Pre-Health Professional Pre-requisites
How to select an academic major
In general, health professional schools have no preference for specific academic majors. Instead, they prefer that their applicants major in a defined academic area (zoology, chemistry, psychology, economics, for example) and concurrently satisfy the prerequisite courses for the specific health professional school. Students tend to earn better grades if they major in an area in which they are interested. In addition, an academic major provides an alternative career choice in the event that a student is not admitted to a health professional school. The Pre-health Advisor is available to discuss prerequisite courses for specific health professional programs and potential academic majors.
Common pre-requisite courses for health professional programs
Most health professional programs require the following courses:
1 year of Introductory Biology with labs
1 year of General Chemistry with labs
1 year of Organic Chemistry with labs
1 year of General Physics with labs
1 year of English Composition
Most health professional programs highly recommend the following courses:
1 semester of Biochemistry (required by some)
1 semester of Cell Biology with lab
1 semester of Developmental Biology with lab
Each health professional program has specific prerequisite courses in addition to those listed above. Students should visit the web pages of the schools to which they want to apply to learn which undergraduate courses are required by that school.
Specific Health Professional Schools
Dentistry
Prerequisites as outlined previously. Usually apply during the senior year or in the summer between the junior and senior years for admission after receiving the bachelor's degree. Strong applicants may wish to apply as juniors for admission at the end of the junior year. Degree is DDS or DMD.
Idaho residents are eligible for the Idaho Dental Education Program (IDEP), which is a joint dental education program between Idaho State University and Creighton University.
Medicine
Sometimes called "allopathic" medicine. Prerequisites for most schools as outlined on the previous page. Usually apply in the summer between the junior and senior year for admission following receipt of the bachelor's degree. Degree is MD. High grades and MCAT scores are necessary for admission.
Idaho residents are eligible for state contract programs with medical schools at the University of Washington (the WWAMI program) and the University of Utah. The University of Nevada gives preference to applicants from western states without medical schools (this includes Idaho residents) among nonresident applicants.
Osteopathic Medicine
Prerequisites as outlined previously. Usually apply during the summer between the junior and senior year for admission following receipt of the bachelor's degree; admission following the junior year is possible. Degree is D.O.
D.O.'s are fully licensed in all 50 states for all procedures for which M.D.'s are licensed. Osteopathic medicine tends to emphasize general practice, although many specialize. GPA and MCAT score requirements for admission are somewhat lower than for allopathic medical school, although they have recently increased.
Optometry
Prerequisites as outlined previously, although a number of additional prerequisites are required by individual optometry schools. Can apply for admission as early as the sophomore year if prerequisites are completed by that time. Many students wait until the senior year to apply for entry following receipt of the bachelor's degree. Degree is OD. Idaho residents may be accepted into western optometry schools (there are three) as WICHE students, and therefore at a lower cost. This health profession prepares the student to prescribe corrective lenses. The optometrist is also trained to recognize medical conditions, such as cancer or glaucoma, although actual treatment of such conditions will usually be performed by an ophthalmologist, depending on the practice laws for optometrists in individual states.
Podiatric Medicine
Prerequisites as outlined on the previous page. Can apply for admission as early as the junior year if prerequisites are completed. Degree is DPM. Practice is limited to medicine involving the foot (plus parts of the leg, depending on the state where the person is practicing).
Veterinary Medicine
Prerequisites are similar to those described on the previous page, although there are several significant additional requirements. Application during the junior year is recommended. Even if not admitted that year, you will have established a track record of interest in admission. Some veterinary and animal experience is necessary for a successful application. This profession prepares the person to treat animals medically. The degree earned is the DVM. Each year eleven Idaho residents are given preferential admission to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine (the WOI program).
Occupational Therapy
The length of the professional program is two years. Some are masters programs, requiring a bachelor's degree for admission; others are bachelors programs, requiring a minimum of two years of college work for admission. ISU began an entry-level masters program in the fall of 1998.
Physical Therapy
ISU has an entry-level DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) program. Nationwide, all programs are masters programs or higher. The current trend is to convert masters programs to DPT programs. There are numerous DPT programs available across the U.S. ISU's MPT program converted to a DPT program in the fall of 2002; ie, the first DPT class at ISU was admitted in the fall of 2002.
Physician's Assistant
A physician extender profession in high demand currently. ISU began a program in the fall of 1995. It became a masters program in the fall of 2002. Admission to PA programs is very competitive.