UW-Green Bay provides excellent preparation for professional study in a variety of specialized fields.

This being the case, it is worth noting there are no separate listings in the majors-and-minors section of this catalog for pre-professional programs.

That is because UW-Green Bay avoids the designations pre-law, pre-med or “pre-anything” for specific undergraduate majors and minors. Instead, the institution encourages students to tailor their own preprofessional courses of study with the aid of knowledgeable academic advisers.

This puts the University in the higher education mainstream which holds that the best approach to preprofessional study involves flexibility.

For instance, while it is common to hear college students identify themselves as “pre-law,” it typically means only that they plan to apply to a law school. Few universities anywhere offer an actual undergraduate major titled “pre-law.” At those that do, the prescribed course of study represents only an opinion as to the most favored path; those most knowledgeable of law school admission practices maintain there is no such advantage.

Preparation for medical school admission is another example. A rigid menu of recommended courses might actually interfere with a student’s ability to discover a special interest, excel and achieve academic distinction that otherwise would have enhanced his or her application for admission. In addition, most medical schools accept candidates from a relatively wide range of undergraduate majors. Preferred academic preparation will vary from school to school, and admissions board to admissions board.

In select fields of study, students may — through careful planning with the help of a knowledgeable adviser — develop a one-, two- or three-year course of study in preparation for transfer into a professional program. In many fields, however, the typical path involves choice of an appropriate undergraduate major and supporting courses, completion of a bachelor’s degree, and pursuit of graduate-level studies.

It is important to remember that completion of any undergraduate program does not guarantee later admission to a professional school.

Admission to professional schools is competitive and is based upon a combination of requirements that includes grade point average, program-specific admission tests, letters of recommendation and, in many cases, related experience outside the classroom. It is a student’s responsibility to contact the professional school for current information regarding requirements and application deadlines.