Engineering and Pre-Health

The pre-health journey can encompass a variety of different major backgrounds. Whether it be within the College of Natural Science or College of Engineering, the pre-health track is simply a guide to help students on their way to professional school. Below are a few tips for engineering students who are also pursuing a pre-health route.

Pursuing a degree in engineering itself can provide for an opening doorway into many different career options. This is most commonly the reason for why students decide to pursue a degree in engineering as well as entry into professional school, such as medical school. It is important to note that engineering can be described as a “rigorous” pathway which will require various courses in mathematics and physics. Professional schools would most likely require the basics to the upper-level engineering courses required for you. In sum, you would need additional courses on top of those required for admission into professional school.

Should I stay in Engineering on the Pre-Health track?

If you think that you can handle the engineering requirements on top of your professional school admission requirements, then yes! It is solely up to the student to decided whether they would like to proceed within a certain degree-plan and deciding if it is right for their timeline. Some engineering students can complete their courses within 4 years while others may require 5 years to complete their undergraduate process.

It is also very common for pre-health students to take gap years. Did you know that the age of an average medical school matriculant is between 24 and 26? Do not feel ashamed if you take extra time to satisfy your academic requirements or even take some time off.

Does Engineering benefit my application to professional school?

No. There is no specific major or college that benefits a student’s admission chances into professional school. Your undergraduate degree is designed to reflect your field-interests and how well you were able to perform in those courses. Based on BeMo 2021 statistics, approximately 46.4% (out of 1,678) of medical school applicants with a humanities major were admitted. It is emphasized that students should choose a major which would stimulate their interests and allow for success.

Of course, majoring in engineering allows for you to have a back-up plan for professional school which is what our advising office typically recommends. In the case that you are unable to get into professional school right away, you can utilize your engineering background for other options.

 

Are there any engineering internships that also satisfy clinical requirements?

While there are engineering internships out there, most of them will not satisfy your clinical requirement hours. Keep in mind that your clinical hours are defined as being involved in a clinical setting. So, this will typically involve hands-on patient care or lab work. I recommend looking into biomedical engineering opportunities if you are interested and try speaking with an advisor in that department as well.

Remember – you can also search for clinical employment opportunities such as EMT, CNA, Scribing, Phlebotomy, and many more.

Make sure to update your MSU Handshake profile and explore some possible opportunities!

 

 

I wish you the best of luck on your engineering and pre-health journey. Feel free to reach out to our advising office for further help!

By,

Kaylee