Health Professions: Pre-Nursing
Office of Health
Professions Advising
(OHPA)
http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Dr. Judith A. Wubah
Smith Career Center (0128)
231-6241 jawubah@vt.edu
Be sure to meet with your departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis in addition to the OHPA.
MAJORS INFORMATION
Any major is acceptable as long as admission requirements are met. Students should plan to transfer after junior year if
they want to stay on a 4-year plan for BSN degree. Many creative options are now available with an articulation
agreement with Johns Hopkins and accelerated programs to earn BSN and MSN with nurse practitioner. VCU has a 3
year post degree program leading to an advanced practice nurse role (clinical nurse specialist or nurse practitioner). Will
need to take GRE for this program. UVA also has second degree program.
Articulation agreement with John Hopkins School of Nursing: students major in BIOL, BCHM, or HNFE for three
years and then go through an accelerated nursing program at Johns Hopkins.
Biochemistry articulation agreement information: http://www.biochem.vt.edu/options.php
Common Majors: Biology (BIOL), Human Development (HD)
SPECIFIC COURSE REQUIREMENTS
*** Requirements vary greatly among Virginia schools. Below are listed the most usual courses. Students should target
particular schools of interest and check requirements for those schools. ***
Course Number
BIOL 1005, 1015
BIOL 1006, 1016
OR
BIOL 1105, 1115
BIOL 1106, 1116
CHEM 1035, 1045 (lab)
CHEM 1036, 1046 (lab)
CHEM 2535, 2545
CHEM 2536, 2546
BMSP 2135, 2145
BMSP 2136, 2146
MATH 1015, 1016 or
other calculus sequence
ENGL 1105, 1106
STAT 2004
HNFE 1004
PSYC 2034
Health Professions: Pre-Nursing
Title
General Biology, General Biology Lab
OR
Credits
8
Principles of Biology, Principles of Biology
Lab
General Chemistry, General Chemistry Lab
8
Organic Chemistry
8
Human Anatomy & Physiology
8
Elementary Calculus with Trigonometry
OR
Other calculus sequence
Freshman English
Introductory Statistics
Foods and Nutrition
Developmental Psychology
*Some schools also require research
methods. Specific course would vary by
department
6
August 2010
Prerequisites
6
3
3
3
Must be taken in
sequence.
CHEM 1036
BIOL 1005,1006 or
BIOL 1105, 1106
MATH 1015
PSYC 2004
rev: JAW
COMMUNITY COLLEGE / ADVANCED PLACEMENT INFORMATION
Check with specific schools to make sure that credit from a community college, Advanced Placement, or International
Baccalaureate are accepted. Some schools prefer that science courses are taken at a four-year institution with a normal
credit load.
GET INVOLVED!! VT Student Organizations, Courses, and Opportunities
Course: UH 2004: Careers in Medicine 1 credit, sophomore or higher (Fall only)
Office of Health Professions Advising http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
The Nursing Club at Virginia Tech: contact club president Kathleen Hallowell for details. khallow@vt.edu
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Health Professions Group Information Sessions: Twice per week in the Smith Career Center
Online registration required, there will be specific sessions for Freshmen/Sophomores and Juniors/Seniors.
Check the OHPA website frequently for dates and times.
Visit OHPA website for information about Graduate & Professional School Information Day (fall) as nursing
schools are usually present.
APPLICATION & ADMISSION INFORMATION

Admission Test: Varies by school. Some schools do not have an admissions test while others do.

GPA: 3.0 or better, depending on current applicant pool, is generally competitive.

Experience: It is beneficial to have experience working with people. Examples of experience are volunteer work,
free clinic, rescue squad, and nursing assistant.

Campus Interviews: Conducted by the Health Professions Evaluation Committee in the spring of each academic
year (March - May)

Nursing School Interview: Some schools do application interviews while others do not.
OTHER RESOURCES



www.ExploreHEALTHCareers.org, an exceptional resource for students
National Institutes of Health Career Finder, http://science-education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm
American Association of Colleges of Nursing http://www.aacn.nche.edu
The Office of Health Professions Advising at Virginia Tech assists students and alumni pursuing a health care career
in medicine, dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, chiropractic, occupational therapy, nursing, physician's assistant,
veterinary medicine, or other graduate health professions.
Any student or alumnus/alumna of Virginia Tech, regardless of major, can use the services of OHPA. Although the
majority of health professions students major in a science field, it is not required.
Students should meet with their departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis to ensure requirements are being met
for graduation. The Office of Health Professions Advising is an important complement to academic advising.
Health Professions: Pre-Nursing
August 2010
rev: JAW