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