Requirements for admission to most professional academic programs can be met by study at Iowa State University. These requirements may be met in the course of obtaining a bachelor’s degree from Iowa State or at a level below that of a degree, depending on the intended field of study. The specific courses taken in a preprofessional program will depend primarily upon the admission requirements of the professional schools to which a student wants to apply. In some programs requiring three years of preprofessional work, a student may, by careful planning, complete requirements for the bachelor’s degree upon transferring to Iowa State up to 32 semester credits of professional coursework. Generally these credits will be counted as electives, but a maximum of 24 may be used as major credits in interdisciplinary studies and a smaller number as major credits in appropriate departments.

Students who have not declared a major upon entry should enter as preprofessional students, i.e., premedical, prelaw, PHP (preprofessional health programs), or GENPV (General Undergraduate Studies Pre Vet), until they choose a major or transfer to a professional school. All students, whether they have selected a major or not, are encouraged to identify their interest in a professional career by designating it on their application.