It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. An undergraduate degree in human biology would be advantageous for someone planning a patient-first career in healthcare. You may wonder how a human biology degree differs from a general biology degree. Here are 4 significant differences that help explain it.
Prior to medical school, Dr. McKenna Abercrombie, senior Dermatology resident at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich., earned her B.S. in Human Biology from Cleveland University-Kansas City (CUKC) in Overland Park, Kansas. Her father is a Doctor of Chiropractic, which helps explain why she was familiar with the comprehensiveness of studying human biology, rather than a more general biology degree.
“I had a desire to focus on the human sciences, and I knew I wanted to be a medical physician,” McKenna says. “Through my father’s interdisciplinary 
approach to chiropractic care and medicine, I was able to shadow and spend a great deal of time with various medical doctors.”
“An accelerated undergraduate program for my B.S. in Human Biology made sense. The emphasis on how the biological sciences pertain to the human body is extremely helpful,” she says.
“It significantly shortened my time to be accepted into medical school. This focus in my undergraduate education greatly helped in my success on the MCAT and, ultimately, graduating in the top 10% of my medical school class.”
The U.S. Bureau of Labor projects healthcare and healthcare support occupations will grow 13% or more from 2021 to 2031. That’s more than twice as fast as the average for all occupations.
A human biology major can also be useful for people who plan to attend graduate school to study in professional fields, such as
In addition to studying various areas of human biological processes and systems, a comprehensive B.S. in Human Biology program allows students opportunities to refine information literacy skills, develop and implement a research project, and interpret findings within the discipline of human biology. The in-depth knowledge can be specifically helpful in helping prepare for the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), used by most medical schools to evaluate applicants.
That kind of preparation paid off for McKenna.
“The human biology option is great for the student who is focused and set on their medical professional goals,” she says. “The emphasis on how the biological sciences pertain to the human body is extremely helpful in preparing for future endeavors.”
Cleveland University-Kansas City is a nonprofit, private university and has been educating and developing leaders in health promotion since 1922.
CUKC offers a B.S. in Human Biology degree with a core curriculum and electives totaling 120 credit hours. Students are required to complete a minimum of 36 semester credit hours, including BIOL 495 Advanced Topics in Human Biology at CUKC. Go here for an overview of the CUKC curriculum.
In addition, the CUKC program has intentionally mapped the coursework to the MCAT.
Some CUKC students enter our B.S. in Human Biology/Doctor of Chiropractic program directly from high school. In this program, students earn their B.S. in Human Biology concurrently with the Doctor of Chiropractic degree. This option can reduce the time from high school to a professional degree by up to a year.
Special note: students with an undergraduate degree who need additional specific prerequisites (chemistry or physics, for example) can take these classes at CUKC through our College of Health Sciences or while in the D.C. program.
To learn more, connect with an admissions advisor. Learn more about the CUKC chiropractic/human biology connection with this free eBook: Your Complete Guide to the Chiropractic Profession.
