National University of Heath Sciences (NUHS) is now partnering with South Dakota State University (SDSU) for a new Advanced Scholars Program. The program will offer qualified students accelerated completion of both a bachelor of science and doctor of chiropractic degree in just seven academic years as opposed to eight.

SDSU currently offers a bachelor’s degree with a pre-professional emphasis in chiropractic medicine.  The new collaboration between SDSU and NUHS will create joint recruitment, dual admission, and a coordinated curriculum and support structure for exceptional students who have maintained a 3.5 GPA or higher in SDSU’s pre-chiropractic program.

Under the provisions of the program, students will spend their first three years of study at SDSU completing a minimum of 90 semester credits leading toward the bachelor of science in biology with a pre-professional specialization. Qualified students will then start their four-year DC program at NUHS. After successful completion of all course work in the first three trimesters at NUHS, they will be granted their B.S. degree from SDSU.

“We are combining the best of what each of us has to offer into one package,” said SDSU Provost Laurie Nichols. She estimated students will save about $14,000 with the accelerated programs, plus they’ll be earning money a year earlier when they would otherwise have still been in school.

Administrators from both universities hope that the program will help meet a growing need in South Dakota for more primary care physicians by graduating chiropractic physicians who will return to the state to practice.

While other chiropractic educational institutions also offer coordinated degree programs with undergraduate universities, the Advanced Scholars Program at NUHS and SDSU has considerably higher admissions standards than other programs. This helps to insure that NUHS can maintain its high admission standards and academic excellence.

SDSU Provost Nichols said, “We want students to come to SDSU and know there is a path to go on in the professional health-related fields, and we know we’re in the right place to do it.”

Students who wish to receive more information or who would like to apply to the Advanced Scholars Program at SDSU and NUHS can call 1-800-826-6285 for more information.