Application

To apply: please see CAS Graduate Admissions page for information about both paper and online applications. Note that letters of recommendation and GRE or MCAT scores are NOT required for admission.

If applying online, please be sure to

• select the Post-Baccalaureate Premedical Certificate program on the application form
• send an official transcript from each college or university attended to

  Dr. Lynne Arneson, Premedical Programs Coordinator
  Department of Chemistry
  American University
  4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
  Washington, DC 20016-8014

The Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate Program is designed for students who have a bachelor's degree and either lack prerequisites required by health professional schools or wish to strengthen their credentials. It serves recent graduates as well as those returning to school after an extended interval. An overall minimum grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale and a minimum science and mathematics GPA of 3.2 are required for admission to the certificate program. You may apply before receiving your bachelor's degree. Foreign nationals should contact Dr. Lynne Arneson, premed@american.edu, 202-885-2186, to ascertain their eligibility to apply to the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate Program. American University does not issue I-20 immigration documents for students applying to the postbaccalaureate program because it is a non-degree program. If you are an international student, please note that the Post-Baccalaureat Program DOES NOT qualify for an F-1 or J-1 immigration documents. ONLY students in other immigration statuses may apply. American University does not issue I-20s or DS2019 for this program.

Advising Services

Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate Program services include:

• extensive individual advising
• course advice
• postbaccalaureate advice
• faculty mentoring
• calendar of events and due dates
• seminars by health professionals
• medical volunteer & internship information and guidance
• MCAT and other examination advice
• career guidance
• professional school selection advice
• financial aid advice
• resume preparation assistance
• essay-writing assistance
• mock medical school interviews
• maintenance of a file, including letters of recommendation
• preparation of a composite letter of evaluation
• sending letters of recommendation to professional schools

Dr. Arneson is available to meet with you individually at least once each semester to review your academic progress and to discuss your subsequent course of study at American University.

More specific documents, including Premed Tips and Freshman & Sophomore Health Professions Guide are available from Dr. Arneson as part of the application packet, available by completing our Information Request Form. There is no on-line application.

The program is open to students with both a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2 and a science and mathematics GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale. A bachelor's degree must have been earned before starting classes.

Postbaccalaureate work normally commences in the fall semester (late August). However, depending on which courses you have already completed, start dates in the spring semester (mid-January) or the summer semesters (mid-May or early July) may be possible. Although we have rolling admissions, applications and all transcripts should be received at least one or two months before you wish to begin. Financial aid application may require earlier deadlines.

Curriculum & Class Schedules

Students who need everything may enroll in mid-May and become prepared for the MCAT or other professional school test in one calendar year. Two high-level courses may be taken during the following year while waiting for interviews; this is also a good time to do an internship at an institution like the National Institutes of Health or to volunteer or to take one of the numerous health-related jobs available in the Washington, D.C., area.

Courses range from the usual basic requirements to biochemistry, cell biology, developmental biology, genetics, microbiology, molecular biology, vertebrate physiology, vertebrate anatomy, neurobiology, etc. Lecture sections usually have fewer than 60 students, and laboratory sections are usually limited to 16 students at the most. Students who have been accepted into the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate Program are encouraged to enroll in Honors sections of courses if space is available.

Most postbaccalaureate students begin in the fall, when a full load is four courses. However, some who need freshman courses start in the summer semesters, beginning in mid-May, when a full load is two courses. Calculus I is offered in the fall, spring and summer. Calculus II is offered in the fall and spring. General Biology I and General Chemistry I are offered in the fall, spring and summer. University Physics I is offered only in the fall and summer, while General Biology II, General Chemistry II and University Physics II are offered only in the spring and summer. Possible combinations in the summer are General Chemistry I & II during the day and either General Biology I & II or University Physics I & II or Calculus I in the evening. Organic Chemistry I & II are also available during the day in the summer. All of these except Calculus I have associated laboratories. Two courses is a full load. Although General Biology I and General Chemistry I are offered in the spring, you would have to take General Biology II and General Chemistry II in the second summer semester as these follow-up courses are not offered in the fall. Some classes are available in the evening. The schedule is accessible online at Schedule of Classes.

We have made arrangements for a commercial MCAT preparatory course to be given on campus starting in the fall of each year. Tuition is separate from that for the Certificate program. Other commercial courses are also available locally.

Tuition for 2007–2008 is $1,031 per credit hour for lower level courses or $1,111/credit hour for senior and graduate level courses, plus certain fees detailed at american.edu/finance/student_accounts/student_fees.html. The Sports Center Fee varies from $0 to $65, the Activity Fee from $0 to $73.50 and the Technology Fee from $0 to $95. Some courses have laboratory fees. Federal financial aid up to $10,500 per year in student loans is available for this program.

Postbaccalaureate work consists of academic study undertaken after earning a bachelor’s degree. American University’s Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate program is designed to complete basic requiements and strengthen credentials for application to health professional schools of human medicine (M.D. or D.O.), dentistry (D.D.S.), veterinary medicine (D.V.M.), podiatry (D.P.M.), optometry (O.D.), and oral surgery (D.M.D.), and to advanced degree programs in the allied health sciences such as public health (M.P.H.) and physician assistant, nurse practitioner, and physical therapy programs leading to the M.S. or Ph.D. degree. 

This program offers students extensive guidance and assistance in preparing for professional school and a career. With the help of advisors they polish resume and essay-writing skills, prepare for the Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT) or other admissions examinations, practice medical school interviews, select potential professional schools, and address related financial issues. Through the program, students may also attend seminars by health professionals, identify volunteer opportunities, and be matched with a mentor. Each emerges with a composite letter of evaluation, held with letters of recommendation in a personal file. The premedical programs coordinator sends these letters to professional schools for students and assists them in meeting all application deadlines. For more information go to
www.american.edu/cas/prog_premed.cfm  

Admission to the Program

Open to students with a bachelor’s degree and a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) overall and in science and mathematic courses, if taken. 

Course Requirements

Basic Requirements

The following courses are required for admission to medical school and to many other health professional schools. Once enrolled in the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate program, any of these courses not already completed must be taken at American University. 

• BIO-110 General Biology I (4) 
• BIO-210 General Biology II (4) 
• CHEM-110 General Chemistry I (4) 
• CHEM-210 General Chemistry II (4) 
• CHEM-310 Organic Chemistry I (3) 
• CHEM-312 Organic Chemistry I Laboratory (1) 
• CHEM-320 Organic Chemistry II (3) 
• CHEM-322 Organic Chemistry II Laboratory (1) 
• MATH-221 Calculus I (4) 
• PHYS-110 University Physics I (4) 
• PHYS-210 University Physics II (4) 

Certificate Requirements

A minimum of 24 hours of course work taken in residence at American University, including: 

• BIO-300 Cell Biology  with Laboratory (4) 
• BIO-356 Genetics with Laboratory  (5) 
• One of the following sets of two courses: 

BIO-435 Vertebrate Physiology (5) and 

BIO-440 Microbiology (4) 

or 

CHEM-560 Biochemistry I (3) and 

CHEM-561 Biochemistry II (3) 

• 6–9 credit hours from the Basic Requirements list above or the following:  

BIO-200 Structure and Function of the Human Body (3) 

BIO-541 Cellular Immunology (3) 

BIO-550 Developmental Biology (3) 

BIO-583 Molecular Biology (3) 

MATH-222 Calculus II (4) 

STAT-202 Basic Statistics (4)