The Pre-Health office provides you with opportunities to explore the health professional world.

We offer advising and resources, and guide students through the medical and health professional school application process. We can also connect you to dozens of clinical experiences, from observing physicians at Prisma Health to conducting research in a biomedical science laboratory. As part of Furman’s advising and mentoring team, the health careers advisors will prepare you for your future career, and ensure you are a competitive applicant when the time comes to apply to the health professional school of your choice.

Advising Team

At Furman, you will have a team of advisors to assist and support you. The health careers advisors work closely with your pathways advisor and academic major advisor to balance your coursework and experiential learning as you prepare for a career in the health professions.

Health Care Areas

The healthcare advisors work with all students preparing for a career in any area of healthcare, including but not limited to the healthcare fields listed below:

  • Anesthesiology Assistant
  • Audiology
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Cardiovascular Perfusion
  • Child Life Specialist
  • Chiropractic
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Dentistry
  • Epidemiology
  • Genetic Counseling
  • Healthcare Administration
  • Medical
  • Medical Illustration
  • Medical Physics
  • Music Therapy
  • Naturopathic Medicine
  • Nursing
  • Nutrition
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Optometry
  • Orthotics & Prosthetics
  • Pathologist Assistant
  • Pharmacy
  • Physical Therapy
  • Physician Assistant
  • Podiatric Medicine
  • Public Health
  • Speech Pathology
  • Veterinary Medicine

Choosing Your Major

As a pre-health student at Furman, you can choose any major that matches your interests. There is no specific major required or preferred by health professional schools. Our graduates have gained admission to health professional schools through a variety of majors, including art, biology, chemistry, English, music, psychology, and Spanish.

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Furman University has been highly successful in preparing its students for admission to medical school. In fact, over the past 5 years, Furman graduates who have completed required courses with a 3.5 GPA or higher have a better acceptance rate to medical school than their peers across the nation.

Graduates from the Class of 2023 who met that criteria had an acceptance rate of 83.3%. Since 2006, our students have been accepted to medical schools across the nation, including Columbia, Duke, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt, and Yale.

2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Senior Applicants 20 21 14 18 18
Seniors Accepted 15 15 9 17 15
% Accepted 75% 71% 64% 94% 83%
National % 43% 42% 36% 42% 44%
FU % pts > National % 32% 29% 28% 52% 39%

The Direct Entry Program (DEP) provides up to five qualified students with admission to the USC SOM Greenville simultaneous with acceptance to Furman University. High school seniors who have been admitted to Furman are eligible to apply. To remain eligible, students must meet the academic requirements, participate in programming and a junior year assessment, and engage in approved clinical experiences.

Lisa Nevalainen

Assistant Health Careers Advisor

John Banisaukas

Director of Pre-Professional Advising, Chief Health Careers Advisor

Upcoming Health Careers Events