Health-science graduate programs such as medical, dental, and physical therapy schools select students after considering evidence of intellectual ability, motivation, an understanding of the nature of health professions, and past academic and personal achievement. Students should be prepared to answer the question “Why do you want to become a health care professional?” Toward that end, students are encouraged to gain experience in health-related service areas, including volunteer or internship opportunities.

One aspect of achievement is the success of a student’s curriculum, which should include a substantial amount of modern science. There are no official pre-health majors such as pre-medical, pre-dental, or pre-physical therapy majors; rather any major can be suitable, provided students satisfy the minimum course requirements for post-graduate work. Many applicants major in Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Health and Exercise Science, or Neuroscience.

Standardized aptitude/achievement tests (MCAT, DAT, GRE) are given substantial weight by health-science graduate programs in the admissions process. A general background in the fundamentals of modern science is required for good performance on most of these tests. Therefore, any curriculum undertaken by a pre-health science student should include appropriate science courses. Because health science professions involve far more than basic science, students should demonstrate evidence of personal development, maturity, and experience. For further information and suggestions students should consult the pre-health sciences advisor and the pre-medical/health web page on the Regis University website. Students may wish to participate in activities of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the National Health Pre-professional Honor Society.

Pre-health science students typically take Biology (BL 258 General Biology I: Organismic/BL 259 Organismic Biology Lab; BL 260 General Biology II: Mlclr & Cellular/BL 261 Molecular & Cellular Biology Laboratory) and Chemistry courses (CH 210 General Chemistry I/CH 211 General Chemistry I Laboratory; CH 230 General Chemistry II/CH 231 General Chemistry II Laboratory) during their first year, often with mathematics such as Statistics for the Life Sciences (MT 272). The prerequisite requirements for programs vary both among disciplines and among schools within disciplines. The course prerequisites listed below are approximate and designed for students planning to apply to multiple schools. Many health science professions exist in addition to those listed. Students should consult individual graduate programs for specific prerequisite requirements and additional recommended courses, and meet with their academic advisor and with the pre-health advisor.