Once You Are Accepted

Congratulations! If you are accepted and elect to attend Ithaca College we have a number of supportive activities to help you make a successful transition to college and eventually into your desired major.

We recommend that you plan to:

  • Respond to requests from the HSHP Dean's Office or your faculty advisor about your possible interest areas. This information helps us to register you for several first semester courses when possible!
  • Take the required math placement exam as soon as possible and before you register for classes. The scores from this exam helps determine placement into courses required for several health science majors (e.g., chemistry, computer science, economics math, and physics) so please do your best on the exam. 
  • Familiarize yourself with the requirements of the Integrative Core Curriculum. This will give you an opportunity to work closely with us on building your first semester course schedule.
  • Meet once a semester with your faculty advisor to seek guidance, ask questions, and stay on track with whatever your desired course of study may be.
Need Help?

If you ever feel you are struggling, academically or with personal issues, please don't hesitate to reach out to your faculty advisor, so that they can connect you with resources you may need.

Course Exploration

Familiarize yourself with some of the introductory courses to the various health and human performance disciplines.

To establish baseline knowledge about the health field, in their first and second year students typically take introductory courses on areas of interest such as:

  • Communication Disorders
  • Critical Health Issues
  • Foundations of Public Health
  • Health/Human Performance Careers
  • Medical Terminology
  • Occupational Science
  • Phonetics
  • Physical Therapy             

Students also begin natural science course sequencing on topics such as:

  • Anatomy and Physiology
  • Biology
  • Chemistry
  • Physics

Psychology, sociology, and statistics classes are also common in the freshman and sophomore years. This health sciences-related coursework is supplemented by the Integrative Core Curriculum (ICC), which encourages students to demonstrate basic mathematics and writing competency as well as to explore a "theme" of interest from multiple perspectives with courses from across the College.

Program Benefits

There are many important benefits for you as a participate in the HSHP Pre-Health Professions Program:

Guidance

Hands-on advising and guidance is a hallmark of the Program. You will have access to advising guidance as much as needed. You can expect to meet at least once a semester with your designated advisor to review course selection, your academic progress, and any decisions about a degree track. Our advising strategy is to map out a selection of courses so that you are not overloaded but still capture as many prerequisites needed for a future career or graduate school work. You may request advising meetings as frequently as you would like, and we will connect you with other resources around Ithaca College that you may need. For example, students interested in a pre-medical curriculum are referred to the interdisciplinary Health Professions Advisory Committee which provides additional assistance with course selection and also writes medical school letters of recommendations for students.

Introduction to Health Professions Course

This first semester, first year course is tailored to the HSHP Pre-Health Profession Program students.  This course features guest speakers from a variety of Ithaca College faculty and practicing professionals in the community such as Physician’s Assistant, Public Health, Chiropractic Medicine, Army Medics, and other health profession practitioners.  As a class we work in teams and challenge one another to explore your passions, values, and goals.  We also explore a range of resources at Ithaca College, including Career Services, Office of Academic Advising, and the Library, to promote your story, your success.

Related Links

Areas of Study

Experiential Learning