Degree Requirements

This introductory course offers a broad overview of Diagnostic Medical Sonography and the vital role sonographers play in modern healthcare. Students will gain foundational knowledge in medical terminology, professional ethics, and legal responsibilities relevant to clinical practice. The course emphasizes effective communication skills-both written and verbal-essential for working within healthcare teams. Key topics include certification and accreditation processes, professional organizations, and the historical development of sonography as a diagnostic tool. Students will also be introduced to basic principles of sonographic physics, infection control practices, and equipment care. Serving as a foundational course, it prepares students for the technical, professional, and patient-centered aspects of a career in diagnostic medical sonography.

This course offers an in-depth study of ultrasound physics and its clinical applications in sonography. Students will learn key principles of image formation, transducer use, Doppler techniques, and equipment maintenance. Through combined lectures and labs, the course builds both technical proficiency and theoretical understanding. Emphasis is placed on clinical safety, quality assurance, and best practices for effective and safe imaging.

This introductory course offers foundational knowledge and hands-on training in vascular sonography. Students will learn to perform and interpret lower extremity venous exams, carotid studies, and abdominal vascular assessments. Emphasis is placed on Doppler techniques, image optimization, and waveform analysis. The course covers evaluation of key vascular structures, protocol adherence, and accurate documentation of findings.

This course builds advanced skills in peripheral vascular sonography, focusing on arterial and venous evaluation of the upper and lower extremities. Students will apply diagnostic criteria for vascular disease using duplex ultrasound, plethysmography, segmental pressures, and Doppler waveform analysis. Through lectures and labs, students gain hands-on experience with scanning protocols and explore therapeutic approaches to peripheral arterial disease.

This foundational course combines classroom instruction and lab practice to develop core skills in abdominal sonography. Students will study detailed abdominal anatomy, pathology, and scanning protocols, with hands-on training in evaluating normal variants, congenital anomalies, and disease processes. Emphasis is placed on image optimization, Doppler techniques, patient history, and correlating sonographic findings with other imaging modalities.

This advanced course focuses on sectional anatomy of the abdomen and pelvis in transverse, longitudinal, and coronal planes. Students will explore scanning techniques, pathology, normal variants, and congenital anomalies in both adult and pediatric patients. Emphasis is placed on sonographic correlation with physiology and relevant lab tests. Includes lecture and lab.

This course introduces sonographic evaluation of the female reproductive and urogenital systems, with emphasis on gynecological and first-trimester obstetric imaging. Students will learn anatomy, pathology, and scanning techniques through lecture and lab. Topics include patient prep, instrumentation, and recognition of normal and abnormal findings in early pregnancy and gynecologic exams.

This advanced course focuses on second and third trimester obstetrical sonography. Students will refine skills in fetal anatomy surveys, biometric measurements, and assessment of maternal and fetal complications. Emphasis is placed on interpreting sonographic findings, analyzing lab values, and understanding pregnancy-related pathologies through lecture and hands-on lab practice.

This foundational course introduces the principles of cardiac ultrasound, including 2D, M-mode, and Doppler echocardiography. Students will focus on assessing left ventricular function and identifying common cardiac pathologies. Through lecture and lab, students gain hands-on experience with scanning protocols, imaging planes, and proper patient positioning techniques.

This advanced course focuses on evaluating cardiac function and acquired heart diseases using M-mode, 2D, and Doppler echocardiography. Students will gain proficiency in identifying complex pathologies such as valvular disease, cardiomyopathies, and pericardial conditions. Through intensive lab work, students refine imaging skills and learn to correlate echocardiographic findings with clinical presentations for accurate diagnosis.

This intensive clinical practicum offers hands-on scanning in a simulated setting to prepare students for off-campus rotations. The course covers sonographer operations, professionalism, registry prep, and documentation skills. Students complete certifications (CPR, first aid, Trophon, ARDMS SPI) and must clear background checks, drug screenings, and medical requirements. Professional development includes resume and cover letter preparation. Performance is assessed through regular evaluations and a final pass/fail scanning exam.

This internship builds on skills from DS 200, placing students in approved clinical sites to apply sonography techniques with real patients under supervision. Students must complete clinical hours, coursework, and required competencies under credentialed sonographers.

This advanced internship continues from DS 201, allowing students to further develop their scanning and diagnostic skills under the supervision of credentialed sonographers. Students complete clinical hours, advanced coursework, including case logs and registry prep. All clinical requirements must be met for graduation.

This online course is intended to introduce the language and application of medical terminology to students interested in a career in health care.

Lecture on the investigation of the tissues, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. This section is for students interested in athletic training, exercise science, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or physician assistant programs. This course does not count as a Biology elective in the major or minor. Three hours of lecture per week. A prerequisite to BI 207.
Prerequisite: Pre: BI-111 BI 113

Lecture involves the investigation of endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems. This section is for students interested in athletic training, exercise science, physical therapy, occupational therapy, human movement, or physician assistant programs. This course can count as a Biology elective in the major or minor. Three hours of lecture per week.
Prerequisite: Pre: BI-206 and BI-208

Laboratory involves investigation of the tissues, skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems. Three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite: Pre: BI-111 BI-113

Laboratory involves the investigation of endocrine, cardiovascular, lymphatic, respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems. Three hours of laboratory.
Prerequisite: Pre: BI-206 and BI-208

These two seminars are Sacred Heart University's academic signature common core. They are a direct reflection of the University's Mission. These seminars provide students with an understanding of the roots and development of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition as an interdisciplinary, ongoing 2,000 year conversation between the great writers, thinkers, and artists of the Tradition and the cultures in which they lived, asking fundamental questions about God, humanity, nature, and society. Using seminar pedagogy, these seminars ask students to join in this conversation and relate the texts and ideas of the seminars to students own lives and to the world in which they live.
Prerequisite: Take FYS or FYWS 125

Introduction to media technology, examining the impact of radio, television, newspapers, still photography, film, and the computer on the human condition. Trains the student to be a perceptive consumer of contemporary mass media by exploring how each medium codifies reality. Readings, screenings, and written assignments required.

In this course, students learn about and use the writing process to reflect on and develop their communication skills, with particular attention to the academic and professional forms they will use in and outside of the university.

This one-semester course is designed to improve algebraic skills to prepare students for success in Precalculus. Topics include functions, equations, and inequalities in one variable; linear, quadratic, polynomial, and rational functions; systems of linear equations in two variables; and simplifying expressions. Algebraic techniques and foundational algebraic skills are stressed.

Introduction to psychology as the science of behavior, focusing on the physiological, cognitive, learning, sociocultural, and psychodynamic bases of behavior.

Covers the basic laws of mechanics, properties of matter, thermodynamics, waves, electricity, optics, and atomic/modern physics/radioactivity. Course is designed for some pre-health professional programs (physician assistant, etc.) and science majors (biology, exercise science, athletic training, etc.) for whom a one-semester algebra-based introductory physics course is adequate.
Prerequisite: Take MA-106 or Higher