Pre-Professional Programs

Medical, Veterinary, Dental

Medical, dental, and veterinary schools specify courses, not specific majors, that are prerequisites for admission to their programs. For example, Pre-Med students may select any major as long as they take the courses required by the medical school they wish to attend. Regardless of which major you select at Wingate University, most medical and dental schools in the U.S. require one year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics. Some specify calculus. Vet schools may require more: biochemistry, genetics, and microbiology. You should select a major which matches your interests and abilities and one which allows you to complete the necessary biology, chemistry, math, and physics courses. If you choose a major which does not require the essential science and math courses as part of its curriculum, you will need to take them as electives in addition to your major’s required courses.

Admission to health programs on the graduate school level is highly selective. In addition to a solid background in math and science, you’ll need to possess the right academic criteria. You’ll need to demonstrate:

• Ability to think, reason and express ideas clearly
• Appropriate job or volunteer experience in your area of interest
• Demonstrated potential to succeed in graduate school
• Effective communication and interview skills
• Excellent study skills
• High scores on MCAT/DAT/GRE entry exams
• Motivation
• Self-discipline
• 3.7 GPA or higher

Most of the science courses have prerequisites and some courses are not offered every semester. The courses you take (biology, chemistry, and math), the sequence in which you take them, and your performance in them are critical — failure to complete specific courses at the right time or with satisfactory grades will interfere with your progress towards completing the sequence of science courses needed for professional school. Each student is responsible for selecting the courses that are needed to meet all entrance requirements specified in the bulletin from the school they wish to attend. Pre-Health Professions students should consult the information for the major they plan to pursue for suggested first-semester classes.

VCOM PARTNERSHIP

Our partnership with Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine could be just for you. You’ll need to complete the courses that prepare you for medical school and fulfill VCOM’s admissions requirements. If you do, you could be one of the 15 Wingate students selected for admission each year.

The Pre-Law program at Wingate University is designed to prepare the student for success as a lawyer. No law school requires a particular major as a prerequisite for admission. Rather, law schools look for evidence of reading and analytical abilities which serve as the primary bases of admissions decisions. For that reason, the Pre-Law program has two emphases, both focused on skill development. First, the Pre-Law student should choose a major based on personal interest. Experience indicates that reading and analytical skills can be developed only if a student is willing to work hard and that a student is willing to work hard only if he or she studies a subject that is interesting. Any major will provide ample opportunity to develop the required skills for law school. Second, the Pre-Law student should complete the Legal Studies minor. This minor includes the specific courses in the Wingate University curriculum that will be the most valuable in preparing for law school. Admission to law school demands that preparation begin far before formal application for admission. The student planning to become a lawyer is urged to meet with the PreLaw advisor no later than his or her sophomore year.

Students attending Wingate University who are intending to pursue seminary education and a life of ordained ministry in the church or on behalf of the church in other settings are provided a variety of opportunities, within and beyond the classroom. The University’s Pre-Ministerial program is jointly administered by the Department of Religion and Philosophy and the Office of the Campus Minister, who serves as an advisor. The undergraduate years can provide a solid foundation for seminary and ministry; they can neither duplicate nor replace seminary education. However, because a sense of call to ministry often flourishes during the college years, we provide opportunities for education and formation in that call. Pre-Ministerial students are encouraged to major in religion in order to receive a solid foundation in the core theological disciplines of Bible, Church History, Theology, and Philosophy. Advanced course-work in the broader liberal arts, including English, History, Sociology, and Psychology can also be helpful, and depending upon the students’ particular commitment, a minor or double major in one of these areas may be advised. The Campus Minister oversees the Center for Vocational Ministry.

The goals of the Center are:

• To help students begin the process of identifying their own unique sense of vocation and “calling” in life.
• To encourage students to consider how their religious faith relates, or how they could relate it, to their choice of vocation.
• To encourage students to consider the many ways that Christian leadership, community service, and a secular career can be combined within a broad concept of vocation.
• To promote a serious exploration of the idea of vocation among all students at Wingate University, including those with less immediate interest in a theological career or a career in community service. The Center believes that all students, if encouraged to consider seriously their lives and future, will prefer a path that enables them to improve the world in which they live.

After the first year in the program, the Campus Minister will help students identify personal and professional goals and work together to find a supervised, off-campus internship that will help the student realize those goals. Examples are students working in churches, helping with mediation in a lawyer’s office, working with social justice nonprofits and even working with the chaplain at a prison.

It is suggested that Wingate University students intending to pursue the Bachelor of Science in Nursing take the following prerequisites in order to be eligible for admission to the program in the junior year:

At the Wingate University School of Pharmacy, we don’t require a bachelor’s degree for admission.  You can complete the required prerequisite courses at any accredited institution in the United States, but if you’re certain you want to earn a PharmD, you can accelerate your education with our pre-pharmacy course of study.

The pre-pharmacy course of study can be completed in as little as two years, while other students may choose to complete a bachelor’s degree.  Students will work with their academic advisor to determine the best path to complete the pre-pharmacy course of study.   Pre-pharmacy is not a major, so you don’t earn a degree when you complete your prerequisites.  But if you complete all of your prerequisite pre-pharmacy courses at Wingate, you can apply straight into the Doctor of Pharmacy degree program.  You can earn your PharmD in as few as six years total (two years of pre-pharmacy courses and four years of doctorate work).

The Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) is optional for applicants with at least a 3.0 prerequisite GPA or higher.  If your prerequisite GPA falls below a 3.0, we recommend that you take the PCAT. 

The Wingate University Physician Assistant Program is dedicated to exceptional physician assistant education and the support of service to communities. The Program is committed to preparing students from many backgrounds to practice medicine in a variety of specialties and settings under the supervision of a physician. Emphasis is placed upon understanding and appreciating cultural diversity as well as effectively meeting the level of health care comprehension among our patients. The Program aims to prepare its graduates to practice and promote primary health care of the highest quality as part of a multidisciplinary team.

*Students must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.2 of higher on the above courses to be considered for admission to the PA Program Results for the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) are to be submitted directly to the PA Program. For further requirements, please see the PA website.

If not included within their baccalaureate or master’s degree course of study, each applicant must complete 11 additional prerequisite courses at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. There are no waivers or exceptions to these 11 prerequisites as listed. If the applicant has attended an institution awarding quarter or other means reporting coursework hours, the applicant must have completed what the DPT Admissions Committee deems to be an approximate equivalent to the semester hours shown for each course.