Degree Requirements: In addition to providing students with the basic necessary training and set of skills needed to launch their careers in the healthcare industry, South University offers students an exceptional degree plan that will help lead students interested in patient care but unsure of what specific field to the right path. During the first part of the curriculum, students will be required to take general education course such as humanities, social sciences and college mathematics, totaling 52 credits. To earn an Associate in Allied Health Science specifically, students will be required to take a generous amount of courses heavily concentrated in life sciences during the second portion of the curriculum, such as anatomy, physiology, chemistry, nutrition and pathophysiology, totaling 38 credits. To obtain this degree, students must earn 90 credits. Cost is $361 per credit hour. Financial aid is available for those who qualify and may reduce costs. This degree should take full-time students about two years to earn.

Degree Benefits: Those who pursue this degree do so because they are interested in the medical field and patient healthcare. While a bachelor’s, sometimes even a master’s, degree is required to obtain most administration and top-level positions in the healthcare industry, most graduates with an associate degree typically move on to work as medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, radiology technicians, and ultrasound technicians. As the need to improve healthcare and patient care continues to take top priority in the nation, career opportunities in this field are expected to grow at substantial rates within the continuing years, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, job prospects for medical assistants alone are predicted to increase by 34 percent, growing at a much faster rate than most occupations, according to the Bureau. While medical assistants held 483,600 jobs in 2008 (the most recent statistics available) the Bureau projects an additional 163,900 new jobs will be created within the next decade. That’s not to mention the other jobs that will become available due those leaving the occupation. On average, medical assistants earned $28,300 in May 2008. The highest paying medical assistants worked in general medical and surgical hospitals.