Quinnipiac University

School of Health Sciences Career Development

At the School of Health Sciences, career development begins the moment you are accepted into one of our programs. The advanced facilities, clinical experiences and internship opportunities accessed within the School of Health Sciences do more than prepare you for jobs—they develop the instincts, hard skills and leadership capability necessary to move forward in rewarding careers. Faculty and members of our Career Development Office will help you find your specialty and prepare you to launch a distinguished career as a clinician, imaging professional, rehabilitation specialist or scientist, to name just a few. You’ll gain the necessary skills, real-world experience and vital connections you’ll need to thrive in today’s quickly evolving healthcare marketplace.

By the Numbers

98% Success Rate

Percentage of our 2021 graduates who are either employed or enrolled in a graduate program six months after graduation.

96% Continuing Education

Percentage of students enrolled in Quinnipiac’s entry-level professional programs in OT, PT and PA who continued on to their graduate program in 2021.

15% Job Growth

Projected growth of health care occupations through 2029. (U.S. Department of Labor, 2019)

Career Building Resources

Our Holistic Approach to Career Development

iQ, Quinnipiac University’s holistic approach to career development and experiential learning, surrounds every individual with a personalized plan that maximizes their time at Quinnipiac — the top-ranked university for getting a job after graduation.

Our Career and Experiential Learning Lab empowers students to explore new career paths and discover amazing internships and job opportunities. With the help of our career advisers, students will leverage Handshake's comprehensive suite of features to navigate the job market and design a career path that aligns with their interests and aspirations.

With an abundance of career-focused information and resources, the career advisers within the School of Health Sciences support students as they expand their professional networks and attract the attention of prestigious employers.

Learn More About Career Development

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Career Development Office

School of Health Sciences students discuss career options in an advising session.

Transformative career resources

We take your professional development seriously. Our faculty members tailor their approach to your particular interests and career goals and work extensively to boost your confidence, help you gain new skills, and make the vital connections you need to thrive in today’s quickly evolving healthcare marketplace. Our career development office involves backing up real-world experience with an endless stream of resources from interview preparation and graduate school guidance to clinical placement assistance.

The Career Development Office offers the following resources:

  • Group and Individual Student Career Counseling
    • General career exploration
    • Resume & cover letter writing
    • Job search resources
    • Networking guidance
    • Interview preparation
    • Offer negotiation
    • Exploring graduate school
  • Handshake
    • 1,200+ jobs and internships
    • 8,500+ professional contacts
    • Online resource document library
    • Online mock interview preparation
    • Annual Health Professions Career Fair
  • Career Topics and Internship Courses
    • Pre-Health Professions Clinical Affiliation (HSC 397) internship – course offered every semester for 3 credits
    • Health Professions Career Practicum (HSC 398) – course
      offered in the summer for 1, 2 or 3 credits
    • Introduction to Healthcare (HSC 221) – offered to all undeclared students and health science studies majors
    • Major-specific courses and guest lectures from Career Development

Clinical Experiences and Internships

For many of our majors, clinical and internship placements represent the most crucial aspect of their career development.

Thanks to our deep network of partnerships, our students complete clinicals in some of the most reputable hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes and extended-care facilities in the country. Some of our clinical partners include:

  • Baylor University, Ben Taub Hospital, Houston, Texas

  • Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston

  • Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

  • Gaylord Hospital, Wallingford, Connecticut

  • Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut

  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York

  • Mount Sinai Beth Israel, New York

  • Reliant Medical Group, Worcester, Massachusetts

  • UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

Experiential Opportunities

School of Health Sciences students work with kids during Camp No Limits.

Whether you’re a future physician assistant, occupational therapist or biomedical scientist, we provide many opportunities for you to use your clinical skills for the health and healing of communities both at home and around the globe.

From volunteering and research opportunities to our on-campus clinics and global engagement programs, you’ll have the chance to practice what you learn — and make a positive impact while you do it.

Some of these opportunities include:

  • Two on-campus, student and faculty-led clinics that provide services to patients with low-vision and rehabilitation needs.
  • Global engagement programs that enable you to collaborate with community members, learn about other health care systems and gain hands-on experience in countries around the world.
  • Volunteering:
    • Providing oral health training at local health fairs
    • Providing medical care to Connecticut’s migrant farm workers
    • Camp No Limits, an annual event that provides education, mentorship opportunities and support for children with limb loss and limb difference
    • The Quinnipiac-Cheshire Transition Collaborative, a partnership between Quinnipiac and Cheshire Public Schools that helps high school students with autism spectrum disorder develop social, academic and professional skills
  • Center for Interprofessional Health Care Education (CIHE), which gives health science, nursing and medical students the opportunity to collaborate and develop skills in hands-on, team-based health care environments.

Career Paths

Health care is a thriving field that continues to offer some of the most rewarding and challenging career opportunities in the world. Some of the many career paths open to graduates of the School of Health Sciences include:

Avg. Salary: $124,000 / MHS – Cardiovascular Perfusion

Cardiovascular perfusionists operate extracorporeal circulation equipment, such as the heart-lung machine, during an open-heart surgery or any other medical procedure where it is necessary to artificially support or temporarily replace a patient’s circulatory or respiratory function.

Avg. Salary: $74,320 / BS – Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Clinical laboratory technologists and clinical laboratory technicians collect samples and perform tests to analyze body fluids, tissue, and other substances. Examples of career paths are immunology technologists, microbiology technologists or molecular biology technologists.

Avg. Salary: $84,950 / MOT (Occupational Therapy)

Occupational therapists help injured, ill and disabled patients develop, recover and improve, as well as maintain the skills needed for daily living and working.

Avg. Salary: $69,000 / MHS – Pathologists’ Assistant

Working under the supervision of a pathologist, a pathologists’ assistant examines, dissects and processes tissue samples. These highly trained health professionals may perform forensic and hospital autopsies, while others conduct surgery on specimens for diagnoses.

Avg. Salary: $112,260 / Dual-Degree BS/Master’s Physician Assistant

Physician assistants, also known as PAs, practice medicine on teams with physicians, surgeons and other health care workers. They examine, diagnose and treat patients.

Avg. Salary: $89,440 / Entry-Level DPT (Physical Therapy)

Physical therapists help injured or ill people improve movement and manage pain. They are an important part of preventive care, rehabilitation and treatment for patients with chronic conditions, illnesses or injuries.

Avg. Salary: $58,470 / MSW – Social Work

Social workers in this discipline provide families, individuals and groups with psychosocial support to help them cope with acute, chronic or terminal illnesses. These professionals provide patient education and counseling and refer clients to other services.

Avg. Salary: $74,320 / BS – Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Diagnostic medical sonographers operate special imaging equipment to create images or conduct tests that help physicians assess and diagnose medical conditions. Sonographers and technologists work alongside physicians and surgeons before, during and after procedures.

 Avg. Salary: $69,318 / BS – Athletic Training

Sports medicine directors oversee standards of care performed by medical staff at the sports medicine clinic. They also direct and oversee health center operations, strategic planning, policies and procedures. Other responsibilities include managing operating budgets and other administrative duties, and overseeing orthopedic supplies and medical equipment.

Alumni Network

Our alumni train elite athletes, engage in important health and environmental research and are vital members of caregiving teams and health care providers in hospitals, clinics, schools and other settings all over the country and the world.

Our alumni enjoy careers with a variety of employers or pursue advanced degrees at prestigious universities.

  • Amity Physical Therapy

  • Boston Children's Hospital

  • Brigham and Women's Hospital

  • Bristol Myers Squibb

  • Cedars Sinai

  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

  • Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

  • Labcorp

  • Massachusetts General Hospital

  • Moderna

  • New York Giants Football Team

  • Northwell Health

  • Precision Medical Products

  • St. Mary’s Hospital

  • St. Vincent’s Medical Center

  • The Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing

  • University of Maryland Medical Center

  • Walgreens Pharmacy

  • Yale New Haven Health

  • Binghamton University

  • Boston University

  • Columbia University

  • Drexel University

  • Duke University

  • Fordham University

  • New York University

  • Hofstra University

  • Northeastern University

  • Quinnipiac University

  • Rutgers University

  • Seton Hall University

  • Syracuse University

  • Tufts University

  • Yale University

In Their Words

Liz Pitroff wears goggles and gloves as she dissects a specimen

Liz Pitroff, MHS ’21

“Everything is a learning opportunity, whether you’re in class or in the field. It was incredible to do off-site work in the real world. You learn so much when you can actually get that hands-on experience.”

Headshot of Kristine McCluskey

Kristine McCluskey, MHS ’02

“I can’t say enough about Quinnipiac’s [Pathologists’ Assistant] program. Residency programs should learn from it how to condense the expanding knowledge in this field and teach students to apply it in clinical settings.”

Headshot of Shannon Murray in her scrubs and wearing a face mask

Shannon Murray, BS ’18, MHS ’19

“I was fortunate enough to have experienced both the research and clinical sides of the field [during her internship at University of Michigan’s Frenkel Cardiovascular Center]. The whole experience profoundly impacted my life. I am interested in pursuing a career in structural heart surgery because of it.”

Contact Career Development

Contact the School of Health Sciences

We’re always here to help provide additional information and answer any questions you may have.

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