Pre-Medical and Other Pre-Health Science Advising Program

Administrative Office

Cowell Hall, Room 227

Phone: (415) 422-6841

Website: http://www.usfca.edu/Learning_Center/learning_center/pre_prof.htm

Charlene Lobo Soriano, Administrative Coordinator

Mary Jane Niles, Chair, Pre-Professional Health Committee

The Pre-Professional Health Committee (PPHC) serves to guide and recommend students to professional health schools, primarily medical and dental schools, but including pharmacy, optometry, veterinary medicine and podiatry. Most professional schools either prefer or require a committee recommendation. While the PPHC is optional, it is in the student's best interest to use the PPHC. A student may complete the pre-medical or other pre-health science requirements as a part of, or in addition to, the requirements of the academic major. Thus, a "pre-med" is fulfilling specific course work required or recommended by professional health schools while completing an academic major. It is important that the academic major first reflect a student's general interest and curiosity, since a student may decide not to pursue a health career. All majors in the College of Arts and Sciences have sufficient program flexibility for students to fulfill course requirements for pre-professional health programs. The following courses are normally the minimal program requirements. However, it is important that each student study the catalogs of professional health science schools for any variance in requirements.

The science course requirements for medical (including podiatry), dental, pharmacy, and veterinary schools, and almost all allied health programs vary little for the lower division courses:

• General Biology, two semesters, lecture/lab
• General Chemistry, two semesters, lecture/lab
• General Physics, two semesters, lecture/lab (may be non-Calculus based courses)
• Organic Chemistry, two semesters, lecture/lab
• Biochemistry, 3 units, lecture

Other highly recommended courses include: Analytical Chemistry (required for pharmacy schools), Calculus (at least one semester strongly recommended by most schools), Genetics, Cell Physiology, Human Anatomy and Physiology.