Bachelor of Science in Emergency Health Sciences

Paramedics who have earned a paramedic certificate may choose to continue their education to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Emergency Health Sciences (EHS) offered by the Department of Emergency Health Sciences. This degree is only offered as an online program.  The baccalaureate degree offers additional opportunities in the field of out-of-hospital emergency health care in administration, teaching or advanced level practice.

The objective of the baccalaureate program is to broaden the knowledge base and professional skills of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals who wish to pursue a degree that will help enable them to fulfill an advanced leadership role within the community. Additionally, it will help provide them with an enhanced capability to facilitate in the delivery of EMS and emergency/community health services. The EHS degree provides graduates an opportunity to gain the knowledge and skills necessary to assume positions of responsibility in the Emergency Medical Services profession to political entities, educational institutions, and private enterprises. Generally, the EHS degree program provides graduates with information on how to manage and direct EMS organizations deliver educational and regulatory information to varied communities of interest and students.  Additionally, it may satisfy disaster management/planning requirements for municipalities as emergency managers.

All of the Emergency Health Sciences degrees help the graduate assume broader positions of responsibility in a variety of health care, research, business, community/educational settings, and to adapt to new rules precipitated by a changing health care delivery environment.

Admissions Requirements

Interested applicants should consult the department website for the most current modifications to these requirements, deadlines, and upcoming programs.

All applicants must meet the basic requirements for admission to the Department of Emergency Health Sciences, including a criminal background check upon acceptance. Admission to any EHS program does not guarantee eligibility for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians or certification by Texas Department of State Health Services.  

All application materials must be received by the Office of the University Registrar by the application deadlines listed below. Applicants are encouraged to seek advisement from the School of Health Professions Office of Admissions and Special Programs. Application deadlines can be found on the program's admission webpage. Applications for certificate and degree programs are reviewed as they are received. 

The B.S. in EHS is a degree completion program and the health science center does not offer general education courses. Texas Core Curriculum courses must be obtained from other regionally accredited institutions.

Students are allowed to co-enroll in the program while working to complete Texas Core requirements but must have 70% of core complete including one English, Math and Science course for acceptance. Students must have all Texas Core courses completed no later than their enrollment for the final semester in the B.S. in EHS program.

• English Composition I & II, 6 semester credit hours
• U.S. History I and U.S. History II, 6 semester credit hours
• Texas State & Local Government & U.S Government, 6 semester credit hours
• Any Philosophy, Humanities, or Literature course, 3 semester credit hours
• Any Creative Arts course in Art, Music, or Drama, 3 semester credit hours
•  Any Social/Behavioral Science, 3 semester credit hours
• College Algebra or higher, 3 semester credit hours
•  Any 3 Science courses with Lab, 12 semester credit hours

​Additional Admission Requirements for the B.S. in EHS:

• Current EMT-Paramedic Certification
• Overall GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale)
• Completion of official program application
• Submission of official transcripts from each college and university currently or previously attended.  Applicants who are enrolled in college courses at the time of application should submit an official transcript showing courses in progress.  An updated transcript must be submitted upon completion of the courses.  Note: Transfer credits indicated on another school’s transcript are not accepted in lieu of submitting the original institution record for that coursework. Transcripts from institutions outside the United States must be submitted in the original language and must be accompanied by a NACES Members evaluation agency English translation.
• International Applicants only: Applicants from countries where English is not the official language are required to submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) or Duolingo English Test. The minimum required scores are: TOEFL 84, IELTS 7.0, or Duolingo 115. Scores on TOEFL, IELTS and Duolingo tests taken more than two years prior to the date of application are not acceptable. 
• Students applying to online programs who reside outside of Texas must live in a participating National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) state to be accepted into our program. To see if your state participates and get more information, visit the NC-SARA website.

Degree Requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Emergency Health Sciences curriculum consists of 124 semester credit hours, including the Texas Core Curriculum, an EMT-Paramedic certificate (minimum of 30 semester credit hours) and 52 semester credit hours of advanced courses completed online through the health science center (the bachelor’s degree program is designed to meet individual students’ educational and career goals). Therefore, in consultation with the program director, the student may create an individualized curriculum of at least 52 semester credit hours in order to graduate. There in no on-campus or in-person requirement for these 52 hours from the university.

The paramedic certificate may be completed at other approved EMS education and training programs/facilities. Texas Core Curriculum courses must be completed at another regionally accredited college or university (see Admission Requirements for specific pre-requisites).

The Bachelor of Science degree is awarded upon the satisfactory completion of prescribed academic programs, recommendation of the Emergency Health Sciences faculty and certification of the candidate by the Dean and President to the Board of Regents. A candidate for graduation must have completed all EMSP courses at a satisfactory level (minimum of a "C" grade) and earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 in the program.  Completion of the total unit requirement with passing grades does not necessarily assure candidates a recommendation for graduation.

Plan of Study (52 credit hours are needed):

EMSP 3100 must be taken the first semester in the program.

Objectives/Program Outcomes

Students graduating from the Department of Emergency Health Sciences program must meet the essential function requirements of the academic program and profession. The program consists of academic study and clinical experience. The student will possess the skills and attributes necessary to perform as a professional before graduation from the program.

Students who graduate from the Emergency Health Sciences programs will be able to:

• communicate effectively, think critically, and assimilate into their community successfully
• demonstrate personal behaviors and attitudes consistent with and appropriate to the delivery of out-of-hospital emergency medical care
• meet the community’s need for advanced life support personnel in a variety of settings
• work in various occupational settings relating to emergency health services
• understand theoretical foundations of the profession, and
• synthesize knowledge from the basic sciences, social sciences, humanities, and pre-hospital emergency science to conceptualize and resolve patient and health care delivery problems

Program Policies

Credit by Exam/Challenge Exam (BS-EHS)

A student may be eligible to earn credit for a course by passing the examination designated and administered by the department. 

The Department of Emergency Health Sciences offers two categories of students the opportunity to obtain academic credit by examination:

• certified/licensed EMS personnel who completed EMT-Basic and/or Paramedic coursework for non-credit through the Department of EHS (prior to UTHSA awarding credit hours);
• students admitted to the EHS Bachelor of Science degree program who are paramedic certified but do not have credit hours for their paramedic program.

Previous professional employment can potentially be accepted for EHS clinical courses within the EMT or paramedic certification curriculum. A student’s work experience will be reviewed on an individual basis by the course directors and the department’s academic team. If the student fails a challenge examination/evaluation, he/she may enroll in and attend the corresponding course only during regularly scheduled course offerings in order to receive credit.

Students who wish to obtain credit by examination should contact the Department of Emergency Health Sciences at (210) 567-8760 for further information.

Program Costs

In addition to required tuition and fees, there are costs for textbooks, scrubs and equipment. There are also costs for criminal background checks, immunization, and drug screens (if required by clinical facilities). The full-time clinical fieldwork experiences included in the curriculum may require that students relocate and/or travel outside of San Antonio for the duration of the rotations. Fieldwork expenses will vary according to individual arrangements depending on the cost of travel, temporary housing, maintenance of local accommodations etc. Students are encouraged to budget for major expenditures that could be associated with these assignments.  Detailed information about program costs can be found on the Department of Emergency Health Sciences website.

Courses