Pre-Medical & Health Professional Programs

Biomedical engineering (BME) students interested in medicine, dentistry, optometry, podiatry, or veterinary medicine are urged to meet with an advisor in The Greene Center for Career Education and Connections. It is essential that such students begin program planning very early and involve both their BME and Career Center advisor.

All of the courses usually required for admission to medical school are readily accommodated. Students may need to use electives in completing these within the BS in BME curricular requirements. These include:

  • Two semesters of general physics
  • Two semesters of general chemistry
  • Two semesters of organic chemistry with labs
  • Two semesters of biology with labs
  • Two semesters of math
  • Two semesters of English

CAS 105: Reasoning and Writing in the College, together with the BME upper-level writing requirement (comprising four BME core courses) satisfies the English requirement for the pre-medical program.

To learn more about the Health Professions and pre-requisite courses for medical, dental and vet programs please visit this site: "Applying to Health Professions Programs".  Students are encouraged to explore the many health professions available to BME majors. 

Accelerated Nursing Programs

The accelerated nursing programs at the University of Rochester prepare college graduates from any past field of study to enter the nursing profession. Earn a fully-accredited nursing degree from the No. 1 nursing school in Upstate New York.  Earn a second bachelor's degree in nursing in 12 or 24 months to pass the licensing exam and practice as an RN. With three cohort start dates a year, accelerate your career change on your timeline.

All prerequisite coursework must be completed with a grade of C or above, unless otherwise noted, to ensure success in the program.

  • Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs: We will also accept a stand-alone Anatomy course with a lab combined with a stand-alone Physiology course with a lab. Only human-specific Anatomy and Physiology courses will be accepted.
  • Microbiology with lab: This one is usually just called Microbiology. May also be called Medical Microbiology or Microbiology for Health Care Professionals. 
  • Human Nutrition: We typically accept a general human nutrition course that is not specific to any certain group. Other titles for this course may be Fundamentals of Human Nutrition or Introduction to Nutrition. We do not accept any plant or animal nutrition course to fulfill this requirement. 
  • Human Growth & Development: This is a course that covers the fundamentals of human development across the lifespan, from birth to death. Other common names for this course are Lifespan Development or Developmental Psychology, and this is typically listed as a Psychology course. 
  • Statistics: We typically accept any statistics course even if the course was specific to a student’s previous field of study, such as Biostatistics.

The Center for Lifelong Learning, the School of Nursing's health care career development center, offers the prerequisites online. Complete one or all of the listed required courses by registering as a non-matriculated student at the University of Rochester. Courses taken at other schools must be from an accredited institution. Please feel free to email the Admissions Office to check that the course description is appropriate.


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