Pre-Health Degrees

Michigan Tech Health Professions -

Other Health Professions
& Related Careers

There are currently more than 100 different health professions.

Some are associate's or bachelor's degree programs (e.g., respiratory therapy, dental hygiene, cytotechnology), while others require an advanced degree at either the master's or doctoral level.

Michigan Tech's biology program can provide the preparatory course work to enter such advanced degree programs as the following:

Other Health Professions

• Audiology and Speech Pathology
  
  Available as either a MS or a PhD degree. Audiologists assess and treat those with hearing related disorders while speech pathologists assess and treat persons with speech, language, voice and fluency disorders.
  
• Genetic Counseling
  
  Usually an MS degree program, though individuals may obtain a PhD in a related field such as human genetics. Genetic counselors are educated in both the technical aspects of human genetics and in sociology and family counseling. They provide counseling to individuals and families with a familial history of genetic disorders.

• Human Nutrition
  
  This is usually a four-year bachelor's program but some schools offer master's degrees for people seeking careers in such areas as public health nutrition. Careers may involve both education and research.
  
  
• Public Health
  
  Available as either an MS or PhD degree. Public health officers are responsible for leading the nation's public health system through both education and research.

Related Careers

• Biomedical Engineering
  
  A biomedical engineer is an individual educated as an engineer who used the tools of traditional engineering to define and solve problems related to human biology and medicine. Examples of biomedical engineering include design and manufacture of prosthetic devices, sports safety equipment, medical and surgical instruments, and the safety design of automobiles. Biomedical engineering education involves extensive coursework in engineering as well as coursework in human biology. Biomedial engineering can also be used as preparation to enter medical school.
  
  Michigan Tech recently established an undergraduate biomedical engineering program. For more information about this program contact the director of the Center for Biomedical Engineering at Michigan Tech.
  
  
• Genetic Engineering and Molecular Biology
  
  Genetic engineering is the science of isolating the genes coding for a particular substance and studying this isolated DNA. Genes and gene products have been isolated and brought into commercial production include human insulin and interferon. Molecular biology is the science of the molecular organization and regulation of living things. The regulation of gene expression is of major interest to molecular biologists.
  
  A wide variety of job opportunities exist for those with training in these areas. The pharmaceutical industry, university and government laboratories employ large numbers of genetic engineers and molecular biologists. The techniques of genetic engineering and molecular biology are finding more and more applications in human medicine and so job opportunities also exist in larger medical centers.
  
  Michigan Tech offers a biology degree option in molecular biology for students interested in pursuing this field.

For further information, contact the Director of Pre-Health Professions Studies, Ronald K. Gratz, PhD.