Guide for New Students

This is a guide for all first-year UMW students who identify themselves as pre-health. 

The UMW Pre-health Program encompasses both clinical and non-clinical career paths. UMW students interested in health careers not represented are welcome to discuss those careers with the UMW Pre-Health Advisor.

Quick Facts . . .

Getting into the UMW Pre-Health Program:  

  • There is no special additional application to become part of the UMW Pre-Health Program.
  • Any student enrolled at UMW can enter the Pre-Health Program.  Follow these 3 simple steps:
    • Self-enroll in the UMW Pre-Health Program Portal going to this URL: https://canvas.umw.edu/enroll/XGDA4J.
    • Once registered, sign-in with the Pre-Health Program Census, a link for which appears on the landing page of the program’s portal.
    • Join the UMW Pre-Health Society, a link for which appears on the landing page of the program’s portal.

Pre-Health Advisor: 

 The UMW Pre-Health Advisor is Deborah O’Dell, Ph. D., Professor of Biology (dodell@umw.edu).  The Pre-Health Advisor’s job is to inform any and all UMW students about the UMW Pre-Health Program. The Pre-Health advisor also serves to advise and guide pre-health students as they progress through the program.  All other academic advising questions and issues are brought to the attention of a student’s first year advisor.

Majors: 

  • Pre-health tracks are NOT majors. They are pre-professional career programs.  When students identify themselves as pre-health, they are not committing themselves to any particular major. 
  • Pre-health students will need to declare a major. You can choose any major – they do not need to major in a natural science to be in a pre-health track.  You should talk to your Pre-Health Advisor for guidance on choosing a major.

About AP Courses: 

  • Professional programs vary in their treatment of AP courses.  Many professional programs accept AP credits, provided UMW accepts them as satisfying UMW general education or major course requirements. 
  • Some schools do not accept advanced placement courses for prerequisite credit.  For these schools, prerequisite courses must have an earned letter grade. 
  • It is in your best interest to check with the schools to which you plan on applying to see what they say about AP credits.

Freshman Course Selection:

Quick view – Recommended Fall Semester Schedule for First-year Pre-Health Students (14 credits)

  • General Biology with Lab:  BIOL 121 or BIOL 125 (4 credits)
  • General Chemistry with Lab:  CHEM 111 
    • Requires a placement exam. CHEM 101 does not satisfy the Pre-Health Program, but prepares students for success in CHEM 111. (4 credits)
  • An elective of your choice. The following are highly recommended (3 credits)
    • An English composition course (e.g. ENGL 202)
    • A Psychology or Sociology course (PSYC 100 or SOCG 105 or 155)
    • College-level Math.  A MATH course or STAT course (STAT 180).  Psych majors and any majors in the Dept of Biological Sciences have their own statistics course that fulfills the statistics requirement.
  • FSEM (Freshman Seminar) – Required by all students. (3 credits)

Required Introductory Courses for First-year Pre-Med, Pre-Dent, Pre-Vet, Pre-PT, Pre-Pharmacy, and Pre-Optometry Students.

Courses suitable for first-year students

A student cannot take all of these courses in their first year. However, some should be taken in a student’s first year, while others can wait.

General Biology with lab-2 courses.  
  • Two semesters of introductory general biology with lab are required.
  • At UMW, two different series of biology courses can fulfill this requirement:
    • BIOL 121 (Biological Concepts) & BIOL 132 (Organisms Function & Diversity) – or – BIOL 125 & BIOL 126 (Phage Hunters I, II). 
    • Since these courses also serve as prerequisites for upper-level pre-health biology courses, in most cases, take these courses in your first year.  
    • Failure to take courses in the first year, will delay a students move on to upper-level biology courses.  This could delay their application to the professional school of their choice.
General Chemistry with lab-2 courses
  • Two semesters of introductory general chemistry with lab are required.
  • At UMW, only CHEM 111 & CHEM 112 (General Chemistry I, II) fulfill this requirement. 
    • Also called “Inorganic Chemistry” in some applications
  • Students must take the UMW Chemistry Placement Exam to qualify for CHEM 111 registration. 
  • These introductory chemistry courses are required by the above-stated pre-health career tracks. They are also prerequisites for upper-level pre-health chemistry courses.
  • Therefore, in most cases, take these courses in your first year. Failure to take these courses in the first year, will delay a students move on to upper-level courses.  This could delay their application to the professional school of their choice.
College-level Math-2 courses
  • Two semesters (6 credits) of college-level math are required.
  • These courses are suitable for first-year students. However, they can be taken in future years and will not delay a student’s application to the professional school of their choice.
    • One semester (3 credits) of statistics is generally required to partially fulfill this requirement. Three UMW courses apply: STAT 180, BIOL 260 and PSYC 261.
    • One semester (3 credits) of any other college-level math course to fulfill the math requirement. Some students take calculus, but calculus is generally NOT required for professional health programs.
English Composition. 
  •  Schools require two semesters (6 credits) of English composition or writing intensive courses.
  • These courses are suitable for first-year students. They can be taken in future years without delaying a student’s application to the professional school of their choice.
    • At UMW, we recommend students take at least one ENGL writing course, such as ENGL 202, ENGL 306, ENGL 307, to partially fulfill this requirement.
    • Students can take a second ENGL writing course to complete the requirement.
      • In some cases the requirement can be fulfilled by a writing intensive course in any discipline. Students should contact medical school admissions offices to check on their acceptance of writing intensive courses.
Introductory Psychology.  
  • Schools require at least one semester (3 credits) of introductory psychology
  • Some tracks might require more than one course. 
  • We recommend PSYC 100  
    • This course is suitable for first-year students. It can be taken in future years as well without delaying a student’s application to the professional school of their choice.
Introductory sociology.  
  • Premed and PreVet school require at least one semester (3 credits) of introductory sociology.
  • UMW recommends SOCG 105 and SOCG 155
  • These courses are suitable for first-year students. They can be taken in future years as well without delaying a student’s application to the professional school of their choice.

Course Selection: Required Introductory Courses for First-year Pre-Physician Assistant (PA) Students and Pre-Occupational Therapy (pre-OT) Students

Pre-PA: 

Course prerequisites for PA programs vary widely among those programs.  Very early in their undergraduate studies, pre-PA students should research the course requirements of the PA programs of interest to them.  Below are general guidelines.

Introductory Biology

  • Most PA programs require one semester of introductory biology with lab.
    • At UMW, two biology courses fulfill this requirement: BIOL 121 (Biological Concepts) – or – BIOL 125 (Phage Hunters I).
  • Some PA programs require a second semester of introductory biology with lab.
    • At UMW, two biology courses fulfill this requirement, following the first semester in the series: BIOL 132 (Organisms Function & Diversity) – or – BIOL 126 (Phage Hunters II).
  • Since these courses also serve as prerequisites for upper-level pre-health biology courses, in most cases, take these courses in your first year.  
  • Failure to take courses in the first year, will delay a students move on to upper-level biology courses.  This could delay their application to the professional school of their choice.

Introductory Chemistry

  • Nearly all PA programs require one semester of introductory chemistry courses with lab.
    • At UMW, only CHEM 111 (General Chemistry I) fulfills this requirement.
    • Students must take the UMW Chemistry Placement Exam to qualify for CHEM 111 registration.
  • Some PA programs require a second semester of introductory chemistry with lab.
    • At UMW, only CHEM 112 (General Chemistry II) fulfills this requirement.
  • Since these courses also serve as prerequisites for upper-level pre-health chemistry courses, in most cases, take these courses in your first year.  
  • Failure to take courses in the first year, will delay a students move on to upper-level Chemistry courses.  This could delay their application to the professional school of their choice.

Other introductory courses

  • These courses can be taken in the first year. Students can also be take them during their second or third year without delaying a student’s application to the professional school of their choice.
    • One semester (3 credits) of college-level statistics.
      • Three UMW courses apply: STAT 180, BIOL 260 and PSYC 261.
    • One semester (3 credits) psychology
      • PSYC 100 is recommended at UMW.

Pre-OT: 

Course prerequisites for OT programs also vary widely among those programs.  Very early in their undergraduate studies, pre-OT students should research the course requirements of the PA programs of interest to them.  Below are general guidelines.

  • Introductory Psychology
    • Most OT programs require several psychology courses. First-year students should consider taking PSYC 100.
  • Introductory Sociology
    • Most OT programs require at least one sociology course. First-year students should consider taking SOCG 105 or 155.
  • Statistics
    • Most OT programs require introductory statistics. First-year students can take STAT 180.

What First Year Pre-Health Students Should Do before classes begin in the fall:

  1. Sign up with the UMW Pre-Health Program Portal on Canvas. 
    • The Pre-Health Program Canvas page is the one location where UMW pre-health students can find detailed descriptions of specific pre-health career requirements, campus meetings and events, open houses, etc. 
    • To register with the UMW Pre-Health Program, go to https://canvas.umw.edu/enroll/XGDA4J and follow the instructions.  Once done, you will see the UMW Pre-Health Program listed on your Canvas dashboard.  Go to the page and explore.  Registering with the program is open to all UMW students.
  2. Add you name to the Pre-Health Program Census. 
    • The census helps us identify those students who fall into each of the many pre-health career tracks this program serves. 
    • To add your name to the census, see instructions on the Pre-Health Program Portal home page or click on this link to a google spreadsheet and enter your name into the column that best fits your primary health career track.  The document is automatically saved for you.  The document is for UMW Pre-Health Program use only.
  3. Join the UMW Pre-Health Society. 
    • This student run club acts in the interest of all pre-health students, no matter what the specific pre-health track.  All pre-health students should join.  See the link on the front page of the Pre-Health Program portal in Canvas.

 The Pre-Health Program Kick-Off Meeting

All incoming UMW freshmen and transfer students who are on a pre-health career track MUST attend the program orientation session scheduled sometime during the first two weeks of classes.  Check the Pre-Health Program Canvas Site for details.