Health Professions

Pursuing a career in the health field involves both exploration and preparation. The following website is a great place for students to learn more about the many options for a health-related career: www.explorehealthcareers.org.

The information provided below is meant to be a general guideline for students preparing for the health professions.

Students are always urged to check directly with the graduate program of their interest since admission requirements vary by graduate program.

Physician Assistant

Resources


Prepairing While at Boston College

If you are a biology/biochemistry major thinking of applying to PA programs, the following is a list of Boston College Biology courses that you should consider taking. This list may not be exhaustive; please consult the specific graduate programs to which you are applying.

  • BIOL 4260 - Human Anatomy with Lab (fall)
  • BIOL 4330 - Human Physiology with Lab (spring)
  • BIOL 3090 - Microbiology with Lab (spring)
  • BIOL 2300 - Biostatistics (fall/spring) or another statistics course
  • Chemistry requirement varies by graduate program
  • Approximately 2,000 hours of hands-on patient-care experience
     

NOTE: Biology/Biochemistry majors will not be given permission to register for the Anatomy & Physiology sequence through the Nursing School (BIOL 1300/BIOL 1320). Instead, majors should plan to take BIOL 4260 and BIOL 4330 above.

Nursing

Resources

Prepairing While at Boston College:

Biology/biochemistry majors who are considering applying to nursing programs after graduation may wish to take the following courses. This list may not be exhaustive; please consult the specific graduate programs to which you are applying.

  • BIOL 4260 - Human Anatomy with Lab (fall)
  • BIOL 4330 - Human Physiology with Lab (spring)
  • BIOL 4140 - Microbiology with Lab (spring)
  • BIOL 2300 - Biostatistics (fall/spring) or another statistics course
  • Chemistry requirement (may vary by graduate program)
  • Pathophysiology (may vary by graduate program)
  • Human Development, Lifespan or Developmental Psychology
  • Social Science
     

NOTE: Biology/Biochemistry majors will not be given permission to register for the Anatomy & Physiology sequence through the Nursing School (BIOL 1300/BIOL 1320). Instead, majors should plan to take BIOL 4260 and BIOL 4330 above.

Genetic Counseling

Resources


Prepairing While at Boston College

Please consult the specific graduate program that you are interested in, but the following are several courses to consider taking:

  • One year of General Chemistry
  • One year of Biology with Lab 
  • One semester of Genetics (ex:  BIOL 3190  Genetics & Genomics; BIOL 3150  Introduction to Genomics)
  • One semester each of Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Psychology and Statistics

Public Health

Resources

Prepairing While at Boston College

If you are a biology/biochemistry major thinking of applying to Public Health graduate programs, the following is a list of Boston College Biology courses that you should consider taking. This list may not be exhaustive; please consult the specific graduate programs to which you are applying.

  • BIOL2300: Biostatistics and/or Mathematics course (e.g. Calculus)
  • Epidemiology
  • Environmental Health
  • Health Policy and Management
  • Health Education/Behavioral Sciences (BIOL 2000: Molecules and Cells; BIOL 2010: Ecology and Evolution; CHEM 1101-1102: General Chemistry; BIOL 4140: Microbiology)
     

Activities While at Boston College:

Pharmacy

Resources

Prepairing While at Boston College

If you are a biology/biochemistry major thinking of applying to Pharmacy programs, the following is a list of Boston College Biology courses that you should consider taking. This list may not be exhaustive; please consult the specific graduate programs to which you are applying.

  • Biology w/lab (1 year): BIOL 2000, BIOL 2010, BIOL 2040
  • General Chemistry I & II (w/labs): CHEM 1109-1110; CHEM 1111-1112
  • Organic Chemistry I & II (w/labs): CHEM 2231-2233; 2232-2234
  • Physics I & II (w/labs): PHYS 2100-2101
  • English (1 year)
  • Physiology:  BIOL 3030 and/or BIOL4330
  • Microbiology (BIOL 4140)
  • MATH 1100/MATH 1101: Calculus I & II/BIOL 2300: Biostatistics
     

Frequent Additional Course Requirements

  • Cell Biology (BIOL3040)
  • Genetics course (BIOL3150, BIOL3190, BIOL4170)
  • Immunology (BIOL4570)
  • Biochemistry (BIOL4350)

Physical & Occupational Therapy

Resources

Prepairing While at Boston College

If you are a biology/biochemistry major thinking of applying to Physical Therapy or Occupational Therapy programs, the following is a list of Boston College Biology courses that you should consider taking. This list may not be exhaustive; please consult the specific graduate programs to which you are applying.

Physical Therapy

  • One year of Biology with lab (BIOL2000; BIOL2010 or BIOL3030; BIOL2040)
  • One year of Chemistry with lab
  • One year of Physics with lab
  • Human Anatomy w/ lab (BIOL4260)
  • Human Physiology w/ lab (BIOL4330)
  • Exercise Physiology (BIOL4520)
  • Psychology
  • Statistics (BIOL2300 or ECON1151)
  • English
     

Occupational Therapy

  • Biology courses with lab
  • English (1 year)
  • Calculus (1 semester)
  • Human Anatomy w/ lab (BIOL4260)
  • Human Physiology w/ lab (BIOL4330)
  • Statistics (BIOL2300 or ECON1151)
  • Psychology courses (Abnormal, Child, Lifespan)

Optometry

Resources

Prepairing While at Boston College

If you are a biology/biochemistry major thinking of applying to Optometry programs, the following is a list of Boston College Biology courses that you should consider taking. This list may not be exhaustive; please consult the specific graduate programs to which you are applying.

  • One year of Biology with lab (BIOL2000; BIOL2010 or BIOL3030; BIOL2040)
  • One year of Chemistry with lab
  • One year of Physics with lab
  • English (1 year)
  • Calculus (MATH1100 or MATH1101)
     

Frequent Additional Course Requirements

  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Organic chemistry (1 semester with lab)
  • Biochemistry (BIOL4350 or CHEM4461)
  • Microbiology (BIOL4140)
  • Statistics (BIOL2300)
  • Psychology (1 semester)
     

NOTE:  Biology/Biochemistry majors will not be given permission to register for the Anatomy & Physiology sequence through the Nursing School (BIOL 1300/BIOL 1320).  Instead, majors should plan to take BIOL 4260 and BIOL 4330 above.

Back To Top