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Health Career Pathways

Pre-health students at Earlham will receive expert preparation for the health career of their choice through any of our health career pathways. These four-year plans combine curricular and co-curricular elements that can be integrated with any major course of study you choose. The key is to begin planning as early as possible during your time at Earlham.

Programs

There is no “correct” major for Earlham students interested in health careers. The details of each pathway, shown below are flexible and can be adapted to fit your major course of study and off-campus program interests. You’ll also meet Earlham alumni who are serving successfully in their fields of choice.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	Upper Level Biology Course*	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	Social Science course	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Upper Level Biology Course**	PHYS 230 or 235	MCAT Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring	Upper Level Chemistry Course***		Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required.

**Recommended choices for Upper Level Biology Courses:

Anatomy and Physiology I/II
Microbiology
Immunology
Advanced Cell Physiology
Parasitology

***Recommended choices for Upper Level Chemistry Courses:

Inorganic Chemistry
Thermodynamics and Kinetics
Advanced Organic Chemistry
Advanced Instrumental Analysis

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	BIOL 461 Microbiology	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring		PHYS 230 or 235	DAT Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study	BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II		Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 466 Molecular Genetics	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	BIOL 461 Microbiology	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring		PHYS 230 or 235	GRE Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required. Experience hours vary by school but can be quite extensive (over 1000 hours in some cases)

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology			Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics		BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	*BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II*		BIOL 461 Microbiology	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring			GRE Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required.

More information about Advanced Degree Nursing programs.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring		CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry		*BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II*	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	*BIOL 461 Microbiology*	Statistics*	GRE preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required. Please note that many PA programs require a significant # of health exposure/experience hours (300-1500 hours).

*- Possible Statistics courses include MATH 120 Elementary Statistics, MATH 300 Calculus Statistics, or PSYC 245 Research Methods and Statistics

Prerequisite requirements vary from program to program. Please look at the Directory of Physician Assistant programs with prerequisite requirements for details.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology			Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I		Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	*BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II*	PHYS 120 or 125	BIOL 461 Microbiology	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	AWPE191 Fundamentals of Exercise Science	PHYS 230 or 235	GRE Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study	Upper Level Psychology		Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring	Upper Level Social Science		Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required. PT programs have a requirement of 20-100 hours of PT observation (verifiable). These are the general requirements that fit many Physical Therapy schools. However, requirements vary significantly by school – check the PTCAS prerequisite sheet for specific schools.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	Elective 1*
	Spring	ES II	EDUC 101 Public Health		Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall		Statistics**		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring		BIOL 200 Epidemiology		Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	Elective 2***			Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Possible Off-campus program			Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall			GRE Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring		SOAN 333 Medical Anthropology and Global Health		Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required for the Minor in Public Health. Completing the PH minor with a grade of 3.2 or higher qualifies a student for a preferred pathway admission to the Indiana University Fairbanks School of Public Health without taking the GRE. It is recommended to get significant experiential learning hours by taking advantage of the following opportunities:

a. Off-campus program with a directed internship focused on Public Health
b. May Terms – by approval
c. Ford/Knight courses – by approval
d. Co-curricular activities, health-related, Summer research (on- or off-campus), Externship, or Internship

** – Statistics courses possible include Elementary Statistics, Calculus Statistics, Psychology Statistics or Economic Statistics

***- Electives (3 total – 1 from each category):

1. Natural science elective (1 elective; 3-4 credits)
BIO 112 CGI
BIO 111 EcoBio
CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry

2. Social science elective (1 elective; 3-4 credits)

SOAN 118 Inequality, Power, and Society -(4 credits)

SOAN 335 Health, Medicine, and Society – Y (4 credits)

SOAN 339 Drugs and Health – every other year (4 credits)

PSYC 116 Behavior, Healthcare and Society – Y (4 credits)

PSYC 368 Human Sexuality – every other year (3 credits)

PSYC 376 Health Psychology (3 credits)

PSYC 379 Community Psychology (3 credits)

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular	Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I	Volunteer Experience*
Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	*BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II*	Volunteer Experience*
Spring		PHYS 230 or 235	OAT Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	BIOL 461 Microbiology			Volunteer Experience*
Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular	Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry		PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance		Volunteer Experience*
Summer					Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II			Volunteer Experience*
Spring	Math 180 Calculus	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I		Volunteer Experience*
Summer					Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	*BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II*	BIOL 461 Microbiology	Volunteer Experience*
Spring		PHYS 230 or 235	PCAT Preparation		Volunteer Experience*
Summer					Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study				Volunteer Experience*
Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams		Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required.

These are the general requirements that fit many Pharmacy schools. However, requirements vary significantly by school – check the AACP document on admissions requirements for specific school information.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 431 Instrumental Analysis	BIOL 466 Molecular Genetics
	Spring
	Summer			GRE Preparation	Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study**		GRE Preparation
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 research or internship are required.

**Suggested Choice for Off-campus:

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	PSYC 220 Adult Psychopathology	SOAN 115 or SOAN 118	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	PSYC 245 Research Methods and Statistics	BIOL 345 Anatomy and Physiology I		Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	*BIOL 347 Anatomy and Physiology II*	PSYC 250 Brain and Behavior		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	PSYC 230 Human Development	SOAN 335 Health, Medicine and Society	GRE Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required. These are the general requirements that fit many Occupational Therapy schools. However, requirements vary significantly by school – check the Occupational Therapy schools list for school specific requirements.

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 345 Anatomy & Physiology I	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	BIOL 347 Anatomy & Physiology II	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	MATH 180 Calculus	PHYS 230 or 235	MCAT Preparation	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required. ALSO REQUIRED – 8 hours of documented shadowing with Physician Anesthesiologist or Anesthesiologist Assistant

Sample Four-Year Course Plan

		Curricular			Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	BIOL 345 Anatomy & Physiology I	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	BIOL 347 Anatomy & Physiology II	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring		PHYS 230 or 235		Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	BIOL 461 Microbiology			Volunteer Experience*
Year 4	Spring			Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required. ALSO REQUIRED – documented shadowing with Pathologist or Pathology Assistant

			Curricular		Co-Curricular
Year 1	Fall	ES I	CHEM 111 Principles of Chemistry	PSYC 116 Behavior, Health Care and Society – Psychology for the Health Professions
	Spring	ES II	CHEM 221 Organic Chemistry I	BIOL 112 Cells, Genes & Inheritance	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 2	Fall	BIOL 341 Cell Physiology	CHEM 321 Organic Chemistry II		Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Statistics	CHEM 331 Equilibrium and Analysis	Upper Level Biology Course**	Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 3	Fall	CHEM 351 Biochemistry	PHYS 120 or 125	Social Science Course 1	Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Upper Level Biology Course**	PHYS 230 or 235		Volunteer Experience*
	Summer				Research or internship*
Year 4	Fall	Possible Off-Campus Study			Volunteer Experience*
	Spring	Social Science Course 2		Senior Comprehensive Exams	Volunteer Experience*

Courses in bold are required; all others are strongly recommended. *At least 2 volunteer experiences and 1 research or internship are required.

Some pre-requisite course requirements vary, so it is important to confirm with individual chiropractic schools. For example, some require blocks of credits (rather than individual courses), such as 24 total credits of humanities/social sciences and 24 total credits of life and physical sciences.

**Recommended choices for Upper Level Biology Courses: