With rare exceptions, students in Health Science Scholars begin with a science-intensive courseload in their first semester. But the BSA-Honors degree allows students to venture well beyond the College of Natural Sciences, and students can take advantage of this latitude beginning in their second semester. The following is a typical course timeline, with Honors- and HSS-specific coursework included. Many HSS students elect to take courses during at least one summer, but completing the BSA-Honors degree by itself in four years does not require this. After the first semester, "BSA degree coursework" here refers to either or both major and non-major courses. 

Year 1

• BSA degree coursework (fall and spring)
• UGS 303 / Originality in the Arts and Sciences (fall)
• NSC 110H / HSS First-Year Seminar (fall and spring)

Year 2

• BSA degree coursework (fall and spring)
• Freshman Research Initiative lab hours
• NSC 110H Honors Seminar (fall)
• NSC 109 / Planning Your Capstone Project (spring)

Year 3

• BSA degree coursework (fall and spring)
• NSC 110H Honors Seminar (fall and spring)
• Thesis Planning Workshops (fall and spring)

Year 4

• BSA degree coursework (fall and spring)
• One of the following:
  • Option 1: Two-semester departmental honors research sequence; NSC 110H thesis seminar (spring)
  • Option 2: NSC 323 / Thesis Prep Seminar-HSS (fall); NSC 371 / Capstone Thesis Seminar-HSS (spring)

Course Descriptions

• UGS 303 / Originality in the Arts and Sciences
  Students in HSS, Dean's Scholars, and Polymathic Scholars are automatically admitted to the Freshmen Research Initiative, and this course, restricted to students in these programs, satisfies the research methods course requirement for the FRI. As its name implies, the course prepares students to undertake original research in both the hard sciences and the humanities. The final project is a competition that requires students, working in teams, to develop an idea for a grant, consult with relevant faculty on constraints, cost projections, and current research in the field, and deliver their proposal to the class. 

• NSC 110 / HSS First-Year Seminar
  Throughout their first year, HSS students participate in a seminar lead by the program's faculty director that acclimates them to the rigors of a demanding college curriculum, exposes them to guest speakers from the health care professions, and introduces them to some of the College's faculty in an informal setting.

• NSC 110H / CNS Honors Seminars
  One of the advantages of being a CNS honors student is having access to these unique small seminars, which connect students with the university’s best teachers and top researchers. The format of NSC 110H seminars is simple: Faculty select a topic they're passionate about, lead discussions organized around a few readings, and let each student lead part of a class on one of the readings. The seminars foster the honors community by bringing together students in each program and fomenting lively, productive exchanges. 

• NSC 109 / Planning Your Capstone Project
  The culmination of the HSS curriculum is a two-year research and writing project. Starting in their third year, students spend at least one year in either laboratory research or a practicum related to health, health care, or community service. Both experiences become the foundation of a senior-year Capstone Thesis that itself takes a year to develop and write. The preliminary planning begins in this second-year spring semester course, which is organized around two simple questions: What do you want to do for your Capstone experience, and what do you want your Capstone experience to do for you?  Students write reflective essays, interview faculty and community professionals, read and respond to great writers' thoughts on great writing, conduct independent research, and develop a plan for the work they'll undertake in their third year.

• HSS Thesis Planning Workshops: These workshops are required for all Health Science Scholars who plan to write their theses in the following academic year. Students take several one-hour workshops to support their progress toward successful completion of their theses.

• NSC 323 / HSS Thesis Preparation Seminar 
  Taken in the fall semester of the student's last year, this seminar walks students through a series of steps intended to guide them toward successful completion of a substantial honors thesis. Most of the planning and last-stage research occurs in the fall; most of the writing occurs in the spring. 

• NSC 371 / HSS Capstone Thesis Seminar
  While working individually with a faculty mentor with expertise in their area if study, students simultaneously enroll in this course in their final semester. Students complete a series of assignments designed to keep them on track. The goal is timely completion of a substantial honors-quality thesis. They also present their findings at one of several research events near the end of the semester.