About Pre-health Professions

Preparing for professional school requires more than completing prerequisite coursework. The Pre-health Professions Program helps you develop the experiences, skills and professional competencies expected by today's healthcare professional programs.

You will have opportunities to:

• Explore healthcare careers and professional pathways.
• Develop individualized academic and professional school plans.
• Participate in volunteer, clinical, research and leadership experiences.
• Prepare competitive professional school applications.
• Attend workshops and professional development events.
• Connect with healthcare professionals and admissions representatives.
• Participate in student organizations.
• Earn recognition through transcript notation and digital badges.

Partnerships

The Pre-health Professions Program collaborates with healthcare organizations, professional schools and campus partners to provide access to clinical certifications, job shadowing, professional development, networking opportunities, pathway programs and workforce experiences that help you prepare for a career in healthcare.

Current partnerships include:

• Northwestern Medicine: Clinical certifications, job shadowing, workforce development and student funding opportunities
• Midwestern University: Priority interview and admission opportunities for qualifying students
• University of Illinois-Chicago College of Pharmacy: Pathway programming, recruitment and professional school engagement for students pursuing pharmacy
• Healthcare employers and community partners: Expanded experiential learning and networking opportunities
• NIU Career Services: Healthcare career fairs, graduate and professional school events, and career readiness programming
• NIU Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning: Leadership development and campus engagement opportunities

Guidance for Any Major

Pre-health is not a major. It is a pathway that students from any academic major can follow while preparing for admission to a health professions program. The Pre-health Professions Program works alongside your academic advisor to help you plan prerequisite coursework, explore healthcare careers, build meaningful experiences and prepare for the professional school application process.

Whether you are considering medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, physician associate/assistant, veterinary medicine, optometry, physical therapy, occupational therapy or another health profession, you can connect with us for individualized guidance and support.