» Recommended Classes for First-Year Health Science Majors

Here are the classes that we recommend you take during your first year as a Health Science major at Chapman.

For your first semester, we recommend taking 12-15 credits (most classes are 3 credits; those with labs are 4). You must be enrolled in 12 credits to be considered a full-time status student. The recommended courses below will put you at 14 credits per semester (fall and spring).

Introductory Math Requirement

First year students must either waive or complete Math 101/L (Calculus Readiness) in their first semester. For more information, visit our Math Placement webpage.

General Education Classes

You can choose a General Education (GE) class from any GE category – it’s your choice. In general, the following GE areas are recommended to begin/complete during your first year:

GE Language Study (strongly recommended)
GE Written Inquiry
GE Quantitative Inquiry

You may be able to fulfill some of your GE requirements with classes from your major and/or minor.

You can learn more about general education on our General Education: How it Works page.

Note: When taking the GE WI Written Inquiry requirement, it is recommended to take ENG 205: Research - Based Writing.

Graduate Bound Students

The department recommends taking BIOL 204/204L and CHEM 140/140L even if receiving AP credit. Some graduate healthcare programs require college level courses with a letter grade and will not accept AP credit. It is the student's responsibility to check the requirements for the medical schools they are interested in.

AP Scores

If you have AP credit for the following areas, make the appropriate substitutions this fall:

4 or higher AP Biology	Take BIOL 208/208L in the fall instead of BIOL 204/204L
4 or higher AP Chemistry	Take PSY 101 or GE course in the fall instead of CHEM 140/140L
4 or higher AP Calculus AB	Take Math 111 in the fall instead of Math 110
4 or higher AP Calculus BC	Take PSY 203 Statistics in the fall instead of Math 111

Fall Semester

Health Sciences offers Block Scheduling for Fall 2022. You should have selected your block via the Block Scheduling survey (open June 6 - June 10) and will be pre-registered in your selected block of BIOL 204/204L, CHEM 140/140L and Math 110 or BIOL 204/204L and CHEM 140/140L in late June. Remember your selected block, and plan your other courses around these course times.

BIOL 204/204L - From Molecules to Cells (Block Scheduled- If you completed the survey)
Credits: 4

CHEM 140/140L - General Chemistry (Block Scheduled- If you completed the survey)
Credits: 4

Math 110 - Single Variable Calculus
Credits: 3

FFC 100 - You Choose!
Credits: 3

Note: All new first years are required to complete a First-year Foundations Course (FFC 100) in their first year of enrollment. It is recommended you enroll in this class in your first semester as a larger number of course sections and topics are available in the fall semester.

Certain major programs require that their students take a specific FFC course, or give you a choice from a list of FFC courses specific to the major. If you are in a major that doesn't require you to take a specific FFC course, then you will be directed to choose from a listing of all FFC course options for Fall 2021. See the First-Year Focus GE page for your major’s list of FFC options.

Interterm Semester

HSCI 101 - Introduction to Healthcare Professions
Credits: 1

Note: Incoming students should remember that HSCI 101 (1 credit, P/NP) is required for all HSCI majors and is only offered during the Interterm sessions. You will work on your individualized four-year template as part of a class assignment in this course.

Spring Semester

BIOL 205/205L Evolution and Diversity of Multicellular Organisms or BIOL 208/208L - Introduction to Molecular Genetics
Credits: 4

CHEM 150/150L - General Chemistry II
Credits: 4

Any GE class
Credits: 3