Degrees & Programs Pre-Health
Welcome to the Westmont College Pre-health Professions webpage!
Westmont is an excellent place for students to complete pre-professional requirements and to prepare for health professional school. There are many resources at Westmont to help students pursue careers in the health sciences including pre-health advising, pre-health information sessions and workshops, pre-health related books, and the pre-health club.
Pre-Medicine
The term “pre-medical” does not refer to a specific major at Westmont College. Rather, this designation indicates an intention to prepare for admission to a medical school in addition to completing a major. This track essentially entails completing the appropriate prerequisites, maintaining a high GPA, taking the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), participating in appropriate extracurricular activities, forming an evaluation committee, and completing applications to medical schools.
ABOUT OUR PROGRAM
Our students have been very successful in achieving their goal of being accepted to a medical school program. Over a three year period (2020 - 2023), 25 out of 28 applicants were accepted into at least one medical school program, corresponding to an 89% success rate.
You can look at some of the schools where our students have been accepted, showing that they are competitive throughout the country.
RESOURCES
An overview of the premedical program at Westmont College.
What a typical 4-year schedule would look like for a pre-med student majoring in biology, chemistry, or any other major.
Four Year Schedules for Current Students
We have also prepared four year schedules for current students to help you plan your own schedules and activities. Since, most pre-medical students major in Biology, Chemistry, or Kinesiology, these schedules are included. In addition, a fourth schedule without any major specific courses is also included.
Please understand that these schedules are based on what most medical schools require. Any specific medical school you are applying to may have additional or different requirements. You need to check with these schools and arrange your own schedule accordingly.
Prerequisites for California Medical Schools
A summary with links to what the medical schools located in California require for entrance.
The Application Process at Westmont
A summary of the timeline with actions of the application process for medical school.
Pre-Medical Studies at Westmont College
FORMS
Here are three forms that you will need when you decide to use Westmont's Medical School evaluation program. Please use these forms once you decide to apply to medical school.
- Declaration form
- Committee Form (Word Document)
- Faculty Evaluation Form
These forms are to be turned in before you leave Westmont in early May.
Please check with your committee members in late May to thank them, and also remind them that the letters are due by May 31.
ADDITIONAL LINKS:
Should you apply to allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) medical schools, or both?
Both teach the same basic science curricula necessary to becoming a fully qualified doctor but they have different approaches and different admissions statistics.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) website, “Osteopathic physicians bring the additional benefits of osteopathic manipulative techniques to diagnose and treat patients.”
For allopathic (MD) medical schools, refer to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) website.
For osteopathic (DO) medical schools, refer to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) website.
Postbaccalaureate programs begin after an undergraduate degree and are designed to support the transition to professional school.
Pre-Dentistry
The term “predental” does not refer to a specific major at Westmont. Rather, this designation indicates an intention to prepare for admission to a dental school in addition to completing a major. This track essentially entails completing the appropriate prerequisites, maintaining a high GPA, taking the Dental Admission Test (DAT), participating in appropriate extracurricular activities, forming a recommendation committee, and completing applications to dental schools.
RESOURCES
An overview of the predental program at Westmont College.
What dental schools require for admission and what classes Westmont offers.
Application Process
ADEA- American Dental Education Association
FORMS
Here are three forms that you will need when you decide to use Westmont's dental school evaluation program. Please use these forms once you decide to apply to dental school.
These forms are to be turned in before you leave Westmont in early May.
Please check with your committee members in late May to thank them, and also remind them that the letters are due by May 31.
NURSING
Westmont has an Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and an Undergraduate Fast Track in Nursing. The post-baccalaureate ABSN program requires prior completion of a B.A. or B.S.
RESOURCES
American Association of Colleges of Nursing, AACN, is a good source of information. They have a very informative website covering all aspects of nursing educations and current data.
This links to a report that describes the levels of education (BS, AAS, Diploma).
NURSE-MIDWIFE
American College of Nurse-Midwives
8403 Colesville Rd.,
Suite 1230
Silver Spring, MD 20910
240-485-1800
fax 240-485-1818
They have a brochure ("A career in Nurse-Midwife") and a directory ("Directory of Accredited Midwifery Education Programs") available.
The normal route is via a four year BSN or two year ADN program.
Pre-Optometry
The term “preoptometry” does not refer to a specific major at Westmont. Rather, this designation indicates an intention to prepare for admission to an optometry school in addition to completing a major. This track essentially entails completing the appropriate prerequisites, maintaining a high GPA, taking the Optometry Admission Test (OAT), participating in appropriate extracurricular activities, forming a recommendation committee, and completing applications to optometry schools.
Optometrists are not medical doctors and receive an "O.D" degree; they attend optometry school for four years and are not required to undertake postgraduate training.
RESOURCES
Pre-Optometry classes at Westmont
OptomCAS
includes the requirements for schools and colleges
The best source of information for pursuing education and a career in optometry is the ASCO web site.
Pre-Pharmacy
The Summary of Course Prerequisites is available in PDF format on the AACP web site (American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy). To view, download, and print click here. The Pharmacy School Locator is also an excellent resource. Click here.
RESOURCES
The PSAR contains informative narratives about U.S. pharmacy colleges and schools, outlining environmental factors, program descriptions, and selection factors. The guide also includes tables regarding application fees and deadlines, program costs, and admission requirements.Graduate schools in the field of Phramacy and Pharmacology usually require that the undergraduate maintain a 3.0 GPA during their college years. They also require the student scores for the GRE and the PCAT. It is suggested that students complete personal research to show their interest in the field.
General Requirements (see PSAR for specific information):
- 6 English Composition
- 8 General Chemistry (lab)
- 8 Organic Chemistry (lab)
- 8 Biology- Zoology
- 4-8 Physics (lab)
- 6-8 Math (Calculus and Statistics)
Most want to see these courses as well:
- Microbiology
- Anatomy
- Speech
- Economics
It is important to remember that each school has specific requirements and may include more than those listed here. Please go to the AACP page that lists the requirements for each Pharmacy school.
Pre-Physical Therapy
Graduate schools in the field of Physical Therapy require at least three, and preferably four years of undergraduate work. It is also recommended that the applicant work in a Physical Therapy clinic to familiarize themselves with the field prior to making application.
In general, PT programs require at least the following courses, though each school has variations on this, and may require additional courses.
Minimum Required Courses:
- General Biology (2)
- General Chemistry (2)
- Physics for Life Sciences (2)
- Statistics
- Human Anatomy
- Physiology
- General Psychology
- Abnormal Psychology
- English Composition
- Literature
Note that specific schools do require some other courses, but this list covers most of the general requirements.
Current list of pre-requisites
for all programs from PTCAS
Physical Therapist Education Information
Any questions can be addressed to :
The American Physical Therapy Association
3030 Potomac Ave, Suite 100
Alexandria, VA 22305-3085
Visit the APTA website for information to learn more about careers in Physical Therapy.
Physician Assistant
In general, PA programs require most of the following courses, though each school has variations on this, and may require additional courses. Refer to the Physician Assistant Program Directory for specific information or check with a specific PA program.
Possible Required Courses:
- General Biology - 1 year
- General Chemistry - 1 year
- Organic Chemistry - 1 year
- Statistics
- Human Anatomy
- Physiology
- Microbiology
- Genetics
- Biochemistry
- General Psychology
- Abnormal Psychology
- Sociology
- English Composition
- English Literature
- Cultural Anthropology
- Medical Terminology
Note that the GRE is required for all PA programs with Master's programs, and all of the programs require medical experience (often, 1000 hours of experience is required, 2000 is common, and some require more hours, although a few schools are now accepting students with fewer hours).
CASPA- Application Help Center Get started with an overviewof the process including important dates, fees, and contact ihnformation.
Physician Assistant Program Directory (about $35) lists all the PA programs and their requirements. This is critical to have for reference as you plan your PA preparation, budgets, and course work. It is available from the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) .
AAPA web site (American Academy of Physician Assistants)
Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) Students NEED to check with the individual school(s) they are applying to for additional information about supplemental applications or other application requirements.
PA Schools not using CASPA There are a few PA programs that do not use CASPA.
The requirements for veterinary school are similar to medical school. Biology and chemistry are majors that will meet the required course work for application to vet school. As long as the required courses are included any major is allowed. The following links have a complete overview of applying to veterinary school. It is important for the pre-vet student to be familiar with their top 10 school admission requirements.
RESOURCES
- Pre-Veterinary Program Flyer
- AAVMC
- Pre-Vet Student Resources
- VMCAS Veterinary Medical College Application Service
Allied Health Professions
The Biology, Chemistry, and Kinesiology Departments of Westmont College provide training appropriate for pursuing careers in many of the allied health fields. There is a large amount of variety in requirements for each graduate program, so it is also important for students to look at a number of different schools of interest to gain a sense of what you will need to have taken before making applications to specific schools. This page is intended to provide some general information and recommended courses which will provide the best preparation for most of the non-doctoral level allied health programs.
For most of the allied health fields, several courses in biology, chemistry and psychology are required. Thus, choice of a Chemistry or Biology BA track are well suited as a major, as they allow flexibility in choosing the additional courses necessary (whether psychology, mathematics, etc). A Kinesiolgy major can also work with additional care with scheduling of pre-requisite and major classes. A choice of a double major in Chemistry/Biology is sometimes a matter of one or two additional courses.
The Office of Career Development & Calling has a large amount of information available to review about the variety of health related careers, along with information about many of the programs and what to expect.
There is excellent information on Allied Health careers at Exploring Health Careers.org including history of the profession, occupational description, employment characteristics, educational programs, and where to address inquiries. This is also a good resource for preparing during undergraduate school. .
Here is a convenient quick-look table that lists many of the Health professions and the typical pre-requisites needed for each one.
Through Westmont's Biology, Chemistry, and Kinesiology Departments, required courses are offered for the following fields:
Chiropractic
The web address for the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) is www.chirocolleges.org.
The pre-requisite courses can also be found on that ACC webpage: Prospective Students
Nursing
AACN, American Association of Colleges of Nursing is a good source of information. They have a very informative website covering all aspects of nursing education and current data.
Additionally, this links to a report that describes the levels of education (BS, AAS, Diploma).
Nurse-Midwife
American College of Nurse-Midwives
8403 Colesville Rd.,
Suite 1230
Silver Spring, MD 20910
240-485-1800
fax 240-485-1818
They have a brochure ("A career in Nurse-Midwife") and a directory ("Directory of Accredited Midwifery Education Programs") available.
The normal route is via a four year BSN or two year ADN program.
Occupational Therapy
Graduate studies include a masters or a doctorate in OT.
AOTA lists accredited schools for masters programs in occupational therapy. For those interested in this field of health, this is a good site to explore.
Optometry
The best source of information for pursuing education and a career in optometry is the ASCO web site.
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry
Public Health
Two good resources for exploring the field of Public Health as a career:
ASPPA is the site for education information. Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
When you are ready to apply you will use the online application service called SOPHAS.