Career Paths

Biology

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The following information provides possible paths to a career, starting with studying Biology at Wilmington College. Choose your area of interest to continue:

• Allied Health
• Medicine
• Nursing
• Veterinary Medicine

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Preparing for a Career in Medicine

Wilmington College graduates have gained acceptance to a wide range of medical schools, including The Ohio State University, Wright State University, Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, the University of Pittsburgh and others. We are proud of the success that our alumni have enjoyed in medical school and in their medical careers. We have worked hard to establish a track record of success in medical school admissions. Our future students are sure to benefit from the success of our alumni.

Admission into colleges of medicine or osteopathic medicine is a competitive process. Virtually all American medical schools require their incoming students to have completed a bachelor’s degree, and while completing that degree, take the following courses:

• One year of general biology (for biology majors)
• One year of general chemistry (for life science or chemistry majors)
• One year of organic chemistry
• One year of general physics (algebra-based physics is acceptable)
• Additionally, some schools require a full year of english, others require a full year of math.

Students must also complete and perform well on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT). Students typically take the MCAT their junior year of college. Several testing dates are available at testing centers across the country.

Students can select any academic major as long as they complete the list of prerequisite courses. Since so many of the prerequisite courses are science courses, most premed students select biology or chemistry as their academic major. If you elect to pursue a biology major at Wilmington College, the biology faculty strongly recommend that you complete the Life Sciences Concentration. This is a traditional liberal arts biology major that will prepare you well for medical school, ensure that the courses you take will be sufficiently rigorous, and will result in a transcript that will match the expectations of medical school admissions committees.

A SPECIAL PROGRAM FOR STUDENTS INTERESTED IN OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE.

Wilmington College and Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, a college of A. T. Still University, have entered into a cooperative agreement to establish a Pre-Osteopathic Medical Scholars program. The program allows Wilmington College students who meet program criteria to gain early admission into Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine. Visit KCOM for more information.

OTHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONS

A Wilmington College education can be a great start to a variety of careers in healthcare-related fields. Our program matches particularly well the prerequisite requirements for graduate-level training programs in optometry, dentistry, podiatry, physical therapy, chiropractic, pharmacy and physician assistant studies.

The Heath Science Concentration is specifically designed for students wishing to pursue careers in these allied health professions. Prospective students are faced with a sometimes confusing array of options for training in these fields. The Health Sciences Concentration includes an introductory course to help students clarify precisely which career might be best for them and how their Wilmington College curriculum can be structured to help them meet their career goals.

Preparing for a Career in Nursing

THE WC/MOUNT CARMEL PROGRAM

Wilmington College and Mount Carmel College of Nursing have developed a joint program for students who wish to complete a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and become registered nurses. In this program, students complete a set of courses at Wilmington College’s campus and then are evaluated for transfer to Mount Carmel. Admission of up to eight qualified Wilmington students per year into Mount Carmel’s Advanced Placement Program is guaranteed. Students take basic science and general education courses at Wilmington College. After transferring to Mount Carmel, students complete the more applied requirements of the Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum and graduate from Mount Carmel. To qualify for transfer to Mount Carmel, students must receive no grade lower than “C” in any required course and maintain an overall GPA of 3.0. Mount Carmel’s Advanced Placement Program begins in May and lasts five semesters. Visit Mount Carmel for full details on the Mount Carmel portion of the program.

In addition to the required courses, students enrolling in the program are expected to take a course in mathematics and Wilmington College’s First Year Experience Seminar. Taking these two courses will allow students who change their minds and decide to stay at Wilmington to move more easily into another major.

ACCELERATED NURSING TRAINING PROGRAM

Another route from Wilmington College to a nursing career is to complete a Wilmington College degree and then progress to an Accelerated Nursing Training Program. These programs accept students who have Bachelor’s degrees in areas other than nursing and train them to be nurses. Some of these programs award a second Bachelor’s degree to their graduates, others award Master’s degrees. The Health Sciences Concentration would provide ideal preparation for an accelerated nursing program.

Example Programs:

• Mount Carmel’s Second Bachelor’s Program
• Xavier University’s MIDAS Program

NURSING CURRICULUM

A total of 56 hours with grades of “C” or better is required in all courses with a minimum overall GPA of 3.00.

BI131G-NS Human Nutrition (4)
BI230 Biological Sciences I (4)
BI231 Biological Sciences II (4)
BI343 Microbiology and Immunology (4)
EN101 Writing II (4)
GL125 First Year Seminar (4)
HS344 Human Anatomy (4)
HS345 Human Physiology (4)
PY130 Introduction to Psychology (4)
PY231 Developmental Psychology (4)
RP330G-HU Comparative Religions (4)
SY130 Introduction to Sociology (4)

Select one of the following:

EC334 Business Statistics 1 (4)
MT131 Introduction to Statistics (4)

Select one of the following:

BI352 Bioethics (4)
RP239 Values and Ethics (4)