Pre-Health for Biology Majors
SUNY Brockport does not offer bachelor’s degree programs such as “Pre-medicine” or “Pre-dentistry.” There is no specific academic major that must be completed by students preparing to apply for admission to study in one of the health professions (for example: medicine, dentistry, podiatric medicine, veterinary medicine, or pharmacy) although in the past most such students have majored in Biology, Biochemistry or Chemistry. In recent years, professional schools’ admission policies have broadened in such a way as to encourage students from all disciplines to consider one of the health professions as a career, so long as they have demonstrated strong performance in the required prerequisite courses. For example, there have been increasing numbers of Brockport students majoring in Psychology and Exercise Science pursuing the health professions.
Students who expect to enroll in a health professional school in the fall semester following graduation after eight semesters of undergraduate work must plan to take the relevant admission test in spring semester of their junior year or the following summer. Therefore, the imperative in advising such students is early enrollment in sequential science courses.
- Freshman year enrollment in chemistry, biology, and mathematics courses provides students the necessary background for professional school admission tests and permits enrollment in beneficial subsequent courses before the time admission tests would be taken.
- Physics can be taken in the sophomore or junior year. This may make it necessary to postpone completion of general education knowledge area courses until the sophomore or junior academic year.
Students planning to apply for admission to a post-bachelor’s Health Professions program can contact Dr. Logan during their first few weeks on campus so that they can receive timely information and notices of meetings and events for students whose ambition is one of these health professions. Alternatively, students in GEP100 sections that contain Biology, Chemistry, and Biochemistry freshman will receive information about the program there.
- Assumes health professional school admission test date and application process at end of 6th semester, but many other options are possible for the timing of application. Please contact Dr. Cook or Dr. Logan if taking both CHM 205 and BIO 201 the first semester of the freshman year could pose a challenge to any individual student, and an alternative schedule is needed.
Required Courses in the Freshman Year
| First Semester | Second Semester |
|---|---|
|
|
NOTE: BIO 201 and BIO 202 are now sequential and must be taken in order.
Required Courses in the Sophomore Year
| First Semester | Second Semester |
|---|---|
|
|
* Courses that also fulfill the requirements for a major in Biology.
Other Required Courses
Either the PHS 235/240 or the PHS 205/210 course sequence satisfies the admissions requirement for professional health programs and meets the requirements for a major in Biology.
Further Recommendations
For additional information on achieving your professional goals, consult with your biology major advisor and pre-health advisor.