Health Professions

Introduction

Pre-Healthcare Pathways are not offered as majors at Western (nor are they at most other universities) but they can be incorporated into or taken alongside any academic major offered at Western.

Most healthcare programs emphasize the importance of a liberal arts education and do not recruit students from one specific major or discipline. As long as specific prerequisite coursework is completed, professional schools do not discriminate based on major. Therefore, students have flexibility in planning their time at Western.

The Health Professions Advising office encourages students to use their undergraduate years to explore many academic fields, to develop foundational skills and knowledge, to demonstrate expertise, and to experience a field of study (major) of their choice. Students tend to excel in a major they truly enjoy, so for many pre-health students that is a major in the sciences like Biology or Chemistry. However, students have majored in a diverse range of academic disciplines including Anthropology, Behavioral Neuroscience, Communication Studies, Psychology, History, Philosophy, Languages (i.e. Spanish), and Fairhaven self-designed programs. Some other popular options are combined majors such as Anthropology/Biology, Biochemistry, and Behavioral Neuroscience.