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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
  • To be completed in its entirety in the first year of your university study
  • 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

Important:

What will you study during HSFY?

HSFY has seven compulsory papers, these are:

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
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