Undergraduate training in the Department of Physiology is primarily designed to prepare students for post graduate education of one kind or another. Although some enter the job market directly after graduation, most continue their education in graduate, medical, dental, paramedical and technical training programs. The undergraduate curriculum is structured to provide students with the basic concepts, nomenclature and problem solving skills in areas of mathematics, computer applications, organic and inorganic chemistry, biochemistry, physics, zoology, anatomy, as well as cellular, metabolic, animal and human physiology.
For employment directly after graduation, these skills are useful in a wide range of fields, including textbook marketing and publication, scientific writing, journalism, and related areas. They are also valuable if the graduate is looking for employment in the manufacturing or pharmaceutical industries, agencies in state or federal government, in small businesses associated with environmental control and protection, and in any number of other fields. Working with a departmental undergraduate advisor and staff in the Career Counseling Services on campus during the undergraduate years is the best way to find employment opportunities in view of personal preference, interests and background.
Those who continue their education in graduate, medical, dental schools, or other health-care areas are especially well-served by having majored in physiology. All medical training programs require courses in the physiology, biochemistry and other basic sciences. Some can be waived by examination based on having successfully completed undergraduate requirements in the Department of Physiology. Even if these requirements are not met, courses in the undergraduate program provide rich opportunities for students to prepare themselves for medical training programs. These advantages are often most welcomed in the hectic first couple of years in medical school.
The strength of the undergraduate program is that it provides entry level professional competency in a wide range of technical, academic and scientific areas. There are many ways for students to capitalize on the time, money and effort they have invested in receiving a BS degree through the Department of Physiology.