Pre-Health Degrees

Michigan Tech Health Professions -

Our pre-medical students may enroll in any of the biological sciences options (i.e., ecology, molecular biology, microbiology, pre-medicine, or general biology) or in our clinical laboratory science (medical technology) program. All students are encouraged to make frequent contact with the director of pre-health professions studies for information on admissions requirements, procedures, and application deadlines.

Minimum Course Requirements for Medical School

All medical schools require that applicants have completed a minimum set of courses before they enroll. Typical course requirements include on year of the following:

• Biology with laboratory
• Introductory chemistry with laboratory
• Organic chemistry with laboratory
• Physics with laboratory
• English composition

Schools may also have additional specific course requirements. For example -

• Michigan State University College of Human Medicine requires an additional eight semester hours of humanities and/or social science courses, math through college algebra, and one upper division biology course.
• Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine requires an additional six semester hours of humanities and/or social science courses.
• The University of Michigan Medical School requires an additional semester of biochemistry and eighteen semester hours of humanities and/or social science courses.
• Wayne State University Medical School has no additional requirements.

Medical School Selection Criteria

The mean grade point average of students entering medical schools in the U.S. is about 3.55 (on a 4.0 scale), with a realistic minimum being about 3.30 - 3.40. In addition to GPA, the medical schools also examine your performance on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), three letters of evaluation from persons who can address your personal qualities as they relate to medicine, and a personal interview. Extracurricular activities are important to show that you are well-rounded and are able to work with others.

While not yet a specific requirement for admission, many medical schools expect their applicants to have had significant exposure to clinical medicine through volunteer work at a hospital, nursing home, or other clinical facility. There are many opportunities for getting this exposure in the Houghton area.

Pre-med Curriculum at Michigan Tech

All students enrolled in the pre-health professions option in the Department of Biological Sciences must complete all of the minimum requirements, plus the biochemistry required by the University of Michigan Medical School. Humanities and social science courses are used to complete the University's requirement of twenty-eight credits of general education electives. Students enrolled in other options in the biological sciences program, the clinical laboratory sciences program, or other degree programs should consult with the pre-health professions advisor to determine which additional courses, if any, need to be taken to meet medical school entrance requirements. The pre-medical requirements also fulfill the entrance requirements for many other health profession programs (e.g. dental school, veterinary medical school) or for graduate programs in the biological sciences. Should your career plans change, you will find yourself well prepared to enter a wide variety of careers in biology.

Michigan Tech's biology core provides you with a strong, diversified curriculum in the biological sciences, and our other degree requirements provide a solid foundation in the physical sciences and mathematics. Also available are elective courses such as hematology, immunology, microbiology, medical bacteriology, virology, human nutrition, parasitology, medical care and women, exercise physiology, cardiopulmonary physiology, and aerospace physiology.

We encourage our pre-health professions students to take elective course work in the humanities, social sciences, and business administration. Popular choices for pre-medical students are courses in biomedical ethics, the economics of health care, entrepreneurship, sociology of the family, social problems, abnormal psychology, and cognitive psychology. With fourteen to eighteen semester credits available in free electives, you are able to explore many area of interest to you.

At Michigan Tech, you will be under the guidance of the director of pre-health professions studies who is here to assist you with:

• Choosing the professional career that is right for you
• Learning the requirements for the professional schools of your choice
• Obtaining application forms for admission tests (e.g., MCAT) and for professional schools
• Selecting courses and planning curriculum
• Forming proper study habits
• Writing letters of evaluation to the schools of your choice
• And answering any questions you may have.

For further information, contact the Director of Pre-Health Professions Studies, Ronald K. Gratz, PhD.