Liberal Arts and Sciences: PREPROFESSIONAL TRAINING


NOTE: This document was generated from the 1995-1997 UIUC Programs of Study. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but be advised that requirements may have changed since this book was published. Errors may have also been introduced in the conversion to a WWW document. Thus for items of importance, it might be wise to seek confirmation from either the paper version or a live human being.

Because of the very large number of students interested in the health and associated health professions and the limited number of spaces in professional schools, the competition for admission to professional programs is great. Students interested in the health and associated health professions are directed into degree programs in the college so that they can make progress toward meeting requirements for bachelor's degrees at the same time that they complete course requirements for admission to the desired health and associated health professions. By doing this, a student who is not successful in gaining admission to a professional program may complete a degree program without prolonging study beyond eight semesters.

ACADEMIC ADVISING

Since students who are interested in the health professions are expected to enter degree programs of their choice, their academic advising is provided by the departmental offices of the curricula or majors that they have selected. Generally, students interested in dentistry, veterinary medicine, and often medicine are advised to elect the biology general option in life sciences as their major. Students interested in medical records administration, nutrition and medical dietetics, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and professional nursing are advised to elect the general curriculum.

PROFESSIONAL SCHOOL ADVISING

Advising for professional schools and career advising for dentistry, allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, optometry, and podiatry may be obtained from the Health Careers House, 901 West Illinois Street, Urbana, IL, 61801. The office serves as a resource center for information concerning careers in the health professions listed above, provides personal and individual career counseling and guidance for students who are interested in those professions, and coordinates the visits of deans and admissions officers to this campus to interview prospective applicants and to acquaint students with the unique educational features of their institutions.

The office provides standard faculty evaluation forms to students who are planning to apply to professional schools in the health professions listed above. A student may request letters of evaluation from faculty members at any time during his or her college career. The office will maintain the letters in a confidential file and will duplicate and forward them, unedited, to the professional schools designated by the student.

Information on the UIUC dietetics program is also available from the College of Agriculture Office of Academic Programs, 1301 West Gregory, Urbana, IL 61801.

Academic advising and advising about application to the University of Illinois at Chicago for medical laboratory sciences, medical record administration, nursing, nutrition and medical dietetics, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and pharmacy is available at the General Curriculum Advising Office, 912 South Fifth Street, Champaign, IL 61820. Information on nursing is also available at the College of Nursing, 408 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801.

TRANSFER CREDIT FROM PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS

If a student has satisfied both college and major residence requirements, it is possible to transfer basic medical science credit satisfactorily completed at a fully accredited medical, dental, or veterinary medical school for courses acceptable to the major and to apply that credit to the requirements for the baccalaureate degree from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The amount of transfer credit cannot exceed 30 semester hours, and duplication of courses completed on this campus will not be permitted . Credit will be counted only upon completion of one year's professional study.

A student planning to complete the baccalaureate degree requirements by attendance at a medical, dental, or veterinary medical school must obtain an evaluation of credit before attending that school. Because it is quite possible that less than the maximum amount of credit may be acceptable as transfer credit, it is essential that the student consult the admissions and records officer in the college office as early as possible.

If there is any question about whether a course meets the criteria for acceptability or about the amount of credit to be granted, the student will be responsible for providing the necessary information upon which the head of the appropriate department (or his or her designate) on this campus will make a recommendation to the college regarding the acceptance of credit. Final determination of the credit will be made by the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences or his or her designate.

The prior agreement regarding transfer credit from professional schools must be included in the student's major contract form.

PROFESSIONAL HEALTH PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

All of the professional and associated health programs listed below are offered only at the Health Sciences Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Upon completion of preprofessional requirements, students apply to these programs in open competition with students from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and elsewhere. Because of the high level of competition, not all applicants are admitted. Students who are interested in these programs should familiarize themselves with similar programs, offered by other colleges and universities in Illinois and in other states, to which they may wish to apply.


Go to Liberal Arts and Sciences Programs Index
Go to Programs of Study Table of Contents
GO to College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Home Page
Go to University of Illinois Home Page