Students intending to enter professional schools should select a degree program appropriate to their interests and consult with their academic advisor on the scheduling of additional courses required for admission to the professional school. Additional information regarding entrance requirements for some professional schools is given below. Students interested in a health-related career are encouraged to visit the Pre-Professional Health Advisor or this website: https://academics.nsuok.edu/prehealth/default.aspx
Prehealth Professional Preparation
The pre-health professions preparation at Northeastern State University prepares students to be competitive applicants to health professions programs. A variety of educational, research, leadership, and volunteer opportunities, plus a comprehensive advising system enable our students to sharpen their competitive edge.
Students preparing for careers in chiropractic, dental, medical, optometry, osteopathic, pharmacy, podiatry, or veterinary medicine will eventually receive graduate degrees, all requiring a strong background in science. While satisfying the requirements for admission to professional school, students should also be satisfying requirements for a baccalaureate degree. See “Selection of Major” section below.
Students preparing for allied health careers: dental hygiene, nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, occupational therapy, medical imaging and radiation sciences, and physician associate may enter their chosen profession after completing 60-90 hours including the prerequisites for the specific program (except physical therapy which requires a baccalaureate degree). Allied health preparation usually consists of undergraduate credit hours weighted heavily with mathematical, physical, social, and biological sciences. Students preparing for allied health careers should also be satisfying requirements for a baccalaureate degree while satisfying the requirements for admission to professional school.
For information on specific requirements for the health programs listed above, please visit the Pre-health Professions website: http://academics.nsuok.edu/prehealth
Selection of Major
Pre-medical, pre-nursing, pre-physical therapy, pre-vet, etc. are NOT majors. These are simply requirements that students must fulfill for admission to a professional school. There is no recommended major for these students. Professional schools encourage a broad general curriculum in the social sciences and humanities in addition to a high level of competence in the physical and biological sciences. Good communication skills are also important. Beyond this, the best advice for students is to select a major in a discipline that will offer satisfying challenges and provide a viable alternative to professional school if they are not admitted into their professional program.
Although most students planning to apply to chiropractic, dental, medical, optometry, osteopathic, pharmacy, podiatry, or veterinary medicine programs earn a bachelors degree, it is possible to apply for admission after three years (90 hours) of college work. NSU offers prehealth students the option of transferring back to NSU a maximum of 30 hours at the end of their first year (3 + 1 option) in a chiropractic, dental, medical, optometry, osteopathic, pharmacy, podiatry, or veterinary program to count toward the major requirements of their NSU degree. Students are encouraged to visit with the pre-health advisor to see which NSU degrees allow the 3 + 1 option.
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