Academic Programs
at a Glance…
Communication Sciences & Disorders
The Division of Communication Sciences and Disorders offers both
a pre-professional undergraduate degree in communication disorders
and a master’s degree program in speech-language pathology.
Speech-language pathologists are health care professionals who
evaluate and treat problems related to speech sound production,
comprehension and production of language, voice, stuttering,
swallowing, orofacial anomalies, and hearing for individuals across
the lifespan. The program provides a student-run outpatient clinic as
well as inpatient and outpatient speech-language pathology services
for UK Hospital and Kentucky Clinic. Students and faculty in this
program are involved in the Rehab Sciences Ph.D. program.
Physical Therapy
The Division of Physical Therapy is the only PT
program at a public institution in Kentucky. One fourth of physical
therapy students in the program are trained at the Center for Rural
Health in Hazard Kentucky in order to meet the need for PTs in
underserved areas of rural Kentucky. The PT program enrolled its
first cohort of students in the clinical doctorate program (DPT) in
2006. In addition, UKPT began its transitional DPT program in
2007, designed for practicing physical therapists to advance their
knowledge and practice to clinical doctorate levels. Physical therapy
is a dynamic profession with an established theoretical base and
widespread clinical applications in the preservation, development,
and restoration of optimal physical function. The physical therapist is
a health professional who performs physical therapy examination in
order to provide evaluation, appropriate diagnosis, and interventions
for individuals with pathologies, impairments, and functional
limitations that interfere with participation in activities relevant to
their lives. Students and faculty in this program are involved in the
Rehab Sciences PhD program.
Athletic Training
The division of Athletic Training provides the only
master’s program in the state. This program develops skills necessary
to conduct research and increase proficiency in injury prevention,
treatment, and rehabilitation. Students have been successful in
producing and studying new knowledge in the profession. Students
are fully funded via graduate and research assistantships. The
academic program has been approved at the University level to move
from the College of Education to the College of Health Sciences.
The master’s degree program in Athletic Training (AT) is designed
to accommodate both NATA certified athletic trainers and NATA
“certification eligible” athletic trainers. Students and faculty in this
program are involved in the Rehab Sciences Ph.D. program.
Rehabilitation Sciences Ph.D. Program
The College of Health Sciences
has the first and only rehabilitation sciences doctoral program in the
state. This doctoral program is attracting nationally respected faculty
as a result of the interdisciplinary and inter-institutional approach,
including collaboration with Murray State, Western Kentucky, and
Eastern Kentucky Universities. The mission of the Rehabilitation
Sciences Doctoral Program is to fulfill a leadership role in addressing
the rehabilitation needs of individuals in the Commonwealth of
Kentucky and beyond through research, education, and service. The
program is designed to produce research and academic leaders in
rehabilitation sciences for the professions of communication disorders,
physical therapy, occupational therapy, and athletic training.
Physician Assistant Studies
The College of Health Sciences
provides the only PA program in Kentucky. One fourth of physician
assistant students are trained in a satellite program at Morehead
State University, meeting a critical need in rural Kentucky. PAs are
mid-level practitioners who practice medicine under the supervision
of a licensed medical or osteopathic physician. PAs typically perform
history & physical exams, ordering & interpreting laboratory tests,
establishing tentative diagnoses & treatment plans, counseling
patients, and assisting in surgery. Working under the supervision
of a licensed physician, PAs meet the primary care service delivery
needs of Kentuckians and beyond.
Clinical & Reproductive Sciences
The Division of Clinical and Reproductive Sciences offers
undergraduate and graduate clinical and research programs. The
Bachelor of Health Sciences in Clinical Laboratory Sciences responds
to the critical shortage of laboratory professionals throughout the
Commonwealth of Kentucky and beyond by producing graduates with
knowledge and laboratory skills to aid in the prevention, diagnosis
and treatment of disease. The master’s level graduate programs
in Reproductive Laboratory Science (RLS) designed to prepare
entry level embryologists, were the first of their kind in the U.S. A
multidisciplinary Ph.D. in Reproductive Sciences with both research
and clinical components is being developed in the division and will be
the first in Kentucky. Graduates of the hematology/transplantation
track have a clear understanding of the immunological consequences
of transplantation and clinical competences for identifying blood
related disorders and post transplant complications.
Clinical Nutrition
The Clinical Nutrition (CN) program, developed
under the leadership of Dr. Paul Thornton, was one of the first
programs in our College. The Program educates masters and doctoral
students in human and medical nutrition in collaboration with the
Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences. CN Division faculty also
provide nutrition education to medical and other health professionals
throughout the Commonwealth and beyond. Current Program areas of
instructional emphasis include clinical and medical nutrition therapy,
obesity, wellness, complimentary/alternative medicine, and sports
nutrition.
Radiation Sciences
The division of Radiation Sciences is one of
only eleven accredited academic programs in medical physics in North
America, and the only program of its kind in Kentucky. Radiological
Medical Physics is a branch of applied physics concerned with the
application of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation to the diagnosis and
treatment of disease. There is a great demand for medical physicists
and relatively few academic training programs. The University of
Kentucky program has historically specialized in therapeutic medical
physics applications.
Health Sciences Education & Research
Graduates of the Clinical
Leadership and Management program earn a Bachelor of Health
Sciences (BHS) degree. The purpose of the program is to provide
health care professionals with formal academic education and skills
training needed to prepare them for leadership and management roles
and responsibilities in a clinical setting. The program is designed for
individuals with Associates Degrees in clinical areas and has satellite
programs at Elizabethtown and Hazard.
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Equal Opportunity University