Pre-Health Program

A student wearing a lab coat and safety gloves writes down his observations.

Since 2004, more than 90% of PLNU students who have applied to health professions schools have been admitted. 

PLNU's robust pre-health program will prepare and equip you for health professions schools in medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, public health, and veterinary medicine.

Our pre-health program includes many resources for your success, such as:

  • Speaker series throughout the academic year
  • One-on-one advising meetings with the pre-health advisor
  • Completing pre-health course requirements necessary for health professions school
  • First- and second-round mock interviews
  • References for volunteer/shadowing/research/internship opportunities
  • Suggested reading
  • Review of health professions school application materials
  • Committee letter of evaluation
  • Point Loma Pre-Health Student Association
  • Serving Through Healing: An Introduction to Health Professions course

By offering rigorous courses alongside individualized support and guidance in the form of volunteer and shadowing experiences, pre-health advising and mentorship, laboratory courses, and more, you can be confident and prepared moving on to health professions schools.

Like most colleges and universities, PLNU does not have a major that is called the pre-medical, pre-dental, pre-occupational therapy, pre-optometry, pre-pharmacy, pre-public health, pre-physician assistant, or pre-veterinary. Students choose to major in a specific discipline while completing the course requirements for the health professions schools they plan to attend. Most pre-health students at PLNU major in either biology or chemistry, or both (biology-chemistry joint major).

Current PLNU students interested in being added to the pre-health list can contact our Pre-Health Advisor, Dr. Sara Choung, at sarachoung@pointloma.edu.

Stay connected to PLNU's pre-health opportunities on Instagram.

Paths to Purpose

A Recipe for Impact (Try Adding Coffee Beans) with Dr. Thomas Fitzpatrick
How Ministry with Mexico trips informed Michal Montana’s role as an OB-GYN
Kekeli women bring light and life to their Ghanaian communities with the help of Rural Health Collective
René Bravo Elected President-Elect of the California Medical Association
Alondra Kazzouh inspires smiles through dentistry and the Middle Eastern Association
8 Impactful Healthcare Jobs You May Not Know About

Student Stories

Words from Alumni

"PLNU Got Me Ready for Medical School"
"Well Prepared for the Next Step"

Pre-Health Student Snapshots

Videos (8)
Articles (13)
Quotes (5)
Pictures (3)
Dr. René Bravo, CMA President and PLNU alum, was deeply influenced by the caring physicians of his youth, which led him to commit to a career in medicine.
A Recipe for Impact (Try Adding Coffee Beans) with Dr. Thomas Fitzpatrick The motorcycle came sputtering up behind them. They turned toward the sound to find a woman on a mission: a mother cradling her son as she simultaneously maneuvered the bike toward their one hope of relief. Discover
How Ministry with Mexico trips informed Michal Montana’s role as an OB-GYN Michal Montana, now an OB-GYN physician in Bend, Oregon, attributes her compassionate patient care and dedication to serving others to her experiences with Spring Break Build and Ministry with Mexico during her time at Point Loma. Discover
Kekeli women bring light and life to their Ghanaian communities with the help of Rural Health Collective Rural Health Collective empowers women from the Akatsi region of Ghana to share safe healthcare and wellness practices within their communities. Discover
René Bravo Elected President-Elect of the California Medical Association Board of trustee René Bravo shares this milestone moment and his years in the medical field leading up to it.  Discover
Alondra Kazzouh inspires smiles through dentistry and the Middle Eastern Association PLNU graduate Alondra Kazzouh shares her experience with dentistry, military service, and the Middle Eastern Association. Discover
8 Impactful Healthcare Jobs You May Not Know About Learn about promising lesser-known healthcare jobs like prosthetist, sonographer, anesthetist, clinical lab technician, and more. Discover
Black and in Medicine: Giving Voice to the 5 Percent Mitchell Prins used his artistic ability to co-create Voices of the 5%, an art exhibit that celebrates current and future Black physicians. Discover
What’s the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy? The career choice between occupational or physical therapy can be a daunting decision. Through this article, one can compare the varying day-to-day demands, education pathways, work environments, and average pay of occupational therapists and physical therapists. Discover
4 Impactful Research Projects from PLNU Professors PLNU is home to a variety of talented and hardworking professors doing important research in San Diego and beyond! Here are 4 professors in the biology and chemistry departments whose projects stand out as creative, fascinating, and impactful. Discover
What’s the Difference Between Integrative Wellness and Lifestyle Medicine? Both integrative wellness and lifestyle medicine combine the consideration of one’s well-being with conventional medical approaches. They are more holistic approaches to healthcare. Discover
Nathan Kemalyan Works to Prevent Injury and Illness in Zambia Nathan Kemalyan is developing safe cookstove technology to prevent common burn injuries in Zambia that occur due to cooking over an open flame. Discover
Physician Assistant or Occupational Therapist: Which Career Should I Choose? Physician assistant or occupational therapist: which career should you choose? Topics include diagnosing, prescribing, long-term recovery, and more. Discover
Gwen Gleason-Rohrer: Where Faith and Care Converge After two and a half years in the pre-med program at PLNU, Gwen Gleason-Rohrer took a step back and thought about changing her career path, which had been focused on medicine. Discover
PLNU Got Me Ready for Medical School
"I felt better prepared by PLNU for medical school than most of my medical school classmates who went to other schools for undergrad. At Point Loma, I had closer relationships with my professors who were passionate teachers, more hands-on learning in smaller classes, and many more lab classes in my undergraduate training. I had active pre-med advisors who helped me through the entire application process, while many of my medical school classmates had to figure it out mostly on their own."
Matthew Steinhaus Biology-Chemistry B.S.
Well Prepared for the Next Step
"I really feel that the courses at PLNU have definitely prepared me and helped bridge that gap into dental school. The intense biochem courses, the microbiology, the anatomies, all the hands-on experience you get in lab make me feel very prepared going into dental school"
Saib Abdulnoor Biology B.S.
Hands-on Preparation
"My time at PLNU really prepared me for PA school because they provided me with lots of opportunities to get hands-on experience within the healthcare field. They helped me build my resume, they helped me with my applications. We had one class in particular that was a pre-PA internship class and so we actually got to be interns doing various healthcare things and we got to see patients and interact with them and kind of have like mock cases as well and write mock notes and that's something that you usually don't get in undergrad that I think now being in PA school really prepared me for what was to come."
Sophie Mirth Applied Health Sciences B.S.
Service Starts in Your Backyard
"My motivation to pursue medicine has always been missionally-focused. I wanted to follow the pathway that my grandfather set ahead of me and serve others globally. I initially thought that always meant serving transcontinentally, yet my involvement with Ministry with Mexico showed me that service starts in your backyard."
Michal Montana Biology-Chemistry B.S.
Whole Person Development
"PLNU gave me the opportunity to explore and anchor my relationship with Jesus. The opportunity to reconcile my faith with the scientific manual of God's world was fantastic. PLNU's science program and emphasis on developing the whole person propelled me professionally."
René Bravo Biology-Chemistry B.S.