Undergraduate pre-health sciences students at Iowa are encouraged to choose a major in any area. Many major in a scientific field, although students who choose majors in areas such as the humanities (e.g., English or philosophy) or social sciences (e.g., psychology or anthropology) do very well when they apply to medical school. There is no single undergraduate major that best prepares students for entry into the health sciences, so choose a major that genuinely interests students.

In high school, develop time-management and study skills to prepare for the university’s academic environment. It is helpful to take a strong high school mathematics and science program to help students with pre-health science course work, and completing the foreign language requirement in high school will give students increased flexibility in scheduling required courses and choosing electives once they enroll at the university.