Pre-Health Professions

TCU offers a curriculum preparing students for programs leading to professional degrees in: Allopathic Medicine (MD), Dentistry (DDS), Optometry (OD), Osteopathic Medicine (DO), Pharmacy (PharmD), Physician's Assistant (PA), Podiatric Medicine (DPM), Veterinary Medicine (DVM) and others requiring coursework in science.

The Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC) consists of faculty members who teach courses normally taken by students pursuing the above professional goals.   

The duties of the committee are to advise students on their curriculum; provide counseling regarding the health professions; and evaluate, both for the student and for the professional schools, the student's readiness for entering the profession. The committee offers "mock" interviews and will write a committee-based letter of evaluation for those students who submit the appropriate biographical materials. Additional information is available at www.prehealth.tcu.edu.

Curriculum

Health profession schools prefer applicants who have completed a four-year curriculum leading to a baccalaureate degree. While the health professions schools will accept students in any major, certain courses are required or suggested as described below. In addition, if medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine is a student's primary career goal, the Health Professions Advisory Committee strongly recommends that students major within the College of Science & Engineering.

Required and Suggested Courses

Although each professional program has its own list of required and suggested courses, those shown below meet the requirements of the majority. Students should check the current requirements of schools to which they intend to apply before they begin their junior year at TCU to ensure that new or unusual requirements can be met before graduation. The Pre-Health Professions Institute offers a series of professional development courses which are strongly recommended for all students planning to apply to professional school.

Recommended Coursework:

Pass/No-Credit Option

See the Bachelor's Degree Definitions and Regulations in the Bachelor's Degree section of the University requirements but note that most professional schools require that pre-requisite coursework be completed with a grade of C or higher.

Professional Entrance Exams

Most professional schools require entrance exams to have been taken at the time of application.  Since applications are submitted in the summer (ranging from early May through July), entrance exams are typically taken in the spring. These include the Dental Admissions Test (DAT), the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT), the Optometry Admissions Test (OAT) and the General Record Examination (GRE). Subject based exams such as the MCAT, DAT and OAT require a minimum of 2-3 years of coursework prior to taking the exam. Students also typically require several months of additional studying and preparation before they are ready to take these exams.  More information on these exams is available in the Pre-Health Professions Office SWR 258.

Health Related Activities

All students in TCU’s Pre-Health Profession Institute are required to participate in biomedical or health-related activities. This includes shadowing, working or volunteering in a clinical and/or research setting. Students cannot participate in health-related activities until they have participated in HIPAA and professionalism training and submitted all required paperwork to the Pre-Health Professions Institute. International students cannot begin participation in health-related activities until their second year in the program and are allowed to do no more than 20 hours per week, approved by their faculty and signed by the organization where the student will be participating. International students must also submit Curricular Practical Training forms to the Office of International Services. Participation is mandatory for all students, and all federal regulations regarding F-1 and J-1 students must be met in order for international student participation.

Health-Related Student Organizations

The program supports a number of health-related student organizations for pre-professional health science students. Additional information is available at http://www.prehealth.tcu.edu.

Pre-Health Professions Scholarships

Several competitive scholarships for pre-health professions are available for students who are at least sophomores; have a GPA above 3.0; have a record of service to TCU, the community or the profession; and have demonstrated a high motivation toward a career in medicine and dentistry. Applications are available from the Office of Scholarships and Student Financial Aid.