Pre-law, Pre-med, and other

Information about pre-law
Students interested in attending law school after graduation can and should major in any discipline of interest to them. We encourage all students with such an interest to attend Law School Express at the Vanderbilt Career Center. Once they do so, they can then schedule an individual appointment with Professor Klint Alexander, Vanderbilt’s pre-law adviser, who can answer questions about preparing for admission to law school.

Information about pre-med
While individual schools of medicine have different requirements for entrance, most require students to have taken a full year of each of the following while undergraduate students: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, and English. Because there is no one major that is better than any other for admission to medical school, students are advised to major in a discipline they enjoy. Excellent grades do help in admission to medical school; most students are more likely to earn those grades by majoring in a discipline they’re interested in and enjoying studying.

We strongly encourage all Vanderbilt undergraduates interested in becoming a medical doctor to speak with Dr. Robert Baum, director of the Health Professions Advisory Office to learn more about academic and other preparation for medical school. Dr. Baum can also address questions about preparation for becoming a dentist, pharmacist, veterinarian, or other health care professional.

Information about pre-nursing
While schools of nursing have varying requirements, the core curriculum for most includes one semester of each of the following: statistics, microbiology, human anatomy, human physiology, nutrition, and developmental psychology. Students interested in nursing as a career should contact Professor Jana Lauderdale.