Welcome to the
School of Health Professions and Sciences

POST-PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM DIRECTORS

Doctoral Internship in Health Service Psychology: Adam Blanchard, PhD
Neurologic PT Residency: Lauren Rachal, PT, DPT, NCS
Orthopaedic PT Residency: Daniel Flowers, PT, DPT
Wound Management PT Residency: Sarah Murnane, PT, DPT, CW

The School of Allied Health Professions was established by the Board of Supervisors on April 2, 1970, and became operational on July 1, 1970. From its inception through 1976, the School was located only on the New Orleans campus. In 1977, the School was expanded to include a second campus in Shreveport. Degree programs in Cardiopulmonary Science, Medical Laboratory Science, and Communication Disorders were offered. In the early 1980s, the Occupational and Physical Therapy departments initiated expansion programs in Shreveport and in 1994, a Physician Assistant program was established. On March 25, 2004, the Louisiana Board of Regents granted approval for the LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport to establish a School of Allied Health Professions separate and distinct from New Orleans. In 2006, the School began offering the Master of Public Health, a joint degree program offered by LSU Health Sciences Center at Shreveport and LSU Shreveport. In 2020, the PhD in Rehabilitation Science program was established. In 2025, the name of the school was changed to the School of Health Professions and Sciences.

The School comprises three departments: Clinical Sciences, Rehabilitation Sciences, and Clinical Services. The Department of Clinical Sciences offers the Bachelor of Science in Cardiopulmonary Science, Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science, and Master of Physician Assistant Studies degrees. The Department of Rehabilitation Sciences offers the Master of Communication Disorders, Master of Occupational Therapy, Doctor of Physical Therapy, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Rehabilitation Science. The Department of Clinical Services consists of three clinics in which faculty and staff at the School of Health Professions and Sciences provide outpatient care: the Children’s Center, the Faculty Rehabilitation Clinic, and Mollie E. Webb Speech & Hearing Center. In addition, the School offers a Master of Public Health, a joint degree with LSU Shreveport.

All educational programs of the School have been approved by the appropriate State agencies and are fully accredited by the appropriate nationally recognized credentialing bodies.

The School of Health Professions and Sciences subscribes to the philosophy of the LSU Administration which has a three-fold purpose:

• Developing to the highest level the intellectual and professional capacities of citizens through resident instruction;
• Enriching instruction and establishing new frontiers through research and scholarship; and
• Providing all Louisianans with information useful to advancing the State’s economy and culture.

The School of Health Professions and Sciences recognizes that total health care of the community, State and the Nation must increasingly draw upon personnel, talents and skills of a broad range of disciplines. Therefore, programs for the education of allied health professionals must not only incorporate an understanding of, and appreciation for their own field, but also the fields of medicine and nursing. A comprehensive acquaintance with the cultural and physical heritage and bodies of knowledge which will assist the student in living a productive, humanitarian, and successful life in society is deemed important. The School recognizes its obligation to develop educational programs in the allied health professions compatible with this philosophy and striving for the highest level recognized as being justifiable in terms of the roles and responsibilities its graduates will assume.

The primary objective of the School is to increase the supply, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, of a variety of patient-oriented health professionals in the State of Louisiana and to meet the need for health services and future teachers in health-educational programs.

The education for any health profession can best be accomplished in a health-oriented environment, such as the one provided at LSU Health Shreveport. This environment will permit the physician, nurse, allied health professional, and the student an opportunity to see the patient, as a team, thus developing sound working relationships requisite to educating the student for a role of leadership. Because of the close relationship developed with other undergraduate campuses of the LSU System, a strong core curriculum is available from which students can obtain a basic foundation and general understanding of various fields of allied health. This will permit students to sample a broad spectrum before final selection of a specific field and admission to the School of Health Professions and Sciences. The School provides vital public health and human services through direct patient/client care, and support for families. A further objective of the School is to develop and maintain programs of investigative studies and research within the allied health disciplines. The School will also assume a position of leadership in providing a mechanism to promote development of programs to meet the continuing educational needs of allied health professionals in Louisiana.