So, you want to be a physician.
…Or a nurse. Or an epidemiologist. Or a veterinarian. Or a physical therapist.
You can get into these careers, and many others, through the pre-health professions program at the University of Tulsa.
What can I do with a pre-med degree?
Now is an ideal time to consider a health care career. Employment in health care-related professions is expected to grow by 15% through 2029, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And while “physician” may be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of a medical career and a pre-med program, there’s a lot more to health care than being a doctor. If you love working with patients, but aren’t up for four years of med school on top of four years of college (and then residency to boot), you can pursue dozens of avenues that can be just as fulfilling.
As a student on a pre-health track, your pre-health advisor will work with you to ensure you’re taking the classes you need to reach whatever career you’re interested in. With your degree, you can go on to be a pharmacist, physician assistant, public health worker, dentist, optometrist or many more different health professions.
Before we go on, let’s clear one thing up: If “doctor” is your dream job, you may be wondering about getting a pre-med major. But at most colleges, there’s no such thing. In fact, whether you want to be a doctor or go into another health profession, you can major in whatever you want as long as you take all the prerequisite courses you need to qualify. Because so many of those courses are science-related, students on a pre-health track often find science degrees attractive.
If you wanted, though, you could major in accounting or chemical engineering and apply to med school. You simply need to work with your advisors to ensure you meet your degree requirements and the prerequisites for admission to your target health professions school.
As part of the pre-med program, we’ll start advising you in your freshman year about what courses you’ll need to take. If you do want to go to medical school, our health professions committee will look at your grades to give you an idea whether you’re likely to be a good candidate. Medical schools are notoriously selective; fortunately for you, TU students have had a lot of success getting in. On average, 70% of TU students who apply to med school are accepted.
A pre-health degree gives you a wide array of options. Some require further education; for some, you can find job opportunities right out of college.
If you’re on a pre-health track at TU, we recommend you take:
- One year of chemistry
- One year of organic chemistry
- One year of physics
- One year of biology (Intro to Molecular and Cellular Biology, then Introduction to Organismal and Evolutionary Biology)
If med school is your goal, you should also take classes in biochemistry, psychology and sociology; if you’re headed to a professional school, a class in genetics may also be required. Certain programs need a year of calculus. Ethics and sociology classes may also be a good idea.
We know that’s a lot. Yet, in this competitive field, you may want to go even further. Admissions committees love to see students who really got into their work, either by taking as many relevant classes as possible, or by working on a student research project.
Student research at TU
At TU, you’ll get the chance to do real, meaningful work in the lab. Undergraduate research is a hallmark of our program. In the past, TU students have won Goldwater and National Science Foundation scholarships and awards. And the experience has served countless students who have gone on to grad schools and beyond.
Some of these opportunities include:
- The Tulsa Undergraduate Research Challenge, which gives you the chance to take advanced classes and collaborate with faculty mentors who also maintain active labs.
- TU’s Chemistry Summer Undergraduate Research Program, a 10-week immersive experience that lets you do a deep dive into a project while working closely with faculty.
- The Summer Undergraduate Research Program in Physics. You’ll be the mentor in this program, which pairs talented high school students with undergrads.
Experiences like these do more than round out a résumé. They lead to even bigger opportunities down the road, and give you a head start on finding the health science career that fits your goals.