Pre-Professional (Health) Students

Pre-Professional (Health) Programs are health-related programs offered through specialized "professional schools." Most require prospective students to have already earned a Bachelor's (B.S. or B.A.) degree; a few will allow students to matriculate into the program after completion of appropriate prerequisites in the natural sciences. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi offers pre-professional programs leading to the following careers:

• Chiropractor
• Dentist
• Occupational Therapist
• Optometrist
• Pharmacist
• Physical Therapist
• Physician, Allopathic (M.D.) or Osteopathic (D.O.)
• Physician Assistant
• Podiatrist
• Veterinarian

The Biomedical Sciences Program also offers two professional career options that do not require a graduate degree:

• Clinical Laboratory Science—(After earning the B.S., Clinical Laboratory Science Certification requires post-baccalaureate courses and successful performance on a national examination.)
• Forensic Science

The career path that leads to becoming a health-care professional is rigorous and often confusing. At Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Office of Pre-Professional Education and Special Programs is specifically designed to help students navigate this career path.

If you are interested in one of these career paths, what major should you choose?

The choice of a major is an important and personal decision, and professional schools (usually) do not specify the area in which an applicant must have earned a degree. Most professional schools will accept well-qualified students from any major provided they have:

• taken all necessary prerequisite courses,
• met grade point average (GPA) and graduation requirements,
• successfully passed the appropriate entrance examinations, and
• met extra-curricular entrance requirements such as professional experience.

Pre-Professional students at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi have a wide range of possible majors and should examine each of them carefully. Because the prerequisites and entrance examinations focus heavily on science, most pre-professional students choose to major in one of the sciences. At Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Biomedical Sciences Program, the Biology Program and the Chemistry Program in the College of Science and Technology have degree plans that will accommodate most pre-professional students. The Kinesiology Department in the College of Education also offers an “Exercise Science Specialization” that accommodates pre-physical therapy and pre-occupational therapy students. Fortunately, almost all pre-professional students (regardless of major) will take the same courses for the first year or two, so there is time for exploration.

The health career I want is not mentioned above! Why not?

Possibly because the health career that you want is traditionally grouped with the "Nursing and Allied Health Professions".