Pre-Health Career Advising

Career Services Pre-Health Career 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 Career Advisor to:

Explore specific Health Professions & Allied Health Professions
Connect you with faculty to identify specific Pre-Health prerequisite courses and Pacific equivalencies
Explore different educational pathways and programs with or without a gap year
Discuss resume development, review, and feedback
Assist with obtaining shadowing, clinical, research, volunteer, and other experiences
Create an action plan to build competitiveness as an applicant for graduate programs
Strengthen interview skills for graduate school and other opportunities
Develop and/or review your graduate school application including personal statements
And much more!

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.

Students are highly encouraged to meet with Faculty Advisor (major advisor) to discuss class registration and course selection.

Pre-Health Career Advising is supplemental, and students are welcome to schedule an appointment with our Pre-Health Career Advisor, Teresa Martinez, via Handshake at their earliest convenience. You may also send any questions or inquiries to tmartinez@pacific.edu.

Academic Advising

At University of the Pacific, you will have a Faculty Advisor (major advisor) who will guide you in completing your major, degree requirements, and course sequence. Please reach out to your department to learn how they can assist you in determining which of your courses apply to your Pacific major and discuss strategies for completing your major efficiently.

The Pre-Health Career Advisor assists students in exploring their interests, skills, and goals and developing a plan to become competitive applicants for their chosen health profession program. This includes assistance in planning co-curricular activities necessary for a strong application and how to breach the topic of obtaining letters of recommendation.

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 toward degree completion. Students should plan to discuss this with their faculty advisor.

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 Career Advisor offers support to Pacific alumni.

We strongly recommend that you meet with the Pre-Health Career 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 Career Advisor at the start of the semester and once a semester thereafter.

To schedule an appointment, you can call our office at (209) 946-2361 or click the link below.

Schedule an Appointment