Pre-Professional and Medically Allied Programs

If you wish to become a physician, an optometrist, a dentist, a podiatrist, a chiropractor or an osteopath, this fact sheet may answer some of your questions about allied health programs available at North Dakota State University.

The Program

Pre-professional programs usually consist of four years of college. This is followed by four additional years in a professional school. While state-supported professional schools usually admit very few nonresidents, a resident of Minnesota attending NDSU and applying to the University of Minnesota Medical School will be given the same consideration as a Minnesota resident who has received a premedical education in Minnesota. Similarly, North Dakota residents are given equal priority by the University of North Dakota (UND) School of Medicine regardless of graduation from NDSU, UND, or any other university of equal standing.

The Pre-Professional Curriculum

There is no formal curriculum for you as a pre-professional student, so you are free to choose an academic major that is close to your personal interests. However, professional schools require their applicants to complete certain basic courses. As an example, the UND School of Medicine requires its applicants to have completed 16 semester hours in chemistry, eight in physics, eight in the biological sciences, three in college algebra, three in psychology or sociology and six in English. Students planning to apply to professional schools should seek information from particular schools and become familiar with any special requirements.

Faculty Advisers

Pre-professional students may major in any college at NDSU. Seven departments in the College of Science and Mathematics have faculty members actively engaged in pre-professional advising. The Office of Registration and Records can help you make contact with a department best suited to your specific interests.

Your academic adviser can answer questions dealing with requirements necessary to complete a particular departmental major. Furthermore, if your adviser is made aware of your career objectives, he or she will be able to answer or direct you to a source of answers to questions concerning your particular professional career plans.

Co-Curricular Activities

You are encouraged to participate in student organizations such as the Pre-Med Association. The Premed Association, sponsored by the Department of Biological Sciences, is organized by students with similar career goals and provides an opportunity for you to discuss career plans with other interested students. The Premed Association welcomes the participation of pre-professional students from all majors. It seeks information about admission policies and requirements for various professional schools. Most of the club's members who have applied to professional schools have been admitted.

Applying to Professional School

Most students choosing professional careers in medically allied health fields have scholastic abilities and levels of motivation sufficient to ensure an above average grade point. However, grades do not tell the whole story. Admission committees also require information about you as a person. This information is brought to their attention through letters of recommendation and personal interviews. It is, therefore, important that you attempt to develop a personal relationship with responsible members of the community in general and the University community in particular. Volunteer to help in community projects such as Big Brother/Big Sister or Hospice. Work as an orderly in a hospital or as an aid in a nursing home. Interact with your professors. Volunteer to help in faculty research projects or initiate an individual study program under the supervision of a favorite professor. Attempt to demonstrate your social, emotional and scholastic maturity, and your individual uniqueness and talents. Most professional schools also require that scores from admission tests be submitted with an application.

Contacts For Information Concerning Health Professions Admission Tests

MCAT Program Office
PO Box 4056
Iowa City, IA 52243-4056
www.aamc.org/students/mcat/start.htm

Optometry Admission Testing Program
211 East Chicago Avenue, Suite 1846
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
www.opted.org/info_oat.cfm

Dental Admission Testing Program
211 East Chicago Avenue, Suite 1846
Chicago, IL 60611-2678
www.ada.org/prof/ed/testing/dat/index.asp

Contact Information

Dr. William J. Bleier, Director

Pre-Professional Programs
Department of Biological Sciences
North Dakota State University
Stevens Hall 218
Fargo, ND 58105

Tel: (701) 231-7087
Fax: (701) 231-7149
Email:William.Bleier@ndsu.edu
Web: http://biology.ndsu.nodak.edu/

Office of Admission

North Dakota State University
124 Ceres Hall
Fargo, ND 58105

Tel: (701) 231-8643
Fax: (701) 231-8802
Email: NDSU.Admission@ndsu.edu
Web: http://www.ndsu.edu/prospective/students/

(6/07)