Pre-Medicine, Pre-Dentistry Programs, and Other Pre-Professional Health Tracks in the College of Arts and Sciences

A student planning to apply for medical, dental, or any of the other pre-health profession schools will receive advising from both an advisor in their major as well as the Chief Health Professions Advisor. The role of the advisor in their major is to ensure the student fulfills the requirements for the chosen major. The major advisor is the student’s primary advisor and should be consulted early and often. The Chief Health Professions Advisor is available to help a student make important choices regarding the professional school admission requirements extra-curricular activities, and the application process.

Medical, dental and other health profession schools do not recommend any one major for a student. Nor is there one field which will give you an advantage. Instead, those schools look for a rigorous arts and sciences education containing a strong emphasis in science and mathematics. Select a major that you not only enjoy and have a passion for, but will demand excellence in critical thinking, expository and persuasive writing, oral communication, critical reading, research and organization. Also, seek out a curriculum that requires research papers, substantial reading, laboratory experiences, essay exams and oral presentations. Some of the more common majors chosen are biology, chemistry, chemistry-biochemistry, mathematics, engineering, English, and psychology.

You should plan your academic program so that minimum pre-professional admission requirements are completed by the time you apply to professional school –– normally the summer following your junior year. This timing will place you in the most advantageous position for both your application and the admissions exam (DAT, MCAT, PCAT, VCAT, etc.).

Required courses may not be taken Pass/Fail. A grade of "C" or better (or AP credit) is required in each course used to meet dental/medical school admission requirements. (Admission to professional schools is very competitive. As a result, it is imperative that you consistently perform well academically.)

Following are the UT Tyler courses which meet minimum admission requirements for dental/medical schools in Texas

(Please refer to the College of Arts and Science website http://www.uttyler.edu/cas/preprofessional/index.php for example prerequisites for other pre-professional health tracks like pharmacy, veterinary medicine, physician's assistant, etc.)