Preprofessional Health Programs and Internships
See also the Liberal Arts Institute for Premedical and Health Care Studies.
Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine
Albion College maintains a strong program for the preparation of students for admission to professional schools in medicine and dentistry. Since 1995, 91.4 percent of medical, dental and veterinary school applicants with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 or better have been accepted to professional school. A Premedical, pre-veterinary or pre-dental student may major in any discipline in which he or she has interest and ability. Most of our students choose to major in biology or chemistry, but any major may be pursued, as long as the basic science and other requirements of the health professions schools are met. Regardless of the major chosen, the Premedical, pre-veterinary or pre-dental student should plan to take the following minimum required courses. All science courses require laboratory work.
Biology, one year (Biology 195, 210)
Many professional schools also require one or more upper-level biology courses. The University of Michigan Medical School requires biochemistry. As of 2007, the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine will require microbiology, genetics, cell biology and animal nutrition.
Inorganic Chemistry, one year (Chemistry 121, 123)
Organic Chemistry, one year (Chemistry 211, 212)
Physics, one year (Physics 115, 116)
Math, one semester (Math 125-functions or 141-calculus)
About half of the medical schools require some mathematics course work or demonstration of mathematical competence.
English, one year (English 101 or 203 and one English literature course)
Humanities and social science courses often required
Allied Health Professions
Albion College maintains courses appropriate for preparing students for admission to programs in physical therapy, physician assistant, genetic counseling, occupational therapy, nursing, public health, hospital administration and other fields. Unlike medical, dental and veterinary schools, these programs are quite varied in their requirements. Thus the student and a pre-health professions adviser (the staff of the Premedical and Health Care Studies Institute or a member of the Premedical-Pre-Dental Advisory Committee) will work together to design a curriculum tailored to specific career goals. Generally, the courses listed for medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine also apply for the allied health professions.
General Information
In the health/allied health areas, the minimum required courses (listed above) should be completed by the end of the junior year in preparation for taking the admissions test for professional schools. Preprofessional students often take additional courses in anthropology, biology, chemistry, philosophy, psychology and sociology. More and more, the professional schools are taking note of the extent to which their applicants have studied in the social sciences and humanities. Students may consult the catalogs on file in the Liberal Arts Institute for Premedical and Health Care Studies for the current admission requirements of specific professional schools in which they are interested. The programs for the health sciences are not rigid; they allow for a wide choice of courses, selected according to the student's interests. (See also the combined course options described in the next section.)
Experiential learning is also very important. In addition to their regular courses, a number of preprofessional students interested in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, physician assistant, and hospital administration take advantage of the undergraduate internship program offered by Albion College. In this program they gain firsthand experience in the hospital, clinic, or offices of a supervising physician, dentist, or other professional, and thus expand their understanding of the profession of their choice. Internships are normally undertaken during the summer following the junior year or during the senior year. Interested students should consult the staff of the Liberal Arts Institute for Premedical and Health Care Studies for more information.
Students who are interested in any of these fields should consult with a member of the Premedical-Pre-Dental Advisory Committee and/or the staff of the Premedical and Health Care Studies Institute during the first semester at Albion for assistance in long-range curriculum planning. These persons provide information and assistance to students throughout the process of preparation for and application to professional schools, and they continue to assist students whose career goals have changed.