Pre-Professional Programs

Students Interested in Professional Programs

(e.g. Medical, Dental, Optometry or Veterinary Schools)

STEP 1. Select an Appropriate Curriculum
Students interested in medicine, optometry, or dentistry as a profession should elect a four-year degree program that adequately prepares them for entry into the appropriate professional school. Most students choose biology or chemistry as a major. Students may, however, major in any subject, but should make sure that the selected major offers sufficient free electives so that all the courses required by the professional schools can be taken. Course requirements vary widely from one school to the next, and students should consult the application web sites for a detailed list of requirements for each school. We have listed these websites on the handouts for each pre-professional program. Contact the school or college of your choice to confirm. Please note there can be considerable variation especially with regard to the organic chemistry and biochemistry requirements

STEP 2. Admission Testing
Registration for the appropriate exam can be done through the website home page (e.g. http://www.aamc.org/. for medical school; please refer to handouts for each website).

STEP 3. Application
Students should refer to the appropriate web site for detailed information on prerequisites and application procedures.

STEP 4. UNO Committee on Pre-Medical, Pre-Dental Studies
(pre-Optometry students apply directly to http://www.opted.org/; Pre-Vet students apply directly to the Vet school of their choice)
This committee consists of faculty members from the College of Sciences. The committee reviews your overall academic record and your personally solicited individual faculty evaluations. A committee letter, along with copies of the faculty and other recommendation letters submitted to the committee, is then submitted on your behalf to the appropriate application system (AMCAS, AACOMAS, AASDAS, etc.).

Students near the end of the junior year or early in the senior year should submit materials to the UNO Committee on Pre-medical and Pre-dental Studies for evaluation and distribution to medical or dental schools of their choice. This also applies to post-baccalaureate students who have taken at least 25 semester hours of course work at UNO. Qualified students should initiate this process by obtaining an application form at the Department of Biological Sciences Office (CRC 200) or from the links provided at the top of this page. The completed applications including a list of faculty and other evaluations, should be returned to the Biological Sciences Office. Recommendation should be solicited from faculty who have had adequate opportunity to evaluate your potential as a medical doctor or dentist. It is the responsibility of the student to periodically check at the Biological Sciences Office to be sure the recommendations have been returned in a timely fashion.

UNO Student Organization - Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED)

Pre-Physical Therapy - Biological Sciences Track

Dr. Michael Doosey
Pre-Physical Therapy Advisor
Room 230 Biological Sciences Building
Phone: 504-280-6728
E-mail: mdoosey@uno.edu

UNO offers the prerequisite courses designed to prepare the student for admission into the Doctoral program offered by the Department of Physical Therapy, School of Allied Health Professions, LSU Medical Center. To be eligible for admission, the student must have completed a bachelor's degree (i.e. any field) and must have met the specific prerequisites listed below. In addition, the program at LSUHSC requires 60 hours of shadowing a physical therapist prior to application. Admission into the program is on a competitive basis. A grade of C or better is required in each prerequisite course. Completion of the GRE exam is required. The PTCAS web site at www.ptcas.org is used for applications.

For additional information please contact:

Department of Physical Therapy
LSUMC School of Allied Health Professions
1900 Gravier Street
New Orleans, LA 70112 504-568-4288

Pre-Physician Assistant

Dr. John Horne
Pre-Physician Assistant Advisor
Room 211 Biology Building
Phone: 504-280-7059
E-mail: jhhorne@uno.edu

This program is designed to prepare the student for entry into the Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program offered through the LSU Health Sciences Center on either the New Orleans or Shreveport campus. To be eligible for admission, the student must have earned a Bachelor's Degree (in any field) and must have completed the prerequisites for the program specified by the LSUHSC School of Allied Health Professions.