Pre-Health: Medicine, Dentistry, Chiropractic, Veterinary Medicine, Pharmacy, Physical/Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, Optometry and Podiatry
Dr. Timothy A. Ballard, UNCW pre-health advisor, works primarily with upper-level students
Ms. Jemilia Davis, University College, Pre-Professional Advisor
Mr. Geoff Zuckerman, University College, Pre-Professional Advisor
For general information regarding pre-health advising at UNCW, visit the Pre-Health website at http://www.uncw.edu/prehealth or call (910) 962-3245.
University College advisors assist students in planning the required courses during their first year for health-related careers. (Note: Students interested in nursing should refer to UNCW’s School of Nursing.)
Students wishing to pursue a career in the health professions may elect to major in any discipline, as long as they incorporate the courses required for admission to their desired professional school. During their first year, pre-health students can anticipate taking multiple natural science courses, including BIO 201 - Principles of Biology: Cells and CHM 101 - General Chemistry I .
At a minimum, pre-professional health science preparation usually includes courses in chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. General lists of recommended courses are available in the Courses of Study section of the Pre-Health website, but students are ultimately responsible for checking the prerequisites of the individual schools to which they wish to apply.
Prerequisites for admission into health professions schools should usually be taken in the first three years at UNCW, as most of the professional schools have specific entrance exams that are designed to be taken after the third year. In addition to excellent grades and entrance exam scores, there are a number of factors that affect admission to a school in the health professions. They include, but are not limited to: involvement in extracurricular activities, volunteer work in one’s field of interest, and dedication and suitability to the career.
Students are encouraged to participate in pertinent health professions clubs on campus.
First-year students who wish to pursue entrance into a health profession should contact one of the University College pre-professional academic advisors. Beyond the first year, all students (regardless of major) who are actively pursuing pre-health should contact Dr. Ballard in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology.
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