Preparing for a Career in the Health Professions
Stevens provides advising services to students interested in pursuing a career in the health professions. To make yourself a desirable candidate for admission to such programs, you will need an education that includes a strong foundation in the sciences, highly developed communication skills, and a solid background in the social sciences and humanities.
Students who are considering a career in the health professions should begin exploring their options early in their career at Stevens. They should inquire about the requirements of specific health professional schools they are interested in and plan their studies at Stevens accordingly. Students should meet with their academic advisor and join the Stevens Health Professions Club.
Students are not required to choose a science major in order to apply to medical school, although majors such as Biology, Chemical Biology, or Biomedical Engineering include the courses that are typically required for application to medical school in their curricula. Thus, choosing one of those majors may make a student’s course planning a bit easier, but you can incorporate the required courses into many majors including, but not limited to, chemistry, chemical engineering, physics, humanities, arts, business, and other majors.
TIMELINE:
- Students who are planning to begin medical school or dental school immediately after graduation from Stevens should plan to complete all of the minimum required courses listed by the schools in which they are interested by the end of their junior year at Stevens to help ensure they are prepared to take the appropriate national exam (the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) for medical school or the Dental Admission Test (DAT) for dental school) by early spring of their junior year.
- The application process to Medical and Dental school is over a year long process. To enter medical school immediately after completing their Bachelor's degree students need to apply their junior year (i.e. year before they finish their degree).
- Many students choose to begin professional school immediately after graduation from undergraduate school.
- Gap Year Option: there is a strong national trend toward adding one or more years of experience between undergraduate school and professional school, a gap year, providing more flexibility in undergraduate course scheduling and choice of undergraduate major as well as the potential to study abroad.
Stevens faculty and academic advisors along with the Health Professions Advisory Committee will help you formulate the best plan for you. In addition to excellent grades and excellent test scores, you will also benefit from experience in clinical settings (e.g., Emergency Medical Technician/First Aid training, hospital or medical/dental office volunteering), research laboratories where you can develop your power of inquiry and logic, leadership and service. Your academic and faculty advisors, as well as the Career Center and a variety of student clubs can help you make connections to find volunteering, clinical and research opportunities.