Frequently Asked Questions
Please review our Quick Guide to the Pre-Health Advising Office
The Pre-Health Advising Center at the University of Houston was established in 2020 to assist and advise UH students interested in pursuing careers in healthcare.
Our team provides assistance with both the preparation and application process for admission into health professional programs, including those in medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, nursing, and allied-health.
NOTE: Our office is not an official department or major. We cannot release financial/advising holds nor enroll you in courses. You cannot major in pre-Med, pre-Dental, etc. While working with our office, you will still need to meet with your major advisor to discuss your individual graduation requirement and degree progress.
Arriving on campus, your primary focus should be acclimating to life at the University of Houston and establishing a strong academic foundation. Your major advisor can assist with providing initial information on your chosen healthcare career pathway as well as your overall class schedule for your first-year.
After you have completed New Student Orientation and met with your major advisor, we encourage you to:
- Review our Quick Guide to the Pre-Health Advising Office
- Join the Pre-Health Email List.
- Review information on your specific healthcare pathway.
- Attend (or listen to) an Introductory Pre-Health Orientation
- Consider enrolling in BIOL 1197: Survey of the Health Professions
- Email us with any specific questions/issues you may have: prehealth@uh.edu
Once you are beginning to feel comfortable with your classes, you may schedule an appointment with one of our Health Professions Advisors to discuss your specific healthcare career goals.
Houston Premedical Academy
3+4 Progam - University of Houston/McGovern Medical School/UTMB
Actively enrolled Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors at the University of Houston can make an appointment with our office in Navigate.
Incoming Freshman are strongly encouraged to wait until they have completed their first semester at UH before scheduling an appointment with our office. In the interim, please review an Introductory Orientation for guidance.
Pre-Nursing students should meet with advisors in the College of Nursing: nursing@uh.edu.
Please review the information available on this website and direct questions to prehealth@uh.edu.
If you are a prospective student or alumni, please direct questions to prehealth@uh.edu.
No. You cannot major as "pre-Medical", "pre-Dental, etc. at the University of Houston. Nor are there any formal pre-Medical or pre-Health programs. Instead, you should major in the area in which you are most interested and then add in any additional requirements you may need to apply to medical, dental, PT, PA school, etc.
Pre-Nursing is a major at the University of Houston, but is very competitive. If you are not accepted into pre-Nursing major as a major, do not worry! You may select any other major in which you are interested and complete the requirements to apply to the College of Nursing after your Sophomore year. Your major advisor and our office can assist you with planning. For more information, please see our pre-Nursing page.
While it is more practical to major in a life or physical science when completing the pre-requisites for most health professional programs, it is not required nor even necessarily recommended. Most admission committees appreciate applicants that have sought out challenges and opportunities to learn and grow, rather than taking the classes applicants feel they are "supposed" to take.
Our office can assist students in deciding on their major and developing their "timeline" for applying to professional school.
Our office has provided a number of resources to support students preparing to apply to the various health professional programs, including information on:
- Clinical & Community Volunteering Opportunities
- Research Opportunities
- Summer Programs
- Admissions Exams
- Interview Preparation
- Letters of Evaluation
- Personal Statements
and much more!
The Health Professions Advisory Committee (or HPAC) consists of 18 University of Houston faculty members tasked with evaluating UH applicants to medical and dental school each application cycle.
All Texas applicants to medical and dental school are expected to complete the HPAC review process and receive a committee letter of evaluation to accompany their application.
For more information, see our HPAC section and review our Quick Guide to HPAC.
The Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) is a unique program, created by the Texas Legislature to provide support and encouragement for economically disadvantaged students from across the State of Texas to successfully matriculate into medical school and pursue a career in medicine.
If you have an interest in becoming a physician, you should explore what JAMP has to offer you. It will provide you with valuable academic and personal assistance as you prepare to enter the medical profession.
If you are ready to get started, the JAMP Quick Guide will provide step-by-step instructions regarding the path prior to entering college and during your first year as a freshman as you begin the application process.
The Pre-Health Advising Center assists students with collection of their materials for HPAC Review, including Letters of Evaluation; however, neither our advisors nor Director provide individual letters to students. Students are encouraged to contact faculty, healthcare professionals, or other individuals for letters of evaluation to health professional programs.
Letters of Evaluation collected for HPAC are not stored beyond the current application cycle. Students who wish to re-apply to medical or dental school are required to submit new letters.
For students interested in healthcare careers other than medicine or dentistry (i.e., nursing, physical therapy, optometry, etc.), letters of evaluation should be submitted directly to the application service. The Pre-Health Advising Center provides guidance to applicants regarding letters of evaluation, but does not collect, store, or submit letters on your behalf.
Our office recommends that all Pre-Health students utilize their letter grades for all courses, especially courses that count as pre-requisites for your specific healthcare pathway (i.e., medical, dental, PA school, etc.). Most medical and dental schools have not indicated acceptance of Satisfactory grades. Moreover, letter-grades are preferred among admissions committees over Pass/Satisfactory as a Pass/Satisfactory does not give a good indicator of performance in the course. Both TMDSAS and AACOMAS have indicated that NCR grades will be treated the same as F(ailing) grades within the GPA calculation. For this reason, students who previously chose to accept an S/NCR are able to reverse the decision and have the letter grades put back on their transcripts. The reversal can only be done once, and this change will be final- no exceptions. To initiate the reversal, please email the Registrar’s Office at uhour@uh.edu.