Many of our students are interested in health-related professions. Although Lamar University does not offer professional medical degrees, the Medical Pre-professional Program helps prepare students interested in these areas gain entry into graduate programs leading to terminal degrees in medical fields.

    Students interested in Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, or Physician's Assistant should contact Dr. Michael Warren (michael.warren@lamar.edu or 409-880-8264) for advising and more information.

Students interested in pursuing careers in medicine, podiatry, veterinary science, dentistry, pharmacology or optometry should contact Dr Joe Nordgren (409-880-8555 or joe.nordgren@lamar.edu),chair of the Pre-professional Advisory Committee or Maria Olivarez-Clymer (409-880-7846 or maria.olivarez-clymer@lamar.edu) to apply for admission to the Medical Pre-professional Program. Initial freshman-level admission requires that incoming freshmen be exempt from Developmental Studies coursework based on SAT, TAKS or THEA test scores (including a Math THEA of 270 or higher) and be qualified to take university-level math courses. Previously enrolled Lamar University students must hold a GPA of 3.0 or higher for admission into the Medical Pre-professional Program.

Lamar University recently entered into a cooperative agreement with the University of Houston for its pre-pharmacy students.  For more information on the program and an application form go to www.uh.edu/pharmacy/uhlu/ .

The Pre-professional Advisory Committee is composed of one psychologist, four biologists, four chemists and the Pre-professional Counselor. These committee members teach the majority of the undergraduate science classes that students interested in a medical doctoral degree will take, serve as academic advisors to the students, and assist in the application to Medical Professional Schools. Lamar University's Medical Pre-professional Program has had a 75% acceptance rate of students who finish our coursework.  The pre-medical tracks do not lead directly to bachelor’s degrees, but may be combined with any other baccalaureate degree offered by the university.  There are several scholarships that are available to students in these programs.

A copy of the Pre-professional Handbook designed for Lamar University students interested in the careers in the Health Professions is available at the following web page: The Pre-professional Handbook.

"Interviewing for Pre-Professional School" gives many helpful tips for preparing for an interview. 

A copy of the interview sheet that students applying to pre-professional school is available at "Committee Interview".  This form should be filled out and given to all committee members prior to going through the mock interview process.  Students should also make an appointment with their advisor prior to the interview.

There are also a number of student organizations for those interested in medical pre-professional fields.