
To prepare all students adequately for a career in the health care sector, a unique and defining component of both tracks is the major (unit set) in Fundamentals of Health and Disease, which lays a foundation for understanding the concepts of health, disease, the doctor-patient relationship and the health system in action. This course includes interacting with patients and clinical staff, visits to hospitals, clinics, laboratories and community sites, as well as a theoretical engagement with the process of clinical decision making, bio-ethics, health policy and economics and the big questions facing public health in South Africa and globally. No such course or qualification is currently offered at undergraduate level by any other South African tertiary education institution.
The 2nd major may be in the field of biomedical science (such as cell biology, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology) or human science (such as ethics, economics, medical history, social sciences) depending on which track is being followed. The choice of major in the 3rd year has implications for the courses that may be chosen at 1st and 2nd year levels.
The programme has been designed to help fill certain human resource gaps in the South African health sector. The career opportunities available to graduates include:
- Medical Scientists in academic and commercial research laboratories
- Health policy and economics (policy analysts, public officials, academics)
- Health service and hospital administration
- Pharmaceutical industry research and development, marketing and management
- Insurance and Medical Aid Industry analysts and managers
- Forensic law and sciences
- Biotechnology industry
- Bio-ethics (academic, advising policy makers, advising clinical groups and clinical researchers)
- Occupational Health research practice
- Bio-engineering, Health related information technology
- Bio-informatics
All of these areas have a common need for an understanding of human biology, preferably to a second year level. They require knowledge of medical terminology and some insight into the philosophy of scientific research. They all need an understanding of the place of Medicine and the health professions in society and they each need their own specialised studies to a third year level.
It must however, be understood that although individuals who have completed the degree will be eligible to apply for the Wits Graduate Entry Medical Programme leading to the MB BCh degree, obtaining this degree does not provide automatic entry, nor should any expectations be raised that this may offer applicants any particular advantage when applying.
For information regarding the minimum requirements for admission and to apply please go to the Student Enrolment Centre
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