What is a post-bacc program?
A post-baccalaureate (post-bacc) program is designed for pre-health students who either:
1) need to complete all or most prerequisite science courses in order to apply for health profession programs (career changer) or
2) need additional science coursework to improve their science and/or cumulative GPA (recorder enhancer).
- Post-bacc programs are completed after graduating from a bachelor’s degree and prior to starting health profession school.
- While post-bacc programs primarily cater to pre-medical students, select post-bacc programs also cater to other health professions including pre-dentistry, pre-PA, or pre-pharmacy.
Types of post-bacc programs
There are different types of post-bacc programs.
Programs designed for students underrepresented in medicine in terms of their race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. These programs might be geared towards students either applying or who have already applied to medical school.
Career Changer: caters to students who have completed none or very few of the prerequisite courses. They might have pursued a different major/career or decided late in their undergraduate career to pursue health profession school.
Record Enhancer: caters to students who need to improve/enhance their GPA through additional science coursework.
Special Master’s Program (SMP): a type of Recorder Enhancer program where students take 1st year medical school courses alongside 1st year medical school students.
Who needs a post-bacc program?
Who needs a post-bacc program?
For Record Enhancer programs: students whose academic record is not strong enough to be admitted to health profession school based on their undergraduate record alone. These students’s cumulative and science GPA typically falls between 2.8-3.4 (this varies by post-bacc program). While each student’s situation is unique, post-bacc programs look closely at student’s academic records to ensure that the students will succeed in their program and have the potential to succeed in a future health profession school.
For Career Changer programs: students who need to complete prerequisite courses. While it’s possible to complete prereq classes at Mason or another institution, some students prefer to complete a post-bacc program for extra structure or support.
What do post-bacc programs offer?
Post-bacc programs vary greatly:
- Anywhere from 1-2 years in length
- May or may not require a standardized test (MCAT, DAT, GRE) for admission
- Could be comprised of undergraduate or graduate courses
- Might result in a certificate or Master’s degree
- Offered either full or part time
- Offered either in a cohort model (where all students take the same classes in a set curriculum and enter in the fall semester only) or more flexible in terms of which classes can be taken each semester
Outside of coursework, post-bacc programs can offer (this varies by program):
- Extracurricular experiences – research, community service, clinical activities
- Advising and support for the application process
- A direct linkage (guaranteed admission agreement) to health profession school
- Test prep – MCAT, DAT, GRE, etc.
Explore post-bacc programs
Explore all post-bacc programs here.
Record Enhancer programs:
- Bluefield College/Edward Via College of Medicine: MA, Biomedical Sciences
- Eastern Mennonite University:
- Eastern Virginia Medical School:
- George Mason University: GeorgeSquared
- Georgetown University:
- Hampton University: Medical Master’s program
- Liberty University
- Virginia Commonwealth University: Premedical Graduate Sciences Certificate
Career Changer programs:
- University of Virginia: Post Bacc Pre-Medical program
- American University: Post-baccalaureate Premedical Certificate Program
- Georgetown University: Post-Bacc Pre-Medical Program
- George Washington University: Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medicine Program