PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. —National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) has partnered with St. Petersburg College (SPC) to allow students to complete both a bachelor of science degree in biology and doctor of chiropractic (DC) degree in less time.

The Advanced Scholar Program is a joint recruitment and dual admission effort that creates a coordinated curriculum specifically for exceptional students who maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher at SPC.

“National University of Health Sciences and St. Petersburg College have enjoyed an exceptional relationship for many years,” said NUHS President Joseph Stiefel, MS, EdD, DC. “We have found yet another way to work together for the benefit of our students and our community. Collaboration is the cornerstone to our success and I look forward to much more with SPC.”

National University of Health Sciences is one of the 17 educational institutions that are part of the University Partnership Center (UPC).  The UPC provides students in the Pinellas County area with integrative educational opportunities with students from other schools and health care disciplines, and access to a wide variety of services and programs on multiple campuses. This innovative campus-sharing program allows NUHS to offer its Doctor of Chiropractic program on SPC’s campus.

“NUHS has been a UPC partner for over a decade now, and they continue to find ways to connect with​ and support the SPC family,” said Catherine Kennedy, Associate Vice President, Academic Affairs and Partnerships at SPC.  “Here is an example of us all coming together to ​benefit students, who can make their last year of their SPC biology bachelor degree also their first year of their NUHS doctor of chiropractic degree, all while studying here in Pinellas County.”

Qualified students will complete three years of undergraduate study or a minimum of 90 semester credits leading toward their bachelor of science in biology with a sub-plan in cellular and molecular biology at SPC. Before completing their undergraduate degree, students will then start the five-year DC program at NUHS. After successful completion of all coursework in the first four trimesters at NUHS, they can be granted their bachelor degree from SPC.

“Many limited entry programs have additional requirements needed to be admitted but this partnership will lessen a student’s time to completion for both their bachelor’s degree and their chiropractic degree,” said Dr. Natavia Middleton, Dean of Natural Science and Engineering at SPC. “We welcome any student who feels that they want to pursue their bachelor’s degree in biology as this partnership will fulfill our commitment of service to Floridians who may not otherwise have had this opportunity.”

NUHS has created similar Advanced Scholar Programs with Ball State University, Elmhurst College and South Dakota State University.

For more information or to apply to the Advanced Scholar Program at SPC and NUHS contact 1-800-826-6285 or visit nuhs.edu