VCU offers eight pre-professional health undergraduate minors for students interested in pursuing future admission to professional training programs.

Professional training programs grant MD, DO, DDS, PharmD, OTD, DPT, PA, OD and DVM degrees. Pre-professional health minors can be added to any major program of study at VCU.

Minor programs are available for students interested in pursuing careers in dentistry, medicine, occupational therapy, optometry, pharmacy, physical therapy, physician assistant studies and veterinary medicine. Minor program courses and curricula are described in detail in the undergraduate bulletin.*

*Note: courses listed in the bulletin consist of required and recommended courses for VCU professional training programs. Students should check with advisors to ensure declaring a minor is the best option and they are taking the correct prerequisites for the specific professional programs they are interested in attending. 

Requirements to Declare Pre-Professional Health Minors

The process to gain admission to a professional training program is competitive.  Minimum academic standards to declare and continue in these minors are in place to ensure students can successfully complete minor programs and become competitive applicants to their intended professional training program. Average cumulative grade point averages to gain admission into professional training programs often exceed the minimum standards to declare and maintain these minors. 

Students are restricted from declaring pre-professional health minors until they meet the following minimum requirements.

• Complete a minimum of 12 graded credit hours 
• Obtain a minimum cumulative VCU GPA of 3.0
• Complete BIOL 151 and BIOZ 151 with minimum grades of C (or BIOL 101 and BIOZ 101 if pursuing pre-occupational therapy)

Requirements to Maintain a Pre-Professional Health Minor

• Students must maintain a minimum 3.0 VCU cumulative GPA.
• If a student's VCU cumulative GPA drops below 3.0, they will be placed on probation in the minor and allowed one semester to raise their cumulative GPA to 3.0 — provided it is mathematically possible to do so. If it is not mathematically possible to do so, or if the student fails to raise their minimum cumulative GPA to 3.0 during their probationary semester, they will be removed from the minor and can re-declare the minor once eligible. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their pre-professional health minor adviser to discuss their academic plans/progress.
• Students cannot exceed more than three attempts of any course within the minor including withdrawals and historical repeat attempts. If a student exceeds three attempts for any course within the minor, they will not be eligible to maintain and graduate with the minor.

Declaring Pre-Professional Health Minors

Starting Fall 2024, students will be able to declare a pre-professional health minor. Students currently enrolled in the pre-health “tracks” will receive communication on how to transition to the new minor programs of study.

Advising Resources in the College of Humanities and Sciences

Students with declared pre-professional health minors receive advising and academic plans to complete the courses required for each minor by a specialized curriculum advisor in the College of Humanities and Sciences. The College is in the process of hiring a pre-professional health minor advisor. Students with declared minors will be able to schedule appointments with this advisor through the navigate application starting in Fall 2024.

Advising Resources in VCU Career Services

Students are also supported by a team of pre-professional health career advisers at VCU Career Services. The Career Services team provides all pre-health students resources to plan for alternative careers, gain exposure to health care, networking opportunities with professional program admissions officers, assistance with writing personal statements and navigating other aspects of the professional school application process. All students can schedule appointments with pre-professional health and STEM career counselors through Handshake.

Student-Run Pre-Health Clubs and Organizations

Students have access to a wide network of programming through student-run pre-health clubs and organizations. Student organizations can be accessed on Rams Connect.