Bachelor of Health Science (Western Herbal Medicine) at Torrens University Australia

A second-year medical resident can treat 80 percent of people with a heart condition by giving simple guidance: eat better, get more exercise and sleep, and stop smoking. Easy, right? The problem is knowing what to do is much easier than knowing how to do it. Lifestyle habits are engrained from years of subtle abuse to our bodies. In that way, these aren’t issues for medicine; they’re issues for psychology.

As a student in the Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Health and Wellness program in the Lewis College of Human Sciences, you will develop your understanding of how lifestyle choices impact health over time, and how to design individualized programs to promote healthy living, most often related to nutrition, exercise, and tobacco and alcohol use. You’ll also become a patient advocate, educating patients on how to steer through the daunting bureaucracy of health care services.

The Department of Dermatology and Cutaneous Surgery offers a unique Master of Science in Skin Biology and Dermatological Sciences (MS-SBDS) program. The program prepares students for careers and leadership in skin science and industry. The curriculum covers basic science and laboratory techniques, as well as management skills, grant & regulatory issues, enterprise issues, and clinical problems.

The Master of Science in Skin Biology and Dermatological Sciences program (MS in SBDS) is unique in its depth and breadth because it covers basic science research and laboratory techniques. In addition, the degree considers a variety of additional skills to help you succeed in industry and academia, for it considers management skills, grant writing, regulatory issues, enterprise formation issues, and clinical problems.

Skin biology includes many biological processes: development, perpetual differentiation and barrier maintenance, stem cell biology, tissue repair and regeneration, neogenesis, native and adapted immunity, and genetic disorders just to name a few. The areas represented in our research base include aging, microbiology, inflammation, immunology, genomics, pharmacology, biochemistry, cell and stem cell biology as well as clinical research using areas of a variety of skin disorders, aging, aesthetics, cancer, and wounds as a clinical touchpoint.

Training in all these aspects is currently not provided by any single program in the United States. Thus, a Master’s degree in Skin Biology and Dermatological Sciences will impart a unique skill set and research background. There is a growing need for knowledgeable health care professionals. Health care providers, policy makers, research scientists, academic practices in the US and in the rest of the world, as well as makers of skin and skin care products from devices, drugs and cosmeceuticals and their workers need trained personnel. The coursework in this degree program will offer essential scientific knowledge, management, and administrative skills that will be helpful for individuals desiring a skin sciences oriented career.

The Master of Science degree program in Prevention Science and Community Health is a 33-credit hour program that is intended to train the next generation of researchers and practitioners who are committed to reducing the mortality and morbidity attributable to behaviorally-based, preventable causes of illness, disorder, and death; and promoting health and well-being, in the United States and internationally. Our focus is on the community as the primary domain for intervention development, implementation, and evaluation. Students are trained in the fundamentals of prevention science, including (a) the assessment of risk and protective factors that predict and modify health and behavior outcomes; (b) the development of preventive interventions that target these risk and protective factors; and (c) the implementation and evaluation of these interventions. Students in the program will develop skills in translating prevention research into demonstrable preventive action, and to successfully partner with communities and organizations for the implementation of evidence-based preventive interventions with fidelity and sensitivity to communities’ diversity and unique strengths.

The focus of this program is in line with the seven priority areas of the U.S. National Prevention Strategy (e.g., tobacco-free living, preventing drug abuse and excessive alcohol use, healthy eating, active living, injury and violence-free living, reproductive and sexual health, and mental/emotional well-being), as implemented through the Strategy’s strategic directions of creating healthy and safe communities, eliminating health disparities, providing clinical and community prevention services, and empowering people. The program is in intended to prepare students for research or technical positions in government, industry, academia, or private institutions, as well as to pursue future doctoral studies in medicine and public health.