Veterinary Degrees Online

Being a Pre-Health student means that you intend to go into one of the health professions, once you have completed your degree. Your undergraduate preparation involves taking the courses required by the graduate-level professional school (medical school, vet school, etc.) that you would attend after obtaining your bachelor’s degree.
Fisher students go on to become:
Physicians (M.D. and D.O.)
Physicians’ Assistants
Veterinarians
Pharmacists
Optometrists
Chiropractors
Podiatrists
Dentists
Physical Therapists
Occupational Therapists
Is there a Pre-Health or Pre-Med major at Fisher?

Fisher does not have a Pre-Health or Pre-Med major. Pre-health students at Fisher can have any academic major. Most Pre-Health students major in Biology or Chemistry, but there are currently Pre-Health students at Fisher majoring in Management, Communication/Journalism, Psychology, and Anthropology.

The undergraduate courses typically required by medical or other health professional graduate schools are:
One year of biology with lab (soon to be two years)
One year of inorganic (or general) chemistry with lab
One year of organic chemistry with lab
One year of physics with lab

NOTE: AP courses are generally not accepted by pharmacy schools and may not be accepted by other health professional schools to satisfy any of these requirements.

Other undergraduate courses that may be required or are strongly recommended:
Biochemistry
Calculus and/or statistics
One or more courses in psychology
One or more courses in English
One or more courses in the humanities or liberal arts
One or more writing-intensive courses
One or more courses in public speaking

NOTE: Fisher students will generally satisfy the English, humanities/liberal arts, writing, and public speaking requirements through completion of Fisher’s college core.

Students interested in a health profession career are urged to make contact with the Health Professions Advisor during, or even prior to, their first semester at Fisher so that they may receive personal assessment and guidance as they pursue their undergraduate studies.

Numerous activities occur each semester that assist pre-health students in selecting schools, understanding the preparation process (beyond Fisher courses), preparing for the interview, and making decisions regarding acceptances and alternatives. The advisor is also able to provide students with the opportunity to meet with and/or observe Fisher graduates who are now health professionals in the Rochester area. These alumni also come to campus to meet with interested students and answer questions about the preparation for and practice of their particular health career.
What can a student interested in the health professions expect at Fisher?
Solid academic preparation in the natural sciences and humanities
Extensive hands-on experience in the laboratory sciences
Individualized attention from faculty
An accessible health professions advisor who knows each student and advocates for students applying to health professional programs
A dynamic Career Services Department that offers workshops and individualized counseling
Independent research opportunities on and off campus
Shadowing experiences
Internship opportunities with professionals in the community
Access to databases providing information on careers in the health professions, health professional schools, internships, and summer job opportunities
Regular seminars and presentations from health care professionals and graduate and professional school admissions representatives
Mentoring with Fisher alumni and professionals in the community
Workshops on preparing for:
graduate and professional schools
preparing for the MCAT, GRE, and other graduate school exams
interviewing techniques
creating a curriculum vitae
achieving academic success
Opportunities to build strong interpersonal, communications, and leadership skills

NAU’s Biomedical Professions Program provides you with an integrated approach to all of the health professions.

We have advisors available to guide you in preparing for a career in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy, osteopathy, or any other health profession. Our office can also assist you if you haven’t decided which health profession is most appropriate for you.

In addition, our office has a resource library including information and catalogs from professional schools. Finally, we offer a series of seminars to prepare juniors and seniors for medical and other health professional school application. We also coordinate a committee evaluation and recommendation service as part of your application process.

If you are interested in a health preprofessional plan, refer to the specific academic areas described earlier in this catalog for information about specific majors and emphases. (Please note that NAU does not have a pre-med major.)
Preparation for Professional Programs

Medical, dental, osteopathy, optometry, veterinary, and podiatry schools require that you complete a four-year undergraduate degree and then four years of professional school. These schools have relatively uniform course prerequisites for admission, which include at least one year of college-level work each in general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and physics.

A science major is not a prerequisite for admission to any medical or other health profession school. Successful applicants come from all departments. (Although many students are accepted with biology or chemistry degrees, acceptance rates are also high for those with degrees in English, anthropology, and economics, for example.) We therefore encourage you to major in an area of genuine interest to you.

As a first- or second-year student, you can explore several fields—within the limits of the biomedical professions curriculum and NAU’s liberal studies requirements—before settling on a major. If you are not a science major, you should minor in biology or chemistry or take more than the minimum science requirements. No matter which major you select, high grades in the sciences are essential to your successful application to a health professional plan.
Introduction to Biomedical Professions

Every fall, we offer a 1-unit course, USC 108, Introduction to the Health Professions. Health practitioners will discuss careers and health case issues in the United States. Information regarding requirements, preparation and application will be presented.
Biomedical Internships

To further explore a particular profession, you may participate in an open-ended preceptorship with a community practitioner. And, if you are a junior or senior, you may choose a one- or two-unit internship, during which you observe and work with a health professional four or eight hours per week; you then present an oral case study at the end of the term.
Health Careers Fair

Each spring term, we sponsor a health careers fair attended by thirty medical, dental, optometry, and other programs from across the country. The fair provides you with opportunities to meet and visit with admission representatives from many different schools.

Veterinary Science is the profession for people who care about animals and want to use science to understand and keep them healthy. When you study at Murdoch you will learn to do that. There’s a fully functional farm right on campus, with cows, pigs and sheep. The teaching hospital is the largest of its kind this side of the country and our Vet Clinic offers animal care to near and far, giving you the chance to practise what we preach!

Veterinary Science is a major health profession with its own system of education, registration, organisation and ethics. Close liaison with veterinarians in private practice, government departments, consultants and owner-breeders has successfully established Murdoch University’s reputation as a leader in teaching and research in this area. The Veterinary Science course at Murdoch is consistently rated as the best in Australia.

A degree of Bachelor of Science is awarded after the successful completion of the first two and a half years and is a prerequisite for entry to the final two and a half years that lead to the degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery (BVMS).
What can I do with my Veterinary Biology/Veterinary Medicine and Surgery degrees?

As a graduate you will be qualified to register as a Veterinarian in Australia and many overseas countries. This will open up rewarding opportunities in:
Private veterinary practice, dealing primarily with health and production problems in companion and production animals.
State and federal government department disease control units in vital areas such as epidemiological, regulatory and quarantine services and in veterinary research.
Veterinary public health, especially in the meat, dairy and fishing industries and including quality control in food production, the prevention and control of animal diseases communicable to humans, and aspects of environmental pollution.
Industry, especially research and animal related fields such as pharmaceutical and animal feed companies.
Teaching and research in tertiary institutions.
Professional Recognition

Graduates are eligible for registration to practice veterinary medicine without further examination in Australia and a number of other countries including Great Britain, New Zealand, Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore and Hong Kong. The degrees are also recognised by the American Veterinary Medical Association which, after passing the appropriate National or State licensing examinations, makes Murdoch graduates eligible to practice in the USA and Canada.

International students please note: The Australasian Veterinary Boards Council Inc. requires overseas students studying at Australian veterinary schools to submit an English proficiency test when applying for a skills assessment for the purposes of migration. The only tests accepted by the AVBC are the IELTS (academic) or the Occupational English Test (OET). The minimum score required is a 7.0 in each section of the IELTS (academic), or a B pass in each section of the OET. Tests must be within the validity period of two years. For further information please contact Murdoch International.