Prehealth Education
MIT’s strengths in the sciences make it an excellent
starting point for a career in medicine and other
health-related professions, such as public health,
dentistryand veterinary medicine. Approximately 10
percent of MIT’s undergraduate senior class — plus
a number of alumni and graduate students — enter
medical and other health profession schools each
year. Students do not have to major in biology to
apply to health profession schools. There is also no
premed/prehealth major at MIT; rather, students can
pursue a variety of majors and take classes in any
department. However, students need to fulfill certain
subject requirements in order to apply to medical,
dental, or other health-related professional schools.
Planning For a Career in the Health Professions
Medical and other health profession school
admissions committees review grades,
recommendation letters, exam scores (MCAT, DAT,
etc.), a personal statement, extracurricular activities,
volunteer work, community service, and interview
results. Health profession schools look for certain
traits in students, such as integrity, responsibility,
intellectual curiosity, ability to recognize and define
problems, leadership, and compassion, as well as
other human relations skills. Before applying to a
health profession school, applicants should meet
with a member of the Prehealth Advising staff for
guidance in preparing for the application process.
Applicants should read resources such as the
Medical School Admission Requirements and
Official Guide to Dental Schools and refer to school
websites, as they contain specific information and
guidance about application requirements.
Prehealth Advising at MIT
Prehealth Advising provides the following resources
and services:
• Individual advising sessions
• Shadow opportunities
• Mentor connections
• Workshops, panels and events
• Prehealth Advisory Board/Committee Letter
• Credential service for storing and sending
recommendation letters to health profession
schools
Students who are interested in careers in medicine or
other health-related professions are encouraged to
complete a Prehealth Registration meeting with
Prehealth Advising during the spring semester of
their sophomore year or two years prior to their
desired entry to a health profession school.
Contact Information
For more information, please contact:
Prehealth Advising
Global Education & Career Development
77 Massachusetts Avenue, Room 12-185
Cambridge, MA 02139-4307
Phone: (617) 715-5328
Website: http://gecd.mit.edu/grad_school/health
Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and
Technology (HST)
In 1966, federal government officials encouraged
MIT to establish a medical school because of its
strength in the natural sciences and engineering.
MIT decided against doing so because it wanted to
retain the uniqueness of its interdisciplinary research
efforts. However, in 1970, MIT did establish a joint
program with the Harvard Medical School. This
program, the Harvard-MIT Division of Health
Sciences and Technology (HST), focuses science
and technology on human health needs and
integrates education for health and medicine into the
graduate curriculum. Graduate degrees are offered in
the biomedical sciences or in medical engineering
and medical physics.

Students interested in pursuing the MD degree
through HST apply for admission through Harvard
Medical School. A joint Harvard/MIT admissions
committee reviews the applications.
The MIT Course Catalog contains further
information on the Institute, including all graduate
and undergraduate courses and programs. Please
visit the MIT Course Catalog website for more
details at http://web.mit.edu/catalog/index.html.
2012