Cultivate Your Healthcare Future: Nutritional Sciences – The Vital Ingredient for PT and Medical Success
The Nutritional Sciences undergraduate curriculum works well as a preparation for medical school and other health-related professions (Physical Therapy, Dentistry, Physicians Assistant, Naturopathy, etc.). With some variability, graduate schools for these professions share a common set of prerequisite courses, most of which are also required for a BS in Nutritional Sciences. These courses are listed in the Pre-Medical Profession Plan of Study. This plan does require more organic chemistry than the minimum needed for a BS in Nutritional Sciences. It also adds calculus and physics, though the specific requirements may vary with the particular health profession.
The knowledge gained with a BS in Nutritional Sciences is directly relevant to healthcare practice, and this is particularly important since nutrition is often poorly addressed in health profession school curriculums. Despite this, relatively few medical school applicants come from Nutritional Sciences undergraduate programs, making those that do stand out from the crowd. Also, choosing nutrition as a major for physical therapy school offers a comprehensive understanding of how diet impacts physiological processes, enhancing recovery and performance. It promotes a holistic approach to patient care, improves communication skills, and provides an interdisciplinary advantage. This foundation prepares students for the rigorous PT curriculum and emphasizes preventative care, offering flexibility in various career paths within physical therapy.
Given the importance of nutrition for overall health and the inadequacy of its coverage by medical and other health profession schools, students intending health-related graduate programs should also consider first obtaining an MS degree in Nutritional Sciences. This is facilitated by our Nutritional Sciences BS/MS 4+1 program, which allows the receipt of both degrees with 5 years of study. This program assumes that students get started on their research work as undergraduate, perhaps as part of the Honors Program. They also take introductory graduate classes in their fourth year of study. New rules approved by the Graduate School allow up to 12 credits of advanced undergraduate or graduate coursework to be used both for the BS and MS degrees.
Recommended Course Sequence for the Pre-Medical Profession Track
Please contact Dr. Molika Chea for more information on this track.