Pre-Law Program
Students who are interested in attending law school should begin preparing long before graduation. The discipline of law is for students who are interested in combining precision in thinking, researching, and writing with a desire to work with people. While many law school graduates choose to practice in the courtroom, others leverage their newly developed skills to excel in other fields. Through a structured four-year process, the TTU Pre-Law Program cultivates the undergraduate to become a confident and articulate law school applicant bearing exceptional qualifications. Participants focus on the three essential areas identified by law school professionals nationwide:
- Writing and speaking with comprehension and clarity.
- Understanding social institutions and human nature.
- Thinking creatively and analytically.
To aid students in their law school preparations, the Pre-Law Program functions through a four-part model:
- Advising. Through access to the pre-law advisor, program assistants and ambassadors, students are easily able to ask questions and voice concerns about their decision to attend law school and receive help with the application process.
- Roundtables and Events. Monthly events aim to familiarize students with the essential aspects of the law school application process, including LSAT, GPA, letters of recommendation, personal statement, and resume. Additionally these events strive to educate students on best practices and tips for doing well in law school (both personally and academically) and to broaden the understanding of legal fields and specialties.
- Learning Community. The Pre-Law Learning Community provides a unique experience for future law students to live together in an environment supporting their academic, personal, and professional success.
- Legal Studies Minor. The interdisciplinary minor in legal studies formally guides and encourages the exploration of law and its influence in society. The curriculum blends challenging course options in students’ home disciplines with relevant interdisciplinary electives to facilitate an interest in and an appreciation for the beneficial application of theory and research through the vehicle of law.
Prospective law students need a four-year bachelor’s degree in the academic discipline of their choice. Law schools are generally most interested in applicants who exhibit intellectual maturity and have the foundation of a broad-based liberal arts education. They consider exceptional applicants from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, often providing programs for early admission to qualified applicants. The Texas Tech University School of Law offers four such early admission programs for qualified students.
Contact: Texas Tech University Advising, 347 Drane Hall, 806.742.2189, prelaw@ttu.edu, www.prelaw.ttu.edu
Pre-Professional Health Careers
Pre-Professional Health Careers provides services to students interested in a health professions career, including (1) primary academic advising for students in pre-health designations who have not yet declared a degree-granting major; (2) support academic and career advising for students who are either undecided about or exploring health professions careers; and (3) application advice primarily to students applying to any of the full range of health career professional schools, including those at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
While the office maintains an extensive collection of information on a broad range of health careers and can provide support for a wide variety of health career interests, most students align themselves with one of 10 different designations: pre-medical laboratory science; pre-dentistry; pre-medicine; pre-nursing; pre-occupational therapy; pre-optometry; pre-pharmacy; pre-physical therapy; pre-physician assistant; and pre-speech, language, and hearing sciences. Although the academic preparation required for admission to various health career professional schools varies greatly, most require successful completion of specific college-level science, mathematics/statistics, and general education courses.
None of the 10 pre-health designations offered to students and advised by Pre-Professional Health Careers are degree-granting majors, nor do they lead to an undergraduate degree. This distinction between designations and degree-granting majors is critically important because a baccalaureate degree is required for admission to occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs and is almost always obtained for admission to dentistry, medicine, and optometry programs, with a broad range of major areas being accepted. Professional programs in medical laboratory science; nursing; and speech, language, and hearing sciences confer baccalaureate degrees, so one is often not required for admission. Pharmacy programs occupy an intermediate position where a baccalaureate degree is not required for admission, but the majority of admitted pharmacy students hold at least a bachelor’s degree. Regardless of their health profession goals, students pursuing these careers are strongly encouraged to identify a degree-granting major that aligns with their strengths, values, and interests, and that can provide satisfactory career options in addition to their health professions aspirations.
To receive department-level academic advising as early as possible, students pursuing health professions careers are strongly encouraged to declare a degree-granting major as soon as they are comfortable with their choice. According to Texas Senate Bill 25, all students at state institutions must file a degree plan, and thus select a degree-granting major, prior to the end of the first regular semester after earning, from all sources, 30 or more semester credit hours. However, delaying the filing of a degree plan until the legal deadline may adversely affect graduation timelines. Even after a degree-granting major has been declared, students pursuing health professions careers will still find Pre-Professional Health Careers a valuable resource. The office provides the evaluation forms and coordinates assembling evaluation packets for applications to schools of dentistry, medicine, and optometry, sponsors an annual Health Professions School Fair each spring semester, hosts personal statement workshops and health professional admission forums, coordinates shadowing and volunteering opportunities, and works with multiple affiliated health career student organizations in all disciplines.
Contact: Pre-Professional Health Careers, 147 Drane Hall, 806.742.2189, www.pphc.ttu.edu
Professional School Requirements. Because changes in prerequisite course requirements are occasionally made by the various health professions schools and requirements can differ between institutions, students are strongly encouraged to consult often with both Pre-Professional Health Careers advisors and health professions programs of interest to be sure they have the most up-to-date information. Nevertheless, some general required course guidelines can be outlined for the various health career programs. Prerequisite course information for each pre-health designation is provided for general guidance at www.pphc.ttu.edu. However, many variations on the suggested course of study can equivalently prepare a student for health professional school admission. Students should not feel constrained by these model curricula, and variations may be required by college credit awarded through transfer, examination, and/or dual-credit courses. Students should always have alternate curriculum plans evaluated by a Pre-Professional Health Careers advisor.
Pre-Dentistry
The minimum admission requirements for most dental schools in the United States include 14 semester hours of biology, 6 semester hours of English, 8 semester hours of general chemistry, 8 hours semester hours of organic chemistry, 8 semester hours of physics, and 3 semester hours of statistics. Applicants to dental schools are required to take the Dental Admission Test and submit their application approximately one year prior to the planned matriculation. To learn the admission requirements of a specific dental school, students should consult the website of the dental school. While it is possible to be admitted to dental school after completing only 90 semester hours, this is unusual, and students should plan to complete a baccalaureate degree before entering dental school.
Pre-Medicine
The minimum admission requirements for most medical schools in the United States include 3 hours of biochemistry, 14 hours of biology, 3 hours of calculus or statistics, 6 hours of English, 8 hours of general chemistry, 8 hours of organic chemistry, and 8 hours of physics. Applicants to medical schools are required to take the Medical College Admission Test and submit their application approximately one year prior to the date of the planned matriculation. For the most up-to-date admission requirements, students should consult the application service websites or the website of a particular medical school of interest. While it is possible to be admitted to medical school after completing only 90 semester hours, students typically complete a baccalaureate degree before entering medical school.
Pre-Nursing
Specific admission requirements vary depending on the nursing school, but the requirements generally include 4 hours of chemistry, 6 hours of English, 8 hours of human anatomy and physiology, 3 hours of humanities, 3 hours of lifespan growth and development, 4 hours of microbiology, 3 hours of nutritional sciences, 6 hours of political science, 3 hours of psychology, 3 hours of statistics, 6 hours of U.S. history, and 3 hours of creative arts. An introduction to nursing course and a pathophysiology course are also often required. Some nursing schools require applicants to take the Test of Essential Academic Skills or the Higher Education Systems Incorporated exam. Students should consult the websites of particular nursing schools to learn detailed specific application requirements and follow through with the submission of all required information and documents.
Pre-Optometry
Specific admission requirements vary depending on the optometry school, but the requirements generally include 8 hours of biology, 3 hours of biochemistry, 3 hours of calculus, 8 hours of general chemistry, 3 hours of general psychology, 4 hours of human anatomy, 4 hours of microbiology, 4 hours of organic chemistry, 8 hours of physics, 4 hours of physiology, and 3 hours of statistical methods. The website of a particular optometry school should be consulted to learn the detailed specific application requirements. The completion of a baccalaureate degree is not always required. Applicants to optometry school are required to take the Optometry Admission Test and submit all admission-related documents in accordance with the timeline available on the website of the optometry school.
Pre-Pharmacy
Specific admission requirements vary depending on the pharmacy school, but the requirements generally include 8 hours of biology, 3 hours of calculus, 3 hours of economics, 6 hours of English, 8 hours of general chemistry, 15 hours of humanities/social science, 3 hours of literature, 4 hours of microbiology, 8 hours of organic chemistry, 4 hours of physics, 3 hours of public speaking, and 3 hours of statistical methods. Students are strongly encouraged to consult the website of a particular pharmacy school to learn detailed specific application requirements.
Affiliated Health Professions
Programs in affiliated health professions include degree options in medical laboratory science; speech, language, and hearing sciences; occupational therapy; physical therapy; and physician assistant. Students are awarded degrees at a range of levels upon completion of these programs. Some professional schools require a baccalaureate degree while other professional programs require only 60 to 90 hours of college-level coursework. Additionally, many health professions programs require an entrance exam of some sort. This variability makes it essential for a student to consult carefully the website of the particular program at a specific school to learn all the application requirements. Application deadlines also vary, but are usually required six to 12 months prior to the planned start date.
