Open to Qualifying Students in All Majors at Point Park University
Our pre-medical and health-related professions program is an option designed to assist undergraduate students — across all majors at Point Park University — who are interested in pursuing post-graduate studies in the medical field and other related health professions.
This program builds upon the University's long-standing biological sciences curriculum. Students must apply and be accepted into the pre-medical and health-related professions program, and once accepted, must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Benefits of the Pre-Medical and Health-Related Professions Program
Through this program, students have the ability to pursue any undergraduate major of their choice at Point Park University while completing prerequisite courses required for medical, physician assistant, dental, pharmacy, veterinary and other health-related graduate programs.
Other benefits of this program include:
- Ability to tailor courses to your career goals
- Classes taught by experienced faculty who take a personal interest in each and every student
- Personalized advising from Program Coordinator Laura Frost, Ph.D., in addition to receiving academic advising in your major
- Support and a letter of recommendation from Point Park's pre-medical and health-related professions program committee
- Guidance from faculty in completing the graduate school application process
- Hands-on preparation for the MCAT/GRE and similar exams
- A certificate of completion upon meeting all requirements of the program
Required Courses to Complete the Program
Below are the required courses to successfully complete Point Park's pre-medical and health-related professions program. These are the most common courses required nationwide by medical schools and related programs.
- 1 year of general biology
- 1 year of physics with lab
- 1 year of general chemistry (inorganic chemistry) with lab (core chem 101)
- 1 year of organic chemistry with lab
- 1 course in calculus or statistics (core)
- 1 year of English (core)
- 1 course in sociology (core)
- 1 course in psychology (core)
- 1 year of upper-division biology (recommended)
Pre-Medical Degree Partnerships
For certain degrees, Point Park University partners with other schools for a fast track into specialized medical programs in fields such as physical therapy, osteopathic medicine and podiatry. Current partners include:
Point Park University has a partnership with the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) to provide a select group of students consideration for admission into LECOM's College of Osteopathic Medicine or School of Pharmacy.
To be eligible for the program, students must:
- Be accepted to Point Park University as a full-time student;
- Have a combined SAT score (critical reading + math) of 1170 or better for the Medical 4+4: program; A combined score of 1240 is required on the SAT taken after March of 2016; For the Medical 3+4 program, an SAT of 1280 or higher (1340 on the new SAT) and a 28 on the ACT;
- Have a cumulative unweighted high school grade point average of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale, a 3.8 or higher unweighted high school GPA is required for the Medical 3+4 track; and
- Agree not to apply to another medical school's program while enrolled in the early acceptance program with LECOM.
Students who transferred are permitted provided that they have at least two full-time years remaining at Point Park.
Admission to LECOM is subject to the applicant meeting the following minimum criteria:
- Maintain a GPA of 3.4 or better at Point Park; and
- Maintain a GPA of 3.2 or better in science course work.
The MCAT is not required. A student will be evaluated based on the Academic Index Score (AIS). This combines the SAT or ACT with overall college GPA. An AIS of 115 is required for the 4+4 Medical track and a 123 AIS is required for the 3+4 track. For students who have the GPA qualifications but do not meet the AIS are permitted to the take the MCAT. If the MCAT is required, affiliated students are required to score in the 50th percentile or higher to keep their reserved seat.
Samuel Merritt University (SMU) has partnered with Point Park University to offer direct entry or guaranteed interviews to be a part of several of their programs. As a part of the schools' agreement, degrees covered include Samuel Merritt's Master of Occupational Therapy, Occupational Therapy Doctorate, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, Doctor of Physical Therapy and Pre-licensure Nursing.
To be eligible for the program, students must:
- Be in good standing at Point Park University;
- Students must meet the requirements for the desired program at SMU;
- Students must complete all application requirements and apply through the appropriate CAS for SMU;
- Students must be United States citizens or permanent residents; and
-
Students must have not been subjected to disciplinary proceedings, violated any pertinent honor codes or have otherwise demonstrated an unfit character for admission into the SMU program of interest. (SMU shall determine the criteria for disciplinary proceedings in their sole and absolute discretion.)
Point Park students utilizing this program will have the SMU application fee waved.
Learn More
Visit the pre-medical and health-related professions program FAQs page or contact Laura Frost, Ph.D., program coordinator, at lfrost@pointpark.edu to learn more.