Pre-Health Professions
College of Science and Engineering
Dean: James C. Kelley
Chair, Health Professions Advising Committee and Director, Center for Preventive Medicine and Health Research: Robert M. Schmidt
Health Professions Advising Committee—Barnes, Krevor, Kuby, Piontkowski, Schmidt, Trapp, Williston
Program
Pre-Health Professions (listing of courses)
Program Scope
These programs of courses in science, mathematics, humanities, and social science are designed to satisfy the admission requirements for graduate schools in the health professions. The health professions for which these programs are designed include: human medicine (both allopathic and osteopathic), dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, optometry, podiatry, and related health professions. These programs are NOT academic majors leading to the baccalaureate degree. Although most applicants to health professional schools major in science, medical schools also encourage applications from students who have majored in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and behavioral sciences providing, of course, that they have also taken required premedical/prehealth professions science courses. The choice of an undergraduate major should reflect the overall academic interests of each student. Health professional schools prefer students to select courses which emphasize analytical thought or interdisciplinary approaches to societal problems and preparation for life-long education, rather than courses which are primarily based on memorization of facts. Information about the health professions and their professional schools can be obtained from the Health Professions Advising Committee Office or the Office of the Pre-Health Professions Student Alliance (PHPSA).
Admission to schools of pharmacy, optometry, podiatric medicine, and other health professions requires fewer courses than does the program described below. Students should consult a member of the Health Professions Advising Committee for the exact requirements for admission to the schools of these or other health professions.
Career Outlook
Continuing shortages of health professionals, especially those pursuing careers in primary health care (e.g., general internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, preventive medicine) in underserved rural and urban areas, guarantee numerous job opportunities and excellent remuneration. SFSU students are accepted at over 60 allopathic medical schools each year and are recruited by other health professional schools throughout the United States.
PRE-HEALTH PROFESSIONS PROGRAMS
The following is a list of courses recommended by the Health Professions Advising Committee (HPAC) for admission to most medical schools, osteopathic medical schools, and dental schools. Catalogs of individual schools should be referred to for specific requirements for admission.
Units
BIOL 230 Introductory Biology I 5
BIOL 240 Introductory Biology II 5
CHEM 111 General Chemistry I 5
CHEM 113 General Chemistry II 3
CHEM 114 General Chemistry II Laboratory 2
CHEM 333 Organic Chemistry I 3
CHEM 334 Organic Chemistry I Laboratory 2
CHEM 335 Organic Chemistry II 3
CHEM 336 Organic Chemistry II Laboratory 3
PHYS 111 General Physics I 3
PHYS 112 General Physics I Laboratory 1
PHYS 121 General Physics II 3
PHYS 122 General Physics II Laboratory 1
Total units 39
Beyond these requirements for admission, the following science courses are further recommended for a more thorough preparation for medical school. (Some schools require more extensive preparation in biological sciences and mathematics.)
Units
BIOL 350 Cell Biology 3
BIOL 355 Genetics 3
BIOL 380 Embryology 4
BIOL 492 Comparative Anatomy of
Vertebrates 4
BIOL 612 Human Physiology 3
CLSC 714 Aging: Health and Disease 3
CLSC 736 Clinical Laboratory Medicine:
AIDS 3
MATH 220 Calculus & Analytic Geometry I 3
MATH 221 Calculus & Analytic Geometry II 3
The following courses in humanities and behavioral and social sciences are cited as examples only. Other courses in these areas may also be appropriate.
Humanities Units
Any NEXA course 3
ENG 150 Study of Literature 3
ENG 154 Masterworks of Literature in
English 3
ENG 214 Second Year Written Composition or
HUM 214 Second Year Written Composition:
Humanities 3
ENG 420 Introduction to the Study of
Language 3
PHIL 350 Philosophy of Science 3
PHIL 383 Ethics in Medicine 3
HUM 300 Ideas and Traditions 3
Behavioral and Social Sciences
ANTH 630 Medical Anthropology 3
PSY 200 General Psychology 3
PSY 455 Cross-Cultural Perspectives in
Psychology 3
SOC 476 Medical Sociology 3