Pre-Professional Programs

Pre-Professional Programs offers one-on-one advising and curricular programming for all students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in legal education or a career in the health field. Advisors are available by appointment or during drop-in hours and can assist students with navigating application timelines, requirements, and program prerequisites. Students are encouraged to get involved with volunteer opportunities, leadership roles in campus clubs and organizations, and take advantage of the Pre-Professional Programs’ curricular programs and workshops that are offered to enhance their candidacy for graduate programs. Students interested in pre-professional tracks can enroll with Pre-Professional Programs electronically on our website. For more information regarding pre-professional advising at UNCW, visit the Pre-Professional Programs website at www.uncw.edu/preprofessional or call (910) 962-3245.

Pre-Health

Students who are considering pursuing graduate programs for Chiropractic, Dentistry, Medicine, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Physician Assistant, Podiatry, Speech Therapy and Veterinary Medicine are considered pre-health students at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Pre-Health is not a major and students are not required to major in science. While many students pursue majors in the natural sciences, they do so because of their interest in those fields rather than strictly to prepare for medical or graduate school. Students can choose to declare any major and remain eligible for graduate school as long as the student satisfies the prerequisite courses necessary for admission. Course recommendations are available on the Pre-Professional Programs website at www.uncw.edu/preprofessional.

Pre-Law

Students who plan to prepare for law school may select a major in any discipline that fulfills the requirements for a baccalaureate degree at UNCW. The College of Arts and Sciences offers a pre-law minor designed to prepare students with the foundational knowledge, critical thinking abilities, and other essential skills to success in the field of law.

Students should be aware of the Association of American Law Schools’ recommendation to identify basic skills and insights it believes fundamental to the latter attainment of legal competence. These are (a) comprehension and expression in words; (b) critical understanding of human institutions and values with which the law deals; and (c) creative power in thinking. In order to develop these capacities, the association recommends a pre-legal education of the “broadest scope.” To accomplish these goals, UNCW offers a wide range of pre-law courses. Regardless of the major, the pre-law student should be zealous in the selection of electives that will facilitate critical understanding of economic, political, and social institutions. Additional recommendations are available on the Pre-Professional Programs website at www.uncw.edu/preprofessional.