Fact Sheets

Pre-Medicine @ MSUM

Medical schools accept students with a variety of undergraduate majors, but nearly all medical students have a bachelor's degree. The most popular majors are biology, chemistry and psychology, although other majors are acceptable, and students are encouraged to follow their interests in selecting a major. Course work can be adapted to accommodate specific medical school requirements.

Students wishing to meet premedical requirements at MSU Moorhead should complete the following course work: 1 year of biology; 2 years of chemistry; 1 year of physics; 1 year of calculus.

A typical freshman class schedule looks like this:  English 101, 102 8 credits Biology 111, 114 plus labs 8 credits Chemistry 150, 160 plus labs 8 credits Mathematics or liberal studies 8 credits.

Department Benefits
A unique benefit to MSUM pre-medicine students is the University's Pre-professional Advisory Committee (PAC). The PAC interviews premedical students and makes a determination to provide a formal reference, or not recommend, the student for enrollment in medical school. The support of the PAC provides a tremendous advantage to medical school applicants, and MSUM students completing the PAC process maintain excellent records of acceptance into medical schools.

Benefits to Pre-medicine Students

  • MSUM students have an array of resources easily accessible to gain practical volunteer experience in the medical community. Volunteer work in health care and related fields enhances students' chances of acceptance by medical schools.
  • Upper-level biology and chemistry courses average 10-15 students, giving you personal, one-on-one attention from your professors.
  • All of MSUM's biology and chemistry faculty have Ph.D.s and are active in research and professional development activity.
  • Students are encouraged to participate in activities of the Premedical Club, Beta Beta Beta (MSUM's chapter of the national professional and honorary society for undergraduate biology students), or Chem Club (MSUM's student affiliate chapter of the American Chemical Society).
  • MSUM students can get practical, hands-on experience at the University's Hendrix Health Center as health promotion interns or honors apprentices. Volunteer opportunities include the annual health fair and the Student Health Advisory Committee.
  • University facilities devoted to biology and chemistry majors include: specialized teaching laboratories for microbiology, physiology, molecular biology, ecology and genetics; a new high field (nuclear) magnetic resonance spectrometer, fourier transform infrared spectrometer, atomic absorption spectrometer, fluorescence spectrometer, electrochemical analyzer, protein and nucleic acid electrophoresis units, electron spin resonance spectrometer, gas-chromatographs and GC-MS and mass spectrometers; a regional herbarium with more than 10,000 specimens; a natural science museum; animal quarters; student/faculty research laboratories; departmental libraries; and access to on-line literature searching.

Students Succeed at MSU Moorhead

  • MSUM students enjoy tremendous success in getting into medical school. Over the past four years, 70 percent of MSUM applicants have been accepted into medical schools, while nationally, 37 percent of applicants were accepted in 1996. Some medical schools students attend include: Northwestern, University of Minnesota (Duluth and Minneapolis), University of North Dakota, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Vanderbilt University and Washington University.
  • During 1995-96, 24 biology students and 8 chemistry majors were cited as either senior authors or co-authors on four publications, 16 posters, one agency report, and five abstracts (with presentations). In addition, 17 biology majors and 35 chemistry majors attended local, state and national professional meetings.
  • Steve Muhle, '96, received a $300,000 Medical Scientist Training Program scholarship for a combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree at Vanderbilt University.
  • Kelley Lockhart, '97, was awarded early admission into the University of Minnesota Medical School-Minneapolis.
  • As a junior, Jeff Hudson, '96, received one of 15 Council on Undergraduate Research SURE Fellowships sponsored by the National Science Foundation. He is currently enrolled at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

Alumni at Work (Medical School)

  • Mike Elliott, '93, chemistry, received the University of North Dakota Higher Education tuition waiver for his first year at UND's Medical School.
  • Joseph A. Desautels, '92, French major and music minor, graduated from UND's School of Medicine and is a resident in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1995 he received a Special Award for Service to Medical School at UND's School of Medicine.
  • Joe Weber, '86, biology, is a staff physician at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. His research on the benefits of caffeine following surgery was cited in a 1994 issue of Prevention magazine.
    • Dwight Towler, '82, chemistry, was a recipient of the Gerty T. Cori Predoctoral Fellowship and Prize at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo.
  • Kristen Harris, '76, biology, is associate professor of neuroscience in the department of neurology at Harvard Medical School (Children's Hospital). She recently received two grants to fund her research on synapse structure and function in the developing and mature central nervous system.
  • Roger Melvold, '68, biology, is a professor and associate chairperson of the department of microbiology, Northwestern University Medical School. In 1991 and 1992, he was recognized as the "Outstanding Basic Science Teacher in the Medical School."

Careers
According to the 1992-93 edition of the Occupational Outlook Handbook, "Employment of physicians is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005 due to continued expansion of the health industry." However, the supply of doctors is expected to grow faster than the demand, with the exception of some specialties, notably primary care physicians and specialists in geriatric and preventive medicine. In 1994, 539,000 physicians were working in the United States with a median income of $156,000.

It usually takes about 11 years to become a physician: 4 years of undergraduate work, 4 years of medical school, and 3 years of residency. Some specialties require longer training periods as well.