Major in Allied Health
The Allied Health program is designed to give practicing health care professionals the opportunity to advance their careers by expanding their skills in the health care marketplace. Students enter the program with a completed associate degree in a health care field from a regionally accredited institution. Eligible disciplines include clinical and health-related fields such as nursing, respiratory therapy, radiography, and others listed below. The program builds on students' existing associate degrees and clinical backgrounds and prepares them to assume additional responsibilities through advanced learning in health care administration and management, organization and funding, ethical and professional issues, and research findings that affect best practice. Graduates are better positioned for promotions, movement into related positions, or job expansion.
Students can choose from one of two tracks: Administration/Management and Science and Professional Preparation.
Each student's program of study and the courses they choose must be approved by an Allied Health adviser. Students are required to take a capstone course (AHLT 450) at or near the end of their studies at Towson University. This course is required among the 18 units of the track. Students are also required to take an ethics class in their track.
Students pursuing the Administration/Management track may be eligible to earn a minor in Health Care Management or Public Health by selecting specific courses. The Administration/Management track is offered online, with select Allied Health courses available in a face-to-face format. Students in the Science and Professional Preparation track who plan to attend graduate school should choose courses within the track that satisfy the requirements of their intended graduate program.
Note: Students may have additional units to complete beyond the 18 required to earn the minor.
The Bachelor of Technical or Professional Studies (B.T.P.S.) in Allied Health is a recognized bachelor's degree program designed to facilitate maximum transfer of academic credit for associate degree graduates from a variety of clinical and health-related programs. Frequently, graduates of associate degree allied health programs who enter baccalaureate programs are unable to transfer health discipline-specific courses to the baccalaureate program. This is not the case with the Allied Health program, since most or all of the health discipline-specific courses, up to 64 transfer units, transfer to the bachelor's degree program. Students may also be able to transfer in other applicable coursework completed at other four-year institutions, for a combined total of 90 transfer units.
Associate degree graduates of the disciplines listed below are eligible for enrollment in the Allied Health program. Graduates of associate degree health programs receive a number of different degrees, A.A.S., A.S., A.A., etc., all of which are eligible for participation in the program.
- Cardiovascular technologist
- Clinical laboratory technician
- Dental hygienist
- Diagnostic medical technologist
- Dietetic technician
- Emergency medical technician – paramedic
- Health information technician
- Massage therapist
- Medical assistant
- Nuclear medicine technologist
- Nurse
- Occupational therapy assistant
- Physical therapist assistant
- Physician assistant
- Radiation therapy technologist
- Radiographer
- Respiratory therapist
- Surgical technologist
- Veterinary technologist
Other Associate of Arts degrees may be eligible; contact the program director.
Financial Aid
While the Allied Health Program has no scholarships specifically designated for it, students in the program are eligible for a number of merit- and need-based financial aid awards through Towson University. For information on available aid, please contact the Towson University Financial Aid Office at (410) 704-4236 or visit the office's website.
For More Information
For further information concerning the Allied Health Program, including specifics on how coursework completed at community colleges will apply toward the program, contact Dr. Wendy Whitner in the Department of Health Sciences at Towson University by email or phone, 410-704-4223.
Admission Requirements
Program applicants must have earned an associate degree in a health care field and a minimum 2.00 GPA upon transfer. If you hold an associate degree in a health discipline that is not listed, please contact the Allied Health program coordinator for further information. You may be eligible for admission.
Learning Objectives for Required Courses
- Students will effectively use scientific inquiry and evidence-based practice, supported by current technology, to guide health care delivery.
- Students will develop leadership skills through advanced reasoning and communication that promotes the expansion of their professional roles in health care.
- Students will identify, interpret, evaluate, and integrate human values by demonstrating an understanding of competing human values as evidenced by cultural, socio-economic, or other differences.
Overall Program Objectives
The Allied Health degree program is designed to prepare students to:
- assume managerial, supervisory, and advanced professional roles within their respective areas of health practice.
- enhance their use of ethically grounded, culturally sensitive practices in the administration and delivery of health services.
- effectively use technology and scientific inquiry to support and guide their roles as health practitioners and administrators.
- understand, evaluate, and influence societal, economic, and political forces that impact health practices at the individual, regional, and national levels.
- communicate effectively with clients, colleagues, agencies, and the community in their roles as health practitioners and administrators.