Pre-Health Advising

Career Services Pre-Health Advisor offers pre-health advising to all currently enrolled students and alumni from all undergraduate majors who have an interest in pursuing any health or allied health profession.

Schedule an appointment with the Pre-Health Advisor to:

Explore specific Health Professions
Identify specific Pre-Health prerequisite courses and Pacific equivalencies
Connect to relevant on & off-campus resources
Create an Application Timeline & Health Professions Portfolio
Discuss Resume Development, Review and Feedback
Strengthen Practice Interview Skills
Develop and/or review your Graduate School Personal Statement

Pre-Health is a general term meant to identify students that are considering pursuing a health profession, or career, from diagnostic medical sonography to medicine.

For example, students who may not know the exact Pre-Health Pathway they want to pursue but know they want a career in health can refer to themselves as a Pre-Health student. Whereas students who may want to become physicians or veterinarians can refer to themselves as Pre-Med or Pre-Vet students.

It is important to note that Pacific does not offer a Pre-Health major or degree, nor are you required to pursue a science-based major to pursue a Pre-Health Pathway. Rather, health professional programs (or schools) encourage you to major in a discipline (or major) you truly enjoy as long as you complete the required prerequisite courses for your intended health profession.

Since several of the majors at Pacific require the same introductory courses, pre-health students should complete at least one Introductory Biology and/or General Chemistry course prior to considering changing to a different major. Non-science majors may want to consider minoring in a science to add advanced levels of science courses to the general science prerequisites for professional admission.

The Career Services Pre-Health Advisor offers support to Pre-Health students - regardless of major - to ensure they make timely and relevant decision-making based on their specific Pre-Health Pathway. Pre-Health Advising is supplemental and students are welcome to schedule an appointment via Handshake at their earliest convenience, you may also send any questions or inquiries to prehealth@pacific.edu.

Prospective Students

At University of the Pacific, you will have a Faculty Advisor (major advisor) who will guide you in completing your major and degree requirements, but also have access to a Pre-Health Advisor. The Pre-Health Advisor provides advising services to students planning to pursue a health profession and assists students to explore interests, skills, and goals and examine academic requirements for all health-related professions.

Transfer Students

Your time as a Pre-Health student at University of the Pacific will be limited, so it will be important for you to schedule an appointment as soon as possible with the Pre-Health Advisor to ensure that you understand your Pre-Health Pathway’s timeline & application process.

Adjustment to a university curriculum and environment is not always an easy one. Students are strongly advised to take fewer units in their first semester and to increase the number of units as they progress towards degree completion. Students should plan to discuss this with their faculty advisor.

Community (2 year) College Transfer

Course sequencing can be tricky, be sure to consult with the Pre-Health Advisor in addition to your Faculty Advisor.
While most health professional programs, or schools, accept community college (2 year) credit, there are a few that do so on a case-by-case basis.

University or 4-year College Transfer

Your Faculty Advisor will assist you in determining which of your courses apply to your Pacific major and discuss strategies for completing your major efficiently.
For assistance in planning co-curricular activities necessary for a strong application for health professional programs, or schools, contact the Pre-Health Advisor.
Obtaining letters of recommendation can sometimes be more complicated for transfer students. For assistance on how to breach the topic don't hesitate to reach out to the Academic Advising & Career Services Center.

Returning Students & Pacific Alumni

Pacific currently does not have a formal Post-baccalaureate (Post-bacc) program for students returning to school to complete graduate level health professional program prerequisites. However, the Pre-Health Advisor offers support to Pacific alumni or bachelor's level degree holding students from other universities or colleges seeking to complete their health professional program prerequisites at University of the Pacific.

We strongly recommend that you meet with the Pre-Health Advisor as soon as you are accepted to Pacific so that they may assist you in planning your academic and co-curricular activities for a strong application to your health professional program of interest.

Current Students

Whether a currently enrolled student or beginning at Pacific in the upcoming semester, you are highly encouraged to meet with the Pre-Health Advisor at the start of the semester and once a semester thereafter.

For more details on how to schedule an appointment via Handshake and how to join the Pre-Health Advising Program (PHAP) Canvas Site to obtain foundational information about Pre-Health Advising, click the link below.

Learn more