What is Health Sciences First Year (HSFY)?

Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) is the essential first step into five of Otago's health professional programmes: Dentistry, Medical Laboratory Science, Medicine, Pharmacy, and Physiotherapy. It is also an excellent way to begin any health professional programme or a degree in biological or biomedical sciences at Otago.

Please note: Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) is not the same as Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHealSc).

HSFY is:

• Great preparation for students seeking admission to the other three health professional programmes: Oral Health, Dental Technology, and Radiation Therapy
• Only available at the University of Otago
• Made up of seven compulsory papers plus an optional eighth paper in second semester
• A busy year, with a timetable that includes lectures, tutorials, laboratories, assignments, tests, and readings every week

What will you study during HSFY?

HSFY has seven compulsory papers, these are:

• BIOC 192 Foundations of Biochemistry
• CELS 191 Cell and Molecular Biology
• CHEM 191 The Chemical Basis of Biology and Human Health
• HUBS 191 Human Body Systems 1
• HUBS 192 Human Body Systems 2
• PHSI 191 Biological Physics
• POPH 192 Population Health

These HSFY compulsory papers:

• Cover a wide range of fields in science and biological science
• Are taught by staff from departments across the University of Otago
• Give a strong foundation in the biological sciences
• Teach you about how the normal healthy body functions at various levels: from the physical, chemical, biochemical, molecular, and cellular levels, through to functional organ systems, and factors affecting health and disease in human populations

Please note:

• All HSFY students will be required to pass a compulsory English diagnostic test in semester 1.
• Students who do not pass the test will be required to take ENGL 128 Essentials of Communication
• HSFY students can take an optional eighth paper in second semester