The pre-professional health program at EMU will give you excellent preparation for a career in the medical field. Not only will you get the academic training you need to prepare, but our small class sizes, and one-on-one mentoring from faculty will give you the edge you need to get into the program of your choice.
Over the past 10 years, students who completed Pre-Professional Health Sciences studies at EMU enjoyed an 80% acceptance rate to medical schools, 91% to physical therapy schools, and 82% to physician assistant programs.
(Statistics from applications submitted in years 2014-2023.)
EMU has articulation agreements with several schools to accelerate the application process for highly qualified students who meet the requirements of a specific program:
Most PPHS students are biology majors; however it is possible to major in chemistry, biochemistry, Medical Lab Sciences, mathematics or an area in the liberal arts and still succeed in the program at EMU. Because graduate schools value a broad education, we suggest a minor in a non-science area that interests you.
At EMU, you will get a unique opportunity to practice cadaver dissection. Like all our labs, you will get hands-on experience while receiving personal mentoring from faculty. Many graduates say this experience puts them far ahead of their medical school classmates.
Job shadowing and clinical hours are an important part of the preparation for professional health careers. At EMU, all pre-professional health students take a semester-long practicum course. This course gives you an opportunity to experience the job first-hand and connect with professionals in the field. Our faculty have strong ties to health care professionals in the Shenandoah Valley, including many alumni. They will help you set up mentoring, clinical and job shadowing experience to fit your interest.
Our labs are question-driven. You won’t be working on cookie-cutter worksheets. Professors used problem-based learning models. They design experiments around real-world questions. Our labs are mini-research assignments where you get to use the instruments yourself, learn to test a theory and gain independence in your research and lab abilities.
Our faith-based curriculum includes exploration of the intersection of science, faith and ethics. Learn to integrate your spirituality and understandings of faith into patient care and health care practice. Our big-picture approach encourages new ways to thinking about culturally-aware interactions and respectful relationship-building. Your experiences with crosscultural study and diverse populations will prepare you for your choice of health care field. You'll be uniquely prepared to articulate this to grad school admissions committees, employers and your future patients.
Students have joined our faculty in the study of health care in Peru, coffee bean pests in Hawaii, and the genetics of aging. You will have opportunities to present your original research at our Academic and Creative Excellence festival each year. And enhance your application for professional health schools with original research or clinical hours. EMU offers a CT Assist grant specifically for selected PPHS students to get clinical experience necessary to apply for professional health programs that have minimum clinical hour requirements.
We will prepare you for medical school with an MCAT prep course and mock interviews. You'll be able to articulate your passion, skills and interest in medicine to admissions committees. Our liberal arts approach will prepare you with a broad base of knowledge in multiple fields.
Each year, EMU invites experts to campus to present research, share their personal career journeys, and connect science, faith and social issues. You’ll hear from health care practitioners, scientists and activists who are applying their knowledge to address issues in their communities.
Position: MD, Lancaster General Family Medicine, Lancaster, PA
My experience at EMU was unique compared to many of my medical school classmates who attended large universities and were among hundreds in the pre-med track. Smaller class size at EMU meant I had wonderful relationships with professors and received a lot of guidance as I pursued my goal of medical school.
Position: Student, Duke Physical Therapy School, Durham, NC
My courses outside of those basic science prerequisites prepared me for a job working with people in healthcare, such as sociology of health, social psychology, senior seminar, and ethics courses.
Position: Surgeon and Assistant Professor, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
EMU provides a combination of top-notch small classes and excellent faculty who are dedicated to the development of and are engaged with their students.
Position: Student, VCU School of Dentistry, Richmond, VA
I want to be a Christian who happens to be a dentist—and not the other way around, I learned that at EMU.
Position: Professor of family medicine The Ohio State University College of Medicine, medical staff at Mary Rutan Hospital
My experience promoted an integration of life and practice that prepared me well for what I’m doing today.
Position: Student, physician assistant program, JMU, Harrisonburg, VA
I had the opportunity to discover biology outside of a textbook. I was drenched by rain in a rainforest, had a monkey steal my water bottle to drink from it, swam in Lake Titicaca, fed the Galapagos Island giant tortoises, observed Darwin’s finches and best of all made connections and friendships that will transcend generations.
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