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Pre-Health Professions Certificate

Barry S. Rothman, Ph.D.

Director

E-Mail Inquiries

Overview

    Mission

   SFSU's Ethnic Diversity

Benefits

Admissions Requirements

Application Process

   Special Admissions Scenarios

   International Students

Fees

Visiting SFSU

Curriculum

   Overview of Two-Year Curriculum

   Detailed Two-Year Curriculum

Health Professions Speaker Series

Pre-Health Student Organizations

Clinical and Research Opportunities

Qualities of Successful Candidates

Letter-Forwarding Service

Linkage Agreements

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To Informal Pre-Health Professions Programs

Formal Program Application, Cohort 3 (2008-10)

Note: the application for Cohort 4 will change substantially.

Overview: (back to top)

In June, 2006, SFSU created the Pre-Health Professions Certificate Program, a formal post-bac program that complements its already existing informal post-bac programs.

Mission: The goal of the Pre-Health Professions Certificate Program is to guide participants through the entire preparation and application process so that they will be competitive applicants to graduate health profession schools. The Program is intended for students that have already earned a BA/BS/BFA degree and wish to apply to allopathic medicine, osteopathic medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry physical therapy or veterinary medicine schools. Students wishing to apply to other health profession schools may also be considered. Due to its cohort structure, the Program is best suited for students who will be taking our complete set of course offerings; that is, those who have completed little or no pre-requisite course work at the time of entry. Cohorts up to 50 students take pre-requisite Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics course work, and auxiliary course work in the form of discussion sections, upper-division science electives, a Health Professions Colloquium, and clinical exposure activities. On-campus MCAT/DAT/PCAT/OAT/GRE preparation courses may be available from commercial vendors at a discount. The Program begins in the early summer and runs continuously for six semesters, a period of two years. The Program is supervised by a Director, who writes a Committee  Letter of Evaluation for those completing the Program that may be submitted with the student’s health profession school application. The Program seeks a diverse population of participants. Subsidized and unsubsidized loans are available to students with documented financial need.

SFSU's Ethnic Diversity: With about 23,000 full-time equivalent undergraduates, and 6,000 full-time equivalent graduate students, SFSU has the fifth largest enrollment of the twenty-three California State University campuses and the forty-seventh largest enrollment of all universities in the United States. SFSU and the CSU system are committed to providing educational opportunities to the broadest possible range of students in the state. Reflecting the ethnically diverse urban area in which it is located, SFSU serves a significant number of underrepresented minority students. In 2005, of students who declared their ethnicity (84%), students of color comprised approximately 61% of the undergraduate and pre-health post-bac populations, and 42% of the graduate population. The undergraduate and pre-health post-bac students of color were distributed as follows: Native American, 1%; African American, 7%; Mexican American, 9%; Other Hispanic, 7%; Filipino, 11%; Other Pacific Islander, 1%; Asian, 20%; SE Asian, 4%.  Faculty hire at SFSU also strongly emphasizes racial and ethnic diversity.  In 2005, 34% of the 833 tenured and tenure-track faculty were people of color, distributed as follows: Native American, 1%; African American, 5%; Mexican American, 7%; Other Non-White, 3%; Filipino, 1%; Other Pacific Islander, 0.2%; Other Asian, 16%.

Benefits (back to top)

• Participants will be able to complete pre-requisite course work efficiently and with guaranteed entrance into Program classes.

• Participants move through the Program as a cohort of up to 50 students. Based on experience with our present group of post-bacs (Cohorts 1, 2 and 3), they will likely form a cohesive group with similar goals and mutual support. This feature emphasizes cooperation rather than competition.

• Class size is reasonable. Lectures will have up to 50 formal post-bacs (the maximum size of the Cohort), while labs and discussion sections have up to 25 formal post-bacs each.

• Auxiliary course work in the form of discussion sections (Sci classes) will enhance learning. These Sci classes are mandatory during the first summer and optional thereafter.

• The Program provides a Health Professions Colloquium in which students will receive individual and group help in writing personal statements and practicing for interviews.

• Participants will be allowed to take additional, non-Program course work as electives. These courses have lower tuition ($239/unit), and add flexibility to the Program.

• The Program provides at a nominal fee optional Chemistry Boot Camp and Math Boot Camp to help participants prepare for summer chemistry and math courses. Chemistry Boot Camp is held during the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday prior to the beginning of summer classes. Math Boot Camp is held Monday-Friday, 1½ hours per day, during the first two week of summer classes (math classes begin in the third week of summer classes). The Boot Camps have received rave reviews from Cohorts 2 and 3.

• The Program provides stress-management tools during the first summer. These include a mandatory weekly 1½-hour support group at no cost, led by an SFSU faculty member, tailored to the needs of Program participants and possibly a weekly 1-hour yoga class at a nominal fee.

• The Program will help participants find productive clinical experiences in the San Francisco Bay area. Academic credit can be gotten for these through AU 693 (Cooperative Education) or Bio 699 (Special Projects).

• The Program strongly promotes admitting a diverse group of participants. Participants will be part of SFSU's diverse student and faculty population.

• Participants will have the support of the Program Director, Program Assistant and the Faculty that teach their courses.

• The Program fees, although substantially higher than regular fees at SFSU, are lower than those charged by most other formal post-bac programs.

•  The Program will integrate modern teaching methods and supplementary, health related information into its curriculum. This will include integration of the following into appropriate course material:

• The use of MCAT/DAT/GRE-style test questions.

• The use of case-based learning exercises (used in many health profession schools).

• Information on healthcare disparities and complementary and alternative medicine.

• MCAT/DAT/PCAT/OAT/GRE preparatory courses may be offered on campus at a discounted rate in collaboration with commercial providers.

• The Formal Post-Bac Program (PHPCP) interacts synergistically with the other post-bac programs on campus: the Informal Post-Bac (2nd-Bac) Program and the Dental Post-Bac Programs. For example, pre-dental students entering the Formal Post-Bac Program have the opportunity to interact with dental post-bacs who have already completed pre-requisite course work and have gained a considerable amount of clinical experience. Such pre-dental Formal Post-Bacs can also take advantage of SFSU's close ties with the UCSF and University of Pacific Dental Schools, which partner with SFSU in running the SFSU/UCSF/Pacific Dental Reapplicant Program.

• We are in the process of creating a nationally recognized program with a modern curriculum, high standards and a high success rate that will train the healthcare leaders of tomorrow.

Admission Requirements (back to top)

• Applicants must have graduated from an accredited institution of higher learning with a baccalaureate or higher degree and a final GPA of 2.5 or above, or they must earn a GPA of 2.5 or above in their most recent 60 semester units (90 quarter units) of course work . Because of the limited number of students that can be accommodated by the Program, applicants with higher GPAs will have an advantage in being admitted. However, GPA will be only one of many factors in evaluating applicants.

• Out-of-state students and those with Resident Status (Green Card) are welcome to apply to the Program. At present, we are unable to enroll international students. See below for further information.

Application Process (back to top)

• Click here to download a Paper Application (Cohort 3).

  Note: the application is expected to change substantially for Cohort 4.

• Downloadable PHPCP Paper Application: Applicants must download, complete and mail in the Pre-Health Professions Certificate Paper Application. Supporting documents required in the application include transcripts, a personal statement, a current résumé and two letters of reference, preferably one from a college faculty member. Students who consider themselves economically and/or educationally disadvantaged should indicate this in the paper application and provide supporting information. A $55 non-refundable application fee must be included in the application.

• Interviews: Final admission into the program requires completing an in-person interview at SFSU. The Director will contact those to invited for interviews. In cases of extenuating circumstances, a telephone interview via Skype may be granted.

• Cohort 4 Rolling Admissions: Applications for entry in summer 2009 (Cohort 4) will be accepted from January 1 until April 1, 2009. It is in one's best interest to submit a completed application as soon as possible. Processing a file will begin only after a complete application has been received. Applicants who pass our initial screening will receive an invitation for an interview. Those who pass our interview screening will receive an offer of admission. Holding an admission offer will require payment of a $500 non-refundable admissions processing fee within 2 weeks.  The Program (Cohort 4) will begin on June 8, 2009. An optional Chemistry Boot Camp to help prepare participants for entry into General Chemistry I (Chem 115) will be held Wed-Fri, June 3-5, 2009. An optional Math Boot Camp to help prepare participants for entry into Pre-Calculus (Math 109) or Calculus I (Math 226) will be held Mon-Fri, June 8-19, 2009. Math 109 and Math 226 begin on Mon, June 22. Tuition is $575/unit plus $500 non-refundable processing fee.

• Special Admissions Scenarios:

  • Quarter-System Graduates: Students attending a university on the quarter system usually graduate in mid-late June, 1-3 weeks after our Program begins. Because the Program does not allow participants to begin classes late, students graduating from quarter-system schools in the summer of 2009 should either skip the last week or two of their final undergraduate quarter (highly preferred), or apply as Cohort 4 transfers (see below).

  • Cohort 4 Transfers: A few transfers into Cohort 4 during the fall 2009 semester will be considered for applicants who have already completed General Chemistry I lecture and lab and Pre-Calculus with grades of B or higher. Contact the Program Office or the Formal Post-Bac Coordinator for details. Tuition is $575/unit plus $500 non-refundable processing fee.

  • International Students:  At this point in time, international students cannot be admitted to the Formal Post-Bac Program.

• Click here to download a Paper Application (Cohort 3).

  Note: the application is expected to change substantially for Cohort 4.

Fees (back to top)

• Fee Structure: Cohort 4 costs are $575 per unit of core course work plus a one-time $500 non-refundable processing fee. The entire 57-unit, 2-year Program costs $32,775. However, some participants elect to not enroll in all auxiliary (Sci classes), saving on some tuition expenses. Electives are priced at $239/unit. Tuition is due by the beginning of each semester. Fees are likely to increase a small amount for entry in summer 2010 (Cohort 5).

• Financial Aid: Students may apply for financial aid in the form of subsidized and unsubsidized loans.

• Additional course work: Electives taken at SFSU during participation in the Program will be charged at a reduced rate ($239/unit). Program participants are not permitted to take any classes through our 2nd-Bac or Open U informal programs.

Visiting SFSU (back to top)

Guided and self-guided tours of SFSU are available through Outreach Services. Arrangements to visit a formal post-bac class and/or meet with the formal post-bacs should be made through the Formal Post-Bac Coordinator.

Curriculum (back to top)

Overview of Two-Year Curricula

Notes: Optional Mathematics Courses shown in red.

            Auxiliary Science Courses shown in blue.

            A number of schools have recently added a semester of Biochemistry to their pre-requisites, as shown in orange.

            Special Health Professions Courses shown in green.

            MCAT/DAT/PCAT/OAT/GRE preparatory courses shown in purple. These courses will be offered on campus at a discounted rate in collaboration with commercial providers.

           *We recommend that no electives or clinical experiences be undertaken during the first two summers, when a considerable amount of course work is taken over 10 weeks instead of 15 weeks.

Detailed Two-Year Curriculum (back to top)