Cailín Pachter, Director, Pre-Professional Advising
All students who have definite or potential interest in a health professions career should register and consult with the Pre-Professional Advising Office as early as possible beginning their first year at Muhlenberg.
The Pre-Professional Advising Office is responsible for counseling Muhlenberg students who are interested in careers in the health professions, including medicine, dentistry, physician assistant, physical and occupational therapy, or a career in public health or pharmacy. In the majority of cases, students are not required to belong to any special program, and, with some exceptions, it is not necessary for them to major in science.
Admission requirements differ somewhat according to the type of health professions school and occasionally change. Biochemistry, for instance, is increasingly being required of competitive dental, veterinary, and medical school applicants. Presently, the following schedule satisfies basic admission requirements for American schools of chiropractic, dentistry, medicine, optometry, podiatry and veterinary medicine:
One year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics (all with labs) and English. (Some schools recommend a year of math but do not require it.) We strongly recommend that our students take all of the above named courses at Muhlenberg. Any request for an exception to this policy must be presented for prior approval, in writing, to the appropriate department for a final decision.
Often individual schools in the allied health fields have additional requirements. It is important for students to make certain early in their careers that they will take the appropriate courses to satisfy the admission requirements of a particular school in which they are interested.
The MCAT (for students interested in allopathic, osteopathic, and podiatric medicine) now has an increased focus on the social and behavioral sciences. Individual courses that heighten and broaden student awareness in these areas such as Psychology and Sociology are also recommended.
