Mission
The mission of the McMurry University Pre-Professional Program is to provide the curricular advising and career guidance needed by our students as they prepare themselves for application to and successful completion of a professional school program.
About
Pre-professional programs are those which require additional specialized academic training unavailable in undergraduate programs at McMurry. For instance, McMurry does not offer law or medical degrees, but we provide the foundational course work and preparation for students who plan on applying to law schools and medical schools. There are no pre-professional majors. Students of any major may attend a professional school, provided they take the prescribed required courses beforehand, meet other admissions requirements, and are selected from the pool of qualified applicants in a competitive process.
All pre-professional programs at McMurry fall under the oversight of the Pre-Professional Council, which is composed of the pre-professional program advisors and select practitioners from the professional fields. Students are encouraged to contact the advisor for the program of interest early in their college career and remain in contact regularly thereafter to receive the advising necessary to prepare the student for professional school application.
Students of any major may apply for admission to the Pre-Professional (P2) Program. Continuance in the program is based on grades, motivation for the profession, character, and satisfactory progress in completing required pre-professional school course work. The P2 Program offers special activities, events, and opportunities designed to familiarize students with the expectations of professional programs, current trends in admissions, options within the profession, and exposure to the life of a practitioner. P2 Program students will receive personal annual diagnostic progress reports to help improve their competitiveness for professional school acceptance.
For more information on professional program preparation, please contact the advisor for the pre-professional program of interest.
Programs Offered
It takes an effort and dedication to optimize performance as an elite athlete. McMurry offers a pre-athletic training curriculum within the Department of Kinesiology’s Exercise Science and Human Performance degree program. Your knowledge of functional movement and ability to create effective training and conditioning programs set the foundation for a career working alongside elite athletes at the high school, collegiate, or professional level.
Kinesiology and Health FitnessStudents interested in pursuing a degree in Engineering should follow the curriculum of the Engineering Physics major or Physics major with Pre-Electrical Engineering focus or Chemistry major (if interested in Chemical Engineering). Options include either participating in the dual degree program with the University of North Dakota (UND) and working towards two Bachelor’s Degrees or completing a degree at McMurry University followed by job placement or graduate work in Engineering. The particular area of Engineering in which the student is interested may influence their choice of electives. Interested students should refer to the Degree Program under the Department of Physics for details. You may also contact one of the Physics/Engineering professors.
PhysicsAll dental schools in Texas participate in the common application made through the Texas Medical and Dental Student Application Service in Austin. Students apply during the summer before their final year in college, with competitive applicants receiving invitations for on-campus interviews at the dental schools in the fall of the senior year. Announcement of admitted students is made in the spring of the senior year. To apply to dental programs, a student must complete the following prescribed coursework: 14 semester hours of Biology (2 hours lab), 8 semester hours of General Chemistry (2 hours lab), 8 semester hours of Organic Chemistry (2 hours lab), 8 semester hours of Physics (2 hours lab), and 6 semester hours of non-remedial English composition. Some schools require 3 hours of Biochemistry, which may be used to satisfy part of the Biology requirement. All prerequisites must be passed with at least a “C” grade. Courses intended specifically for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy, allied health sciences) are not accepted.
Schools vary slightly in requirements, with specifics.
At least 90 undergraduate semester hours must be completed before enrollment into a dental program, but baccalaureate degrees are highly desirable. See the Pre-Dentistry Advisor for suggested coursework to prepare students for the Dental Admission Test. Information on the DAT may be obtained from the American Dental Association. Similar information is available for students wishing to apply to schools outside Texas from the American Dental Association.
Get more information at the American Dental Association.
Please note that high-performing freshman students may apply for McMurry’s “3+4 Dental Early Acceptance Program”. This program allows Texas residents majoring in Biology to apply during their freshman year for early entry into dental school following their junior year and complete both their BS in Biology from McMurry and DDS degree from UTHSC-San Antonio School of Dentistry in a total of seven years. Acceptance decisions are made typically before the sophomore year. Thereafter, admitted students must take prescribed courses, maintain a competitive GPA, and achieve at least an average DAT score. For more information, see the Pre-Dentistry Advisor.
BiologyThere are many rewarding careers available in the health professions besides the commonly known dental, medical, physical therapy, veterinary medicine and other high-profile health professions. Such important fields as respiratory therapy, physician’s assistant, optometry, radiological imaging, and other health fields may be of interest to some students. As the coursework necessary for acceptance into these programs varies greatly, it is suggested that interested students contact the pre-allied health advisor for information and guidance.
Human Health ScienceStudents interested in a legal career after completion of a bachelor’s degree are encouraged to pursue any academic major that interests them. Law schools do not recommend specific courses of study or any particular major. What law schools want are students who can think, write, and speak well and who have an understanding of the human experience.
The Law School Admission Council recommends a “broad liberal arts curriculum” as the preferred preparation for a legal career. Admission committees want to see law school applicants rise to intellectual challenges by choosing academically rigorous courses. They are most likely to reject students who select non challenging or narrow fields of study.
Law schools encourage courses of study that demand strong reasoning and communication skills.
Political ScienceAll medical schools in Texas (except Baylor College of Medicine) participate in the common application made through the Texas Medical and Dental Student Application Service in Austin. Students apply during the summer before their final year in college, with competitive applicants receiving invitations for on-campus interviews at the medical schools in the fall of the senior year. To apply, a student must complete the following prescribed coursework: 14 semester hours of Biology (2 hours lab), 8 semester hours of General Chemistry (2 hours lab), 8 semester hours of Organic Chemistry (2 hours lab), 8 semester hours of Physics (2 hours lab), 3 semester hours of Calculus or Statistics, and 6 semester hours of non-remedial English composition. Some schools require 3 hours of Biochemistry, which may be used to satisfy part of the Biology requirement. All prerequisites must be passed with at least a “C” grade. Courses intended specifically for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy, allied health sciences) are not accepted.
Schools vary slightly in requirements view the specifics.
At least 90 undergraduate semester hours must be completed before the anticipated date of enrollment into a medical program, but baccalaureate degrees are highly desirable. See the Pre-Medicine Advisor for suggested coursework to prepare students for the Medical College Admission Test.
Information on the MCAT may be obtained from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
BiologyThis program prepares students for admission to graduate-level theological seminaries. Students preparing for Christian ministry are encouraged to major or minor in Religion and to complete two years of Greek. Pre-ministerial students should take other courses in liberal arts disciplines which prepare them to think, write, and speak clearly, and which provide them with a broad knowledge of human societies, past and present. Courses in Philosophy, English, History, and Psychology benefit every pre-ministerial student. Students intending to become Christian counselors should consider completing a major or minor in Psychology in addition to their studies in Religion.
Students exploring the possibility of entering ministry should take REL 2310, introduction to Christian Ministry, as early as possible in their student careers. It is very important that students consult their respective denominations to make sure that they are complying with the appropriate standards of ministerial preparation. Many pre-ministerial students complete internships in local churches or otherwise serve in part-time positions in ministry. Students are encouraged to participate in Kappa Delta Sigma, a student organization for pre-ministerial students, and in the programming of the Office of Religious Life.
Religion and PhilosophyTexas has five campuses that offer a B.S. degree and eight that offer a M.S. degree in Occupational Therapy. All of these schools offer a B.S. degree and at least two have a M.S. program. The undergraduate programs culminate in a B.S. in Occupational Therapy and have specific prerequisites for admission to the program. McMurry provides courses and opportunities to complete the prerequisite course work for these programs. All of the undergraduate programs require English, history, government, psychology, and two to three semesters of biology. Students generally are required to have at least one semester of chemistry, one semester of physics, one or two semesters of mathematics, and one or two semesters of sociology, among others. Since the individual professional schools differ somewhat in their requirements, the student is encouraged to meet with the occupational therapy advisor for information and guidance in selecting a plan of study.
Kinesiology and Health FitnessMcMurry provides courses that prepare students to apply to schools of pharmacy. Most schools of pharmacy offer a Doctor of Pharmacy, or “Pharm-D”, degree for individuals wishing to become pharmacists. Some schools also offer a Doctor of Pharmaceutical Sciences degree intended for students wishing to pursue pharmaceutical research as a scientist. Most schools prefer incoming students to have a Bachelor of Science degree, although some schools allow the option of early entry. Additional requirements include successful completion of specific courses, PCAT score, and a minimum GPA.
Chemistry and BiochemistryThere are ten physical therapy programs in Texas, all requiring a B.S. or B.A. degree before admission. Successful completion of these programs results in a Masters, or Doctorial degree in Physical Therapy. Normally the prerequisites to the programs are English, history, government, mathematics, psychology, one year of physics, one year of chemistry, and three to five semesters of biology. The schools vary in which biology courses are specified. More detailed information and guidance can be obtained from the physical therapy advisor.
Kinesiology and Health Fitness