Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Pre-Medicine

Program Location: Culbertson Hall 318, 320, 324, 328, and 330

Bozeman, MT  59717
Home Page for HPRC

Program Email: hpa@montana.edu 
Tel: 406 994-1670 


The Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Certificate Program is a career-changing opportunity afforded to students by Montana State University through the Health Professions Resource Center office.  As a ‘career-changing’ program, students accepted into this program have earned a non-science bachelor’s degree and have often been employed prior to deciding to pursue a career in medicine or health care. The Certificate program was approved in 2005 as a ‘career-changing’ program and the first students matriculated in May 2006. 

The program is about 12-15 months (~4 semesters) in length when enrolled in classes full-time (12 credits or more per semester) and when it is started in the summer. Students are encouraged to begin during summer session but can start during any academic semester.

Certificate of Completion

Certificate of Completion is awarded to students who complete a minimum of 30 credits to fulfill the certificate curriculum requirements and at least 20 of those credits at Montana State University.

To graduate, students will declare the certificate curriculum as their course of study, meet with their advisor and apply to graduate the semester prior to finishing. Students will need to pay the fees associated with graduation. 

How to Apply

  1. Application for the Post Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Certificate can be found online through MSU Undergraduate Admissions.
  2. Competency in math, as defined by MSU Math Level 4 or successful completion of College Algebra within the last 5 years, is highly recommend at the time of course registration and matriculation. Courses in Chemistry, Statistics, and Math require this as a pre-requisite. Therefore, students without this level of math will need additional semesters before beginning the required curriculum.  It is also recommended that you have 2 semesters of college writing prior to beginning the program.

Program Specifics

While at MSU students complete professional school pre-requisites and prepare for a competitive application.

  • Curriculum typically consists of 1 year each of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and a semester of biochemistry.  Additional courses such as statistics, calculus, psychology, and sociology may be recommended depending on undergraduate coursework completed. Curriculum is established based on students educational goals and professional program course pre-requisites.
  • Courses are taken at the undergraduate level and with the undergraduate students.  
  • Students are encouraged to participate in a semester-long application preparation process (Prep2Apply).

Students can apply to professional school at the end of the Certificate program and; therefore, experience at least one glide year.  We encourage students to  consider  the 1-year Master of Science in Health Sciences program during the glide year to further enhance their academic foundation prior to professional school matriculation.

Program Learning Outcomes

  • Design and create an academic plan to fulfill educational requirements for health professional school applications that also fulfills the requirements of the certificate program.


  • Develop and apply effective communication strategies for a variety of environments and people.
  • Relate fundamental science, math, and social science class knowledge to understand health and medicine.

Curriculum Requirements:

Required Courses

CHMY 141
CHMY 142
College Chemistry I
and College Chemistry I Lab
4
CHMY 143
CHMY 144
College Chemistry II
and College Chemistry II Lab
4
Take 7 credits from this list:7
Immunology
Principles of Living Systems
Cellular and Molecular Biology
General Genetics
Microbiology for Health Sciences: Infectious Diseases
Microbiology for Health Sciences Lab
General Microbiology
Biomedical Genetics
Electives - Take 15 credits from this list:15
Human Anatomy and Physiology I
Human Anatomy and Physiology II
Global Diseases and Health Disparities
Advanced Human Torso Anatomy
Advanced Human Appendicular Anatomy
Human Developmental Biology
Elements of Organic Chemistry
Medical Terminology
Physics I with Calculus
Physics I with Calculus Laboratory
Physics II with Calculus
Elements of Organic Chemistry Lab
Organic Chemistry I
Organic Chemistry I Lab
Organic Chemistry II
Organic Chemistry II Lab
Biochemistry
Biochemistry Lab
Biochemistry of Macromolecules
Metabolic Regulation
Introduction to Statistics
College Physics I
College Physics II
Developmental Psychology
Psychology of Aging
Psychological Disorders
Physiological Psychology
Exercise Physiology
Human Anatomy and Physiology I for Health Professions
Human Anatomy and Physiology I for Health Professions Lab
Human Anatomy and Physiology II for Health Professions
Human Anatomy and Physiology II for Health Professions Lab
Total Credits30