Pre-Health Program
Table of Contents
Your Path to a Health Career Starts Here
Whether you’re headed to medical school, PA or nursing school, interested in studying physical therapy, or still exploring, Furman prepares you to make a meaningful impact on individual and community well-being. Some students are drawn to clinical roles working directly with patients. Others discover that they thrive in public health, health policy, community education, or research. At Furman, you’ll find opportunities to explore it all, with clinical and/or research experiences starting early and attentive advisors who are invested in your success.
There is no single route to careers in health and medicine
Whether they major in STEM fields, social sciences, humanities, or the arts, Furman pre-health students succeed in reaching their goals. At Furman you will develop the communication skills, ethical reasoning, and broad perspectives that employers and professional schools in the health and medical fields seek.
Choose a major that genuinely excites you.
A Track Record of Success
Since 2013, Furman students have been accepted to programs at Baylor, Columbia, Duke, Emory, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern, UNC, Vanderbilt, Wash U, Yale, and dozens of others.
Furman students succeed across health professions—medical school, dental school, PA programs, physical therapy, nursing, pharmacy, and more.
In medical school admissions, Furman graduates consistently outperform the national average:
| Year | Furman % | National % |
| 2021 | 64% | 38% |
| 2022 | 94% | 42% |
| 2023 | 83% | 43% |
| 2024 | 100% | 43% |
| 2025 | 82% | 43% |
82% of our 2025 pre-med seniors were accepted to medical school—nearly double the national average.
More Than Medicine
Healthcare extends far beyond physicians. Career paths include:
Audiology • Biomedical Engineering • Cardiovascular Perfusion • Dentistry • Epidemiology • Genetic Counseling • Health Care Administration • Medical Physics • Music Therapy • Nursing • Nutrition • Occupational Therapy • Optometry • Orthotics & Prosthetics • Pharmacy • Physical Therapy • Physician Assistant • Podiatric Medicine • Public Health • Speech Pathology • Veterinary Medicine • and more
Our advisors, the Malone Center for Career Engagement, The Office of Alumni, and The Institute for the Advancement of Community Health connect you with mentors in every area.
Engaged Health Experiences Span Your Entire Four Years
Most pre-health students wait until junior or senior year to learn inside a healthcare setting. At Furman, you can start early. That means you’ll confirm your career direction sooner, build a stronger application, and write personal statements based on tangible experiences.
Healthcare Today Engaged Learning Program
A selective first-year cohort linking healthcare-focused coursework to community engagement with practicing professionals. Limited to 24 students annually. Entry by application.
Prisma Health Observation Program
Shadow physicians, surgeons, and specialists across 19 hospitals and 5,900+ clinicians in South Carolina’s largest not-for-profit health system. By graduation, you’ll have logged valuable observation hours. Many students also discover careers they didn’t know existed, like nurse anesthetist or community health worker, roles that may offer better work-life balance or a better fit for their strengths.
MacDonald Medicine Program
A signature Furman program for more than 30 years, this semester-long experience combines Medical Sociology and Clinical Medical Ethics with rotations at Prisma Health and New Horizon Family Health Clinic. Graduates say this program gave them the language to talk about healthcare’s human side. Entry by application.
Study Away and May X Experiences
Unlike other schools where it’s difficult to study away and complete pre-health requirements, Furman makes it simple. Options include:
- Medical Mysteries and Histories in the UK Explore the history of anatomy and pathology in Scotland and England, woven together with social determinants of health.
- Art and Medicine in NYC Examine the intersection of visual art and medical practice.
- Happiness May X in Copenhagen Focus on mental health and wellbeing in one of the world’s happiest countries.
- Healthcare Systems in Italy and Portugal Partner with Atlantis to examine healthcare delivery in European contexts.
If you prefer to take a May X class on campus, you can still broaden your experience in health and medicine.
- Beginner Medical Spanish Learn medical terminology in Spanish and shadow interpreters at Prisma Health.
- ER: A Microcosm of Society An on-campus May X team-taught by a Health Sciences professor and a Prisma Health ER physician.
- Medical Legal Partnership May X Dive deeper into the MLP’s work at the intersection of health, poverty, and law.
Support at Every Step
The Office of Pre-Professional Advising (OPPA)
A dedicated team of full-time advisors who stay current on health career requirements and graduate programs. They connect with students before arrival and continue through application season, helping you explore options, prepare for entrance exams, craft your personal statement, and practice for interviews. OPPA works alongside your academic advisor to align your curricular choices with your goals. Meet your advisors: John Banisaukas, Director of Pre-Professional Advising | Lisa Nevalainen, Health Careers Advisor
Institute for the Advancement of Community Health (IACH)
Partner with 80+ community organizations, including free clinics, food banks, and public health initiatives, and build the perspective that defines great providers: health happens long before a patient walks into a clinic.
Research opportunities across all GPAs
Furman provides financial fellowships so you can dedicate your summer to research instead of working an hourly job. Undergraduates publish in peer-reviewed journals and present at regional, national, and international conferences. As medical schools increasingly stress research experience, Furman students enter with skills that set them apart.
Alumni who open doors
Furman graduates practicing across every specialty are eager to mentor, make introductions, and advocate for you.
Learn Why Positive Health Outcomes Require Collaboration
A child’s asthma keeps flaring because of mold in her apartment. A patient can’t afford medication because of a wage dispute. These are health problems with historical, legal, and social roots, and understanding them is now a core competency that admissions committees expect.
At Furman, coursework and hands-on experiences help you build this understanding.
Medicine, Health, and Culture Interdisciplinary Minor
Explore historical, traditional, and contemporary paradigms of medical care and the intricacies of health and healing.
Healthcare, Public Policy, & Law
Examine the social, political, and economic dimensions of health policy and the US healthcare system.
History of Western Medicine
Trace the changing relationships between medical theories, practice, patients, and institutions.
The Upstate Medical Legal Partnership (MLP)
Screen patients for health-harming legal issues and work alongside attorneys. Furman is the only undergraduate institution in the country embedded in an MLP.
Furman’s institutes deepen this perspective. The Institute for the Advancement of Community Health supports immersive internships in community health. The Hill, Riley, and Shi Institutes connect students to topics ranging from AI in healthcare to food deserts to health legislation.
Featured pre-health/pre-med courses
Furman provides courses that meet all the requirements to apply to dental, health, medical, and veterinary programs as well as courses to expand your knowledge.
Some samples include:
Pre-Health Program FAQ
Pre-med is one path within pre-health. Pre-health includes pre-dental, pre-PA, pre-nursing, pre-vet, pre-PT, pre-pharmacy, and any other health-related career. Many students arrive focused on medical school but through internships, research, class experience, and programs within Furman’s institutes discover other health careers that better fit their strengths.
A first year pre-health schedule is dependent on a number of factors including AP credits, academic interests, and which pre-health area you are exploring. Most students take a science or math course in each term coupled with general education courses that complement their interests. Students will work closely with their advisors along each step of the path.
Many students discover new interests through clinical observation and coursework. OPPA advisors help you explore, and Furman’s broad curriculum means changing direction doesn’t mean starting over. Our 98% placement rate includes students across all paths.
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82%2025 MED SCHOOL ACCEPTANCE, NEARLY DOUBLE THE NATIONAL RATE
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30+YEARS OF THE MACDONALD MEDICINE PROGRAM
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19PRISMA HEALTH HOSPITALS FOR CLINICAL OBSERVATION
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1ONLY UNDERGRAD INSTITUTION EMBEDDED IN A MEDICAL LEGAL PARTNERSHIP
What our students say
FACULTY
Small class sizes combined with advanced, specialized courses create something unique at Furman. Professors, not TAs, teach your classes and labs, know your name, and write recommendation letters that are genuinely personal. They know when you’re struggling, have the time to meet with you, and have the freedom to adapt their teaching to reach different kinds of learners.
When a professor has watched you work through a difficult problem in office hours, celebrated your first research presentation, and seen you grow over four years, their recommendation letter tells a real story. Furman professors from various disciplines support prehealth students and write letters that reflect who you actually are.
Greg Springsteen
Victoria Turgeon
Onarae Rice
Carmela Epright
Natalie The
Kristy Maher
Maria Rippon
Carolyn Day
David Fleming
