Pre Professional

Welcome

Welcome

Blackburn offers a range of pre-medical preparation programs, each with a variety of requirements. You should consult early with the health program faculty advisor in order to talk about your interests and to plan a program that is right for you. You will need four years of pre-professional studies and a bachelor’s degree to prepare for advanced work after graduation. Standardized tests are part of the admissions process for most professional schools. The following paragraphs summarize suggested courses.

Pre-Dentistry: You will need general and organic chemistry; physics; zoology; botany; cell biology; genetics; vertebrate evolution mathematics; social sciences including psychology; and humanities including English courses. The standardized Dental Aptitude Test us required for admission into dental school.

Pre-Medicine: Your courses should include botany; cell biology; general and organic chemistry; physics; zoology; genetics; comparative anatomy, mathematics including calculus; social sciences, including a year of psychology; and humanities, including English courses. The MCAT (Medical College Aptitude Test) is required for entrance into medical school.

Pre-Veterinary: Your courses will include general and organic chemistry; biochemistry; physics; zoology; botany; cell sciences, including psychology; and humanities, including English courses. A note a warning: the demand for places in veterinary school continues to be enormous, while the number of veterinary schools in the U.S. is not large. Because preference is often given to residents, a student should consider applying only to veterinary schools in the state where they have permanent residency.

Pre-Nursing: Blackburn offers most coursework necessary to gain admission to the St. John’s Nursing program in Springfield, Illinois. The St. John’s Nursing Program leads to a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. Students complete two years of prerequisite coursework at Blackburn College then apply to the program at St. John’s Hospital.

Pre-Physical Therapy: The American Physical Therapy Association requires that all new physical therapy professionals enter the profession with at least a Master’s Degree. Blackburn College offers an undergraduate program that includes all of the coursework and field experience required to gain entrance into a Master’s in Physical Therapy Program at other colleges and universities throughout the United States. Pre-physical therapy students usually major in biology, with an emphasis and special advising related specifically for pre-physical therapy.
Career Opportunities

Graduates of Blackburn’s pre-professional health programs have gone on to study at excellent professional schools. Because Blackburn emphasizes a background founded on the liberal arts and sciences for all majors, students who graduate with a different goal than they had as a freshman find that they have not “lost time” while pursuing their degree, but have received a broad education in many areas along with a special depth of knowledge in their major.