Mission

Prepares students for entry into professional programs in many of the health sciences. Students will develop skills, gain knowledge and complete pre-requisite coursework for admission into a professional program of their choosing. Students may also use these courses toward the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree. All pre-professional health science students are assigned to specific advisers.

Learning Outcomes

1. Develop deductive reasoning, analytical and problem-solving skills related to their professional goals.
2. Learn broad concepts from many different disciplines for entry into their profession of choice.
3. Acquire a liberal arts education while pursuing a professional education.

WOU currently offers health sciences pre-professional studies in the following areas:

One- to Two-Year Programs

Pre-nursing
Pre-dental hygiene

Admission to nursing and pre-dental hygiene programs is highly competitive. In general, admission depends on grades, a written personal statement, professional experience and the completion of specific coursework and/or proficiency exams. Although specific admissions requirements vary somewhat from program to program, all minimally require biology (including a year of human anatomy and physiology), psychology, sociology, writing and math. More information about preparatory material is available from the following program advisers:

Pre-nursing: Student Success and Advising
wou.edu/advising/pre-nursing-advising/, 503-838-8428

Pre-dental hygiene: Sarah Boomer
wou.edu/academics/pre-professional/, 503-838-8209

Three- to Four-Year Programs

Pre-dentistry
Pre-medicine (allopathic, osteopathic, chiropractic, podiatric, optometric)
Pre-clinical lab science
Pre-occupational therapy
Pre-pharmacy
Pre-physician assistant
Pre-physical therapy
Pre-veterinary medicine

Admission to the above programs is highly competitive. In general, admission depends on grades, a written personal statement, professional experience, the completion of specific coursework and/or proficiency exams (e.g., DAT, MCAT) and interpersonal/interviewing skills.

Although specific admissions requirements vary somewhat from program to program, all require extensive coursework in biology, chemistry and physics. Consequently, a biology degree with a pre-professional concentration or a chemistry degree with a medicinal chemistry and pharmacology concentration facilitates well the admission requirements for most programs.

Additional coursework is required to complete a bachelor’s degree at WOU, all of which are required or strongly recommended for admission to a majority of these programs. More information about preparatory materials visit our website at wou.edu/academics/pre-professional/.