Postbaccalaureate work consists of academic study undertaken after earning a bachelor’s degree. Offered through Preprofessional Programs , College of Arts and Sciences , American University’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate program is designed to complete basic requirements and strengthen credentials for application to health professional schools of human medicine (MD or DO), dentistry (DDS), veterinary medicine (DVM), podiatry (DPM), optometry (OD), and oral surgery (DMD), and to advanced degree programs in the allied health sciences such as public health (MPH) and physician assistant, nurse practitioner, and physical therapy programs leading to the MS or PhD degree.
This program offers students extensive guidance and assistance in preparing for professional school and a career. With the help of advisors they polish resume and essay-writing skills, prepare for the Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT) or other admissions examinations, practice medical school interviews, select potential professional schools, and address related financial issues. Through the program, students may also attend seminars by health professionals, identify volunteer opportunities, and be matched with a mentor. Each emerges with a composite letter of evaluation, held with letters of recommendation in a personal file. The premedical programs coordinator sends these letters to professional schools for students and assists them in meeting all application deadlines.
