Our Mission

We provide students with the prerequisite content they need to succeed in graduate school and prepare for a career in healthcare. We foster a high-touch learning environment where students can learn with the flexibility promised by the online platform without compromising the academic rigor or professional behavior necessary for the future.

 

Upcoming Events

08 Nov
Online Prerequisites: Informational Webinar
Nov 8 2023 12:00pm-1:00pm
Virtual - Zoom
12 Dec
Online Prerequisites: Informational Webinar
Dec 12 2023 12:00pm-1:00pm
Virtual - Zoom

Semester Dates

Fall 2023

September 5 - December 12

Spring 2024

January 16 - April 23

Summer 2024

May 28 - August 19

Certificate of Pre-Health Studies

Our certificate program is designed for students who need to take or re-take most of their prerequisite courses; this program offers one-on-one advising, tutoring, and other academic support services to support you along the journey to a career in the medical field. Students can take individual courses or enroll in our certificate program.

Individual Courses

Application Mentorship

Applying to graduate school in healthcare can be overwhelming. Our mentor program helps guide students through typical obstacles and questions one might have when applying for graduate school, like analyzing your transcripts, writing admission essays, preparing for interviews, and navigating the application process.

All registered Online Prerequisite students are able and encouraged to utilize this free service and will be given participation instructions upon registration.

Application Mentor: Gail Samdperil, EdD, ATC

28

Online courses offered three times a year

100%

Accredited by New England Commission of Higher Education

6,000+

Students have taken our prerequisites since 2012

How Do Online Labs Work?

Learning science online no longer excludes the opportunity for students to engage in active laboratory learning—in fact, learning is often enhanced when a lab experiment is adapted to the online environment. Because all of our lab-related faculty hold PhDs in their fields and are active in research or clinical practice, they design laboratory experiences specifically for students preparing for graduate school in the health professions. They also ensure that their students are using the most current and effective technology available.

In our program, we offer distance-based laboratory learning experiences in Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Microbiology and Physics. Each science has its own unique lab experience, and there are different approaches to recreating the laboratory learning experience which we use in our online program.

In each course and each lab, our goal is to assure that students master foundational concepts. Laboratory content is designed to integrate with didactic content and online discussions to create connections relevant to the practice of health care.

Regardless of which type of laboratory learning you are engaged in, you will complete all the steps of an onsite lab: 

  • Following the lab manual
  • Completing the learning activity
  • Analyzing your outcomes
  • Describing your results
  • Identifying relevant connections

Your instructor will review your work and be available for questions, assistance and support. You will explore and discuss the activities in each lab via asynchronous discussions with the lab instructor, course instructor, and other students. In addition, real-time discussions may also be offered by the course instructor and lab instructor.

Distant Labs

All our courses incorporate hands-on learning to ensure you get the full experience expected in a lab course. We use a mix of resources including pre-packaged lab kits. These kits contain the instructions and materials to safely complete the experiment. In many cases, you'll be able to repeat the experiment as needed to gain full understanding. 

a bunch of lab equipment on a table including glass beakers and jars of liquid

Virtual Labs

When it is not possible to recreate a laboratory environment in your home, labs might be completed using a graphic interface program. For example, in Anatomy and Physiology you will work in a virtual lab to dissect actual cadavers using a graphic interface. This program additionally provides independent self-assessments that are supplemented with regular quizzes and graded reports.

screen grab of woman's naked torso with navigation items on the right and explanation of tissue types on the left

Kim Mace, DAT, ATC

Director of Online Prerequisites Program Assistant Professor Health Professions Education

Sandra Buerger

Adjunct Associate Professor Team Lead for Science Lab Prerequisites Lecturer, Biology 1 & Microbiology Online Prerequisites for the Health Professions

Tom Shull in striped shirt

Adjunct Instructor Team Lead for Communication Sciences and Disorders Prerequisites Lecturer, Phonetic Transcription & Introduction to Acoustic Phonetics Online Prerequisites for the Health Professions

Claire Elling in grey shirt

Adjunct Instructor Team Lead for Health & Quantitative Studies Prerequisites Lecturer, Developmental Psychology Online Prerequisites for the Health Professions