Students who aspire to enter medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or the pharmacy field are advised to enroll in the Pre-Medicine and Pre-Pharmacy degree, an option of the Associate of Science degree in Science and Mathematics. Preparation for the study of medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy requires a good general education foundation with as many courses as possible in biology, chemistry, and physics.
This two-year degree meets the prerequisites of a Bachelor of Science degree designed to prepare students for entry into medical, dental, veterinary, or pharmacy school. Students who complete the program are able to transfer as juniors to institutions that offer a four-year degree in these programs.
Careers in the medical, dental, veterinary, and pharmacy professions continue to have-better-than average employment projections. Educational requirements, particularly in the sciences, are rigorous and precise and admission to baccalaureate pre-medical, pre-dental, and pre-veterinary programs and eventually to medical, dental, and veterinary schools is very competitive. Students are encouraged, therefore, to seek the assistance of the College’s Advising & Counseling Services staff to identify transfer institutions offering appropriate Bachelor of Science programs.
Graduates are able to:
- exhibit an understanding of scientific methods
- use the theories and concepts of modern chemistry, biology and physics to analyze and solve scientific problems
- perform laboratory experiments using modern equipment and techniques
- communicate the results of their analyses, laboratory investigations and literature searches in an appropriate professional writing style
- understand both the historical perspective of the chemical and biological sciences, and their relationship to the modern world
Raritan Valley Community College Associate of Arts (AA) and Associate of Science (AS) degree programs are designed to comply with the New Jersey Community Colleges General Education Foundation which supports transfer of courses to NJ Public four-year colleges and universities. Students who intend to transfer to a NJ college or university can further improve the transfer of courses by using the Recommended Transfer Program (RTP) feature in NJTransfer.org.