Driving Curriculum Development

December 2023

Nursing student Maryn Behling starts BYU Health Science courseNursing student Maryn Behling is so passionate about health education that she started BYU Health Science, a student-led club that lobbied for a general education health course for students of any major.

After months of preparation, the club presented to the BYU administration last fall and had their proposal accepted. Working with professor Robert Chaney, the club members developed a trial course and launched it less than a year later.

Behling says, “It’s been so incredible to work on. I now TA for the course and even get to teach some lectures.”

The course is Health 403R, and it counts as a microbiology or anatomy credit. Thirty students are enrolled in the section, learning about the interrelatedness of mind, body, and spirit and how understanding these connections strengthens our relationship with Jesus Christ.

The College of Life Sciences is working to make the course available to all students for the winter 2025 semester. When available, the course will be called Health 101 and will be a general education course that will fulfill the biological science requirement.

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