PRE-HEALTH
Develop a diverse and deep understanding of people and issues that impact health and healthcare.
“Becoming a Beyond120 Pre-Health Scholar and Morse Scholar significantly broadened my horizons with easily accessible opportunities that provided pivotal experience both in and outside the classroom. The Beyond120 family gave me the best academic and extra-curricular opportunities as an undergraduate at UF.”
– Emory Ranes
Pre-Health Professional Development
Pre-health professional development is critical for anyone pursuing a career in healthcare. Professional schools seek applicants with strong academics, diverse experiences, and a clear understanding of the profession. As a pre-health student, you should explore healthcare roles, engage with patient and family experiences, develop relevant skills, and assess your personal fit for the field.
Professional development is more than meeting admission requirements—it is about becoming a well-rounded, resilient professional prepared for the challenges of healthcare. Your undergraduate years are the foundation for applying to, entering, and thriving in your chosen healthcare profession.
Cultivating the desired competencies encompasses five key areas: academics, research, clinical experience, community service, and shadowing.
Pre-Health Professional Development or PHS Questions?
Book a consultation or email rknicker@ufl.edu.
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Pre-Health Areas of Engagement
This graphic provides a comprehensive overview of the key components involved in Pre-Health Professional Development. Cultivating the desired prehealth competencies encompasses five key areas: academics, research, clinical experience, community service, and shadowing.
Pre-Health Scholars Program
Beyond120’s Pre-Health Scholars (PHS) program offers opportunities for student in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to build these competencies through academic, experiential, and skill-based learning. If you complete the PHS program you will be recognized at our spring reception, be awarded graduation cords for the commencement ceremony and can include the designation on your resume and LinkedIn.
Join Pre-Health Scholars
Join the Beyond120 Pre-Health Scholars program by attending one of our information sessions, watching the information session below and submitting the quiz on the Suitable app or scheduling a consultation with us to learn about the requirements. Then track your progress with the Pre-Health Scholars Roadmap found on Gator Launch ( Suitable app). Watch the ‘Introduction to Pre-Health Professional Development and Pre-Health Scholar’ Video.
Pre-Health Scholar Requirements
To be recognized as a Pre-Health Scholar you must complete both the academic requirement and a minimum of 10 activities in the areas below, 5 or more of which must be pre-health related.
Academic Requirement:
| 12 credits | 3,000 or 4,000 level courses in HUMANITIES OR SOCIAL SCIENCES OUTSIDE YOUR MAJOR REQUIREMENTS. These courses may overlap with minor, certificate, and general education or CLAS Basic Distribution requirements. Nine credits must be from courses in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS). We will accept three credits outside of CLAS. Courses must be passed with a ‘C’ or above. Students may consult with a Beyond120 preprofessional coordinator if you have any questions regarding what courses may count. All Beyond120 courses count towards the 12 credits. |
Beyond120 Pre-Health Courses
Click here for further guidance regarding coursework requirements.
This course will provide guidance on how students can prepare to be a healthcare professional and apply to health graduate programs. It will also introduce students to current topics in healthcare in a holistic, mind-body-spirit context including exploration of the patient/family experience, and one’s self as related to healthcare issues and topics. The use of the word ‘medicine’ in this course is all encompassing to include all healthcare professions.
Consistent/continual personal and professional growth is the core to preparation for health career professions. PH Pathways offers pre-health students opportunities for analysis, engagement, and assessment of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and critical reasoning pre-professional competencies defined by healthcare professional schools. Creation of a professional school ‘application portfolio’ demonstrate knowledge, skills and qualifications needed for competitive applicants. Students will leave this course with an in-depth understanding of personal competitiveness for application, the application process and content, and several components of the application complete.
Pre-requisite: UT 3 or sophomore standing.
This course is intended for students pursuing admission to pre-health professional graduate schools. Through the use of the humanities, social sciences, multi-media, case studies, guest speakers and discussion, this course will introduce students to a variety of healthcare topics and issues. In a holistic context, this course distinguishes characteristics of healthcare professions, articulates components of patient/family experiences, and identifies one’s strengths and challenges.
Experiential Requirements
Complete a minimum of 10 unique activities in the areas below, 5 or more of which must be pre-health related. This list gives you an idea of the options in each area, but you can find the complete list of options on Gator Launch (Suitable app).
| Area | Activities |
|---|---|
| Beyond120 Experience (Choose 1) | ▪︎ Beyond120 Academic Course ▪︎ Beyond120 CLAS Ambassador ▪︎ Beyond120 Excursion ▪︎ Beyond120 Study Abroad ▪︎ Beyond120 Pre-Health Service Group ▪︎ Beyond120 Podcast Episode |
| Immersive Experiences (Choose 2) | ▪︎ Healthcare Employment ▪︎ Study Abroad ▪︎ Pre-Health Internship ▪︎ Research ▪︎ Clinical Volunteering ▪︎ Shadowing ▪︎ Pre-Health Summer Program ▪︎ PHS Leadership ▪︎ Community Service |
| Foundational Experiences (Choose 3) | ▪︎ Beyond120 Blog Post Entry ▪︎ Gator Network Meeting ▪︎ Beyond120 Faculty Consultation ▪︎ Beyond120 Skills Curriculum Module ▪︎ Beyond120 or Pre-Health Workshop/Event ▪︎ Professional Conference Attendance ▪︎ Research Publication ▪︎ Allied Health Certification |
| Choose Your Own Experiences (Choose 4) | ▪︎ Any Beyond120 Experience ▪︎ Any Immersive Experience ▪︎ Any Foundational Experience |
FAQ’s
- Beyond120 graduation regalia
- Recognition at the Experiential Scholars Reception
- Include this accomplishment in your professional school application
You can keep track of your activities in Gator Launch (Suitable app). Some activities require you to submit something such as a reflection, documentation, etc. Others like attending a Beyond120 workshop may be recorded for you.
The PHS Professional Development Plan is available for you to get you started thinking of what you want to include in your personalized plan. Download the plan and save it. Follow the directions on the page. If you have questions and/or want to review it, book a consultation.
No, we ask that you choose the scholars program most relevant to your goals. However, you can change the program you plan to complete at any time.
Yes! You can enter activities in Suitable at any time and have them count towards the recognition for Experiential Scholars. As long as you did the activity in college (not high school) it can count. This means transfer students can include activities like research or internships that were completed at their previous institutions.
Yes, beginning in Fall 2025 we updated the requirements for earning the designation. If you began at UF prior to Summer B 2025 you can use either the previous or the updated requirements. Please speak with us if you want to use the previous requirements.
Yes! You can enter activities in Suitable at any time and have them count towards the recognition for Experiential Scholars. As long as you did the activity in college (not high school) it can count. This means transfer students can include activities like research or internships that were completed at their previous institutions.
No, if you joined previously we will give you credit for the information session requirement in Gator Launch.
Yes! If you are graduating soon and prefer to use our previous requirements and roadmap that’s just fine. Please be sure to email the completed roadmap to beyond120@clas.ufl.edu at least two months before you graduate.
Additional Resources to Meet PHS Requirements
Academic Requirements
12 credits
Health or culturally related courses
9 credits must be from the College of Liberal Arts & Science
3 credits may be from other college
List of possible electives. This is not a comprehensive list of electives. PHS students are encouraged to pursue electives they have interest in and relate to health, patients, or issues related healthcare and are in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS). PHS
Some courses may have pre-requisites and may not be offered every semester. Please check the Schedule of Courses and Course Descriptions for more information. General Education and Writing designations are always subject to change. Always check for designations when you are registering.
Beyond120 Canvas Course
Beyond120 Coursework
College of Medicine Courses – max of 3 credits will count
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences (CLAS) – courses related to healthcare and/or cultural insights
CERTIFICATION
- Medical Interpreters Certification. For more information about National Certification, visit the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters website or the Certification Commission for Health Care Interpreters.
- EMT – Santa Fe EMT Certificate
- Medical Scribe
EMPLOYMENT
CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING
- Streetlight (work with critically and chronically ill adolescents)
Clinics for Underserved
- iReviews: Disruptive Technology Reviews
- Salvation Army Homework Club: contact Shera Sherman at 352-376-1743 x 7101
Veterinary and Animal Volunteer Opportunities
National Volunteer Opportunities
UF does not endorse any programs other than the study abroad programs approved through the UF Beyond120 and the International Center. Private programs should be carefully researched. Students participate at their own risk and should be fully aware of the ethical issues involved in international volunteer programs.
PLEASE review the module on International Experiences
Guidelines for Pre-Medical Students doing clinical work abroad —Guidelines for Pre-Dental Students doing clinical work abroad
Other options:
- International Habitat for Humanity https://www.habitat.org/volunteer/long-term-opportunities/international
Develop Depth and Insight as an Applicant
As you continue to enhance yourself an as applicant, the goal is to become deeply, broadly, and diversely educated via several mechanisms. Admission to professional schools is holistic and they are looking for holistically prepared applicants. In addition to academic and extra-curricular professional development, continue to develop your insights, values, and AAMC competencies through engaging in activities, reading, and hobbies that are interesting to you and will expose you to a wide variety of in experiences. Below are some resources to get you started.
There are many books and articles written that can help you learn more about the world of medicine and the interactions that healthcare professionals have with their patients.
- This Ordinary Stardust: A Scientist’s Path from Grief to Wonder – Alan Townsend
- Unwell Women: A journey through medicine and myth in a man-made world – Elinor Cleghorn
- Can Medicine Be Cured? The Corruption of a Profession – Seamus O’Mahony
- Dying to be ill: True stories of medical deception – Marc Feldman and Gregory Yates
- The songs that saved us: My dad, dementia and me – Simon McDermott
- Alive: An Alternative Anatomy – Gabriel Weston
- The Age of Diagnosis – Suzanne O’Sullivan
- Bush Doctors – Annabelle Brayley
- An Immense World – Ed Yong
- I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life – Ed Yong
- No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming-Of-Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine – Rachel Pearson
- Everything is Tuberculosis – John Green
- The Great Influenza – John M. Barry
- The Doctors Blackwell – Janice P. Nimura
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down – A. Fadiman
- Mountains beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World – T. Kidder
- Rough Sleepers: Dr. Jim O’Connell’s Urgent Mission to Bring Healing to Homeless People – T. Kidder
- Complications – A. Gawande
- Being Mortal – A. Gawande
- What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine – D. Ofri
- What Patients Say, What Doctors Hear – D. Ofri
- Something for the Pain: Compassion and Burnout in the ER – Paul Auston
- Healing Children: A Surgeon’s Stories from the Frontiers of Pediatric Medicine – K. Newman
- When Breath Becomes Air – P. Kalanithi
- In Shock: My Journey from Death to Recovery and the Redemptive Power of Hope – R. Awdish
- Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine – D. Tweedy
- Final Exam: A Surgeon’s Reflections on Mortality – P. Chen
- Elderhood – Louise Aronson
- The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care – T.R. Reid
- The Emperor of all Maladies: A Biography of Cancer – Siddhartha Mukherjee
- Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient – Norman Cousins
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey
- The Gifts of Imperfection: Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be and embrace who you are – Brene Brown
- The Genius in All of Us: Why everything you’ve been told about genetics, talent, and IQ is wrong – David Shenk
- Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals – Oliver Burkeman
- You are here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment – Thich Nhat Hanh
- Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck-Why Some Thrive Despite Them All – Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen
- Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance – Angela Duckworth
- The Ecology of Purposeful Living Across the Lifespan: Developmental, Educational, and Social Perspectives – Anthony Burrow and Patrick Hill
- How Doctors Think – Jerome Groopman
- Classic Cases in Medical Ethics: Accounts of Cases that Have Shaped Medical Ethics with Philosophical, Legal, and Historical Background – Gregory E. Pence
- Becoming a Doctor: From Student to Specialist, Doctor-Writers Share Their Experiences – Lee Gutkind, Ed.
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot
- Daring Greatly: How the courage to be vulnerable transforms the way we live, love, parent, and lead – Brene Brown
- Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem and Other Things That Happened – Allie Brosh
- Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience – Brene Brown
- The Comfort Book – Matt Haig
- The Boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse – Charlie Mackesy
- Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box – Arbinger Institute
- The boy who was raised as a dog – Bruce D. Perry
- My Degeneration: A Journey through Parkinson’s – Peter Dunlap-Shohl
- Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves after Stroke – Debra E. Myerson with Danny Zuckerman
- Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century – edited by Alice Wong
- Telltale Hearts: A Public Health Doctor, His Patients, and the Power of Story – Dean-David Schillinger
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Medical |
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Dental |
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Optometry |
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Physician Assistant (PA) JAAPA: Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants |
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Podiatry |
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Veterinary AVMA – Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association |
Journal of the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association |
How Do I Get Involved with PHS?
Join the Pre-Health Scholars “GroupMe”
Join the Pre-Health Canvas
Morse Scholars
The Morse Scholars program supports pre-health students in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences who demonstrate tremendous academic and professional potential at the beginning of their collegiate career.
The purpose of the Morse Scholar program is to provide promising pre-health students opportunities for academic support and experiential learning to prepare them for their professional life after college. Starting in the Fall of Freshman year, students are assigned a faculty mentor and as they move through UF, they receive funding to support professional experiences, access to excursions, service-learning opportunities, and resources for professional school preparation. Through this program, students cultivate depth of knowledge in diverse contexts and learn how to meaningfully apply this knowledge in the field of healthcare.
- Assigned a Beyond120 faculty Pre-Health advisor to meet with semesterly and as-needed
- Development of a four-year plan for coursework, experiences, and service
- Participation in Beyond120 Pre-Health academic courses
- Priority to all Beyond120 academic and experiential resources and activities
- Guaranteed participation in the Pre-Health Scholars program
- Guaranteed participation in the Pre-Health Scholars Service Groups
- Connection with professional mentors via Gator Network
- Leadership as a Morse Scholar Mentor
- Funding and preference for Beyond120 excursions, internships, research, and study abroad
- Academic Major in the College of Liberal Arts & Science
- High School GPA – 4.0 weighted; 3.5 unweighted – consideration to lower GPAs on case by case basis
- Summer B GPA – UF GPA 3.3 minimum Will consider lower on case by case basis
- ALEKS score – 75%+ – place into MAC1147 Will consider MAC1140/MAC1114 on case by case basis
- Volunteer experiences and/or employment completed in high school demonstrating service to others
Use this sample advising plan to track your Morse Scholars credits.
Morse Scholars Registration
The 2025 Morse Scholars application period is early May to early August.
For more information, contact Bobbi Knickerbocker at rknicker@ufl.edu. You can also book and manage appointments.
