Incoming First Year or Transfer Students:

As a new first-year or transfer student, your first opportunity to officially declare your intended Pre-Professional Health (PPH) Minor is through the One Book or the Transfer One Book.  If you have questions about the One Book, contact Orientation (540-568-1787 | orientation@jmu.edu). 
Between Summer Springboard Orientation and 1787 August Orientation, you may email firstyearadvising@jmu.edu from your JMU email (@dukes.jmu.edu) to request declaring or changing your PPH minor.

Current Undergraduate Students:

Declaring the minor after initial enrollment can be done in MyMadison. The PPH Advising Office will then approve the declaration if appropriate (see below section on Progression Standards). For directions on submitting this request, please view the Video Tutorial About Program Plan Changes. You may also follow these step-by-step directions:

To declare a PPH minor in MyMadison:

  1. Log into MyMadison
  2. Click "Student" tab
  3. Click "Student Center"
  4. Click on the "other academic..." drop-down menu, select "Add Major/Minor", and click on the double-arrow button
  5. Click the green "Add Major/Minor" button
  6. Click on the microscope icon to search for the PPH Program to add
  7. In the "Description" text field, type "Pre" and click the "Look Up" button. Select the appropriate PPH Program that you intend to declare.
  8. Click the "Add Major/Minor" button
  9. After you have made all major and minor changes that you intend to make, click the "Submit Request" button.
Progression Standards

All requests will be reviewed by Pre-Professional Health Advising prior to approval and advisor assignment. If the PPH minor has admissions/progression standards, those standards will be reviewed prior to approving your declaration request. Below are the current standing progression standards. 

Pre-Med Progression Standards

Once you complete 13 or more credit hours in biology, chemistry, physics, and/or math (BCPM) courses at James Madison University, you will be subject to performance standard reviews twice a year. You must maintain an overall and BCPM G.P.A. of 3.00 or above to retain the Pre-Medicine Program declaration. Since medical schools consider all course attempts during the admissions process, the G.P.A. calculations for the Pre-Medicine Program will include all course attempts. If your academic performance standards fall below a 3.00 overall or BCPM G.P.A., you are at very high risk of not being admitted to medical school. Therefore, if you are unable to maintain an overall and BCPM G.P.A. of 3.00 or above, then your Pre-Medicine Program will be administratively dropped.

Pre-Dent Progression Standards

Once you complete 13 or more credit hours in biology, chemistry, physics, and/or math (BCPM) courses at James Madison University, you will be subject to performance standard reviews twice a year. You must maintain an overall G.P.A. of 3.00 and BCPM G.P.A. of 2.90 or above to retain the Pre-Dentistry Program declaration. Since dental schools consider all course attempts during the admissions process, the G.P.A. calculations for the Pre-Dentistry Program will include all course attempts. If your academic performance standards fall below a 3.00 overall or 2.90 BCPM G.P.A., you are at very high risk of not being admitted to dental school. Therefore, if you are unable to maintain an overall G.P.A. of 3.00 and BCPM G.P.A. of 2.90 or above, then your Pre-Dentistry Program will be administratively dropped.

Pre-PT Progression Standards

Once you have completed ≥ 10 credit hours in the desginated Pre-PT coursework*, you will be subject to performance standard reviews twice a year. You must achieve and maintain a pre-requisite G.P.A. of ≥ 2.70 to maintain your Pre-Physical Therapy declaration. Since physical therapy (D.P.T.) programs consider all course attempts during the admissions process, the G.P.A. calculations for the Pre-PT Program include all JMU course attempts (not courses completed at other institutions). If your academic performance standards fall below a 3.00 overall G.P.A. or a 2.70 Pre-PT Pre-Requisite G.P.A., you are at very high risk for not being admitted to a graduate PT program. Therefore if you are unable to attain or maintain this G.P.A. standard, then your Pre- Physical Therapy Program will be administratively dropped.

*Courses included in the prerequisite GPA calculations: BIO 270, BIO 290, CHEM 131/L, CHEM132/L, MATH 220, PHYS 140/L, PHYS 150/L, BIO 140 and PSYC 101 or PSYC 160 or PSYC 250.

Pre-PA Progression Standards

Once you complete 12 or more credit hours in biology or chemistry (BC) course work at James Madison University, you will be subject to performance standard reviews twice a year. You must achieve and maintain a BC G.P.A. of 2.70 or above to retain the Pre-Physician Assistant Program declaration. Since physician assistant programs consider all course attempts during the admissions process, the G.P.A. calculations for the Pre-Physician Assistant Program will include all course attempts. If your academic performance standards fall below a 2.70 BC G.P.A., you are at very high risk for not being admitted to a physician assistant program. Therefore if you are unable to attain or maintain a 2.70 BC G.P.A. or above, then your Pre-Physician Assistant Program will be administratively dropped.

Pre-OT Progression Standards

Once you have completed 9 or more credit hours in the designated OT prerequisite coursework*, you will be subject to performance standard reviews twice a year. You must achieve a prerequisite GPA of at least 2.80 to maintain your Pre-OT declaration.  Given that graduate OT programs often consider all course attempts during the admissions process, the GPA calculations for the Pre-OT program include all course attempts.  If your GPA in the prerequisite courses falls below a 2.80 you are at high risk for not being admitted to a graduate OT program.  Therefore if you are unable to attain or maintain this GPA standard your Pre-Occupational Therapy minor will be administratively dropped.

*Courses included in the prerequisite GPA calculations: BIO 270, BIO 290, CHEM 131/L or CHEM120, MATH 220, PHYS 140/L or HTH 441, PSYC 101, PSYC 160, PSYC 250 or PSYC 335, SOCI 110 or SOCI 140 or SOCI 101, ANTH 195 and HTH 210.

Pre-Pharm Progression Standards

Once students have completed 10 hours of foundational biology, chemistry and physics (BCP) science coursework, they become subject to twice yearly review of their academic progress. Performance queries will be conducted after summer and fall semester grades are posted. If the review indicates successful progress (meeting the standard of a 2.50 BCP GPA), they will be invited to participate in formal advising activities. Topics include learning about different pharmacy schools, strategies for fulfilling non-academic requirements and recommendations (shadowing, volunteering, research and pharmacy tech certification).

Pre-pharmacy students who fall below the standard of a 2.50 BCP science GPA are at high risk of not being admitted to a pharmacy school. Targeted advising for these students focuses on strengthening academic skills as well as career exploration. If a student falls below the standard in a subsequent performance review, they will be administratively dropped from the pre-pharmacy minor. This action will not impede a student from applying to pharmacy schools, nor will it have an impact on a student's degree program as the pre-pharmacy program is not a major.

Students who wish to re-enter the pre-pharmacy minor may do so as long as they meet the science GPA standard (2.50 BCP science GPA).

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Pre-Professional Health Advising
Student Success Center
MSC 4312
738 South Mason Street
Room Suite 4041
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807