Pre-Health
The Pre-Professional Health Studies program prepares students for some of the most popular careers in health care. Advisers will guide students through course registration, internships and letters of recommendation.
Curriculum Overview
Students are encouraged to take a balanced combination of natural science, language, social science, humanities, and general liberal arts (15-18 credits per semester). The suggested selection of courses for the beginning student is made on the basis of high school aptitude and achievement and previous humanities and science courses.
Pre-health professions students are encouraged to acquire a strong background in the humanities and social sciences, selecting courses in which the development of communication skills and verbal reasoning are encouraged, as these skills are stressed in the admission selection process by professional schools. Students are also encouraged to complete an internship and/or shadow practitioners to gain firsthand experience in a health care setting.
Pre-Health students’ application to professional school is completed one year in advance of the expected date of matriculation. Within the first three years, the student must complete the following required courses in basic sciences that satisfy the majority of medical and other professional schools.
Students completing the minimum pre-health curriculum are better prepared to take the appropriate admission test as part of the application process for professional school.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 1240 | General Biology: Information Flow and Evolution | 3 |
| BIOL 1245 | Principles of Biology I Laboratory | 1 |
| BIOL 1260 | General Biology: Transformations of Energy and Matter | 3 |
| BIOL 1265 | Principles of Biology II Laboratory | 1 |
| Upper Division Biology course | 3-5 | |
| BIOL 3020 | Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | 3 |
| BIOL 3040 | Cell Structure & Function | 3 |
| CHEM 1110 | General Chemistry 1 | 3 |
| CHEM 1120 | General Chemistry 2 | 3 |
| CHEM 1115 | General Chemistry 1 Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 1125 | General Chemistry 2 Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 2410 | Organic Chemistry 1 | 3 |
| CHEM 2420 | Organic Chemistry 2 | 3 |
| CHEM 2415 | Organic Chemistry 1 Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 2425 | Organic Chemistry 2 Laboratory | 1 |
| MATH 1510 | Calculus I | 4 |
| PHYS 1310 | College Physics I | 3 |
| PHYS 1320 | College Physics I Laboratory | 1 |
| PHYS 1330 | College Physics II | 3 |
| PHYS 1340 | College Physics II Laboratory | 1 |
| Total Credits | 45-47 | |
Students are encouraged to take at least three upper division biology or chemistry courses.
Students should also be aware of the updated MCAT. New and expanded content includes biochemistry, psychology, sociology and research/research methodology.
Recommended Courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| BIOL 3420 | Comparative Anatomy of the Vertebrates | 5 |
| BIOL 3470 | General Physiology Laboratory | 1 |
| BIOL 4440 | Vertebrate Histology: Structure and Function of Tissues | 4 |
| BIOL 4540 | Human Systemic Physiology | 3 |
| CHEM 2200 | Analytical Chemistry 1 | 2 |
| CHEM 2205 | Analytical Chemistry 1 Laboratory | 2 |
| CHEM 3330 | Physical Chemistry 1 | 3 |
| CHEM 3340 | Physical Chemistry 2 | 3 |
| CHEM 3345 | Physical Chemistry Laboratory | 2 |