Why Rockhurst?
Located in the urban core of Kansas City, Missouri, for more than 100 years, Rockhurst University has a long academic tradition that values teaching excellence and a highly personalized experience.
Our Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health Program (PostBac Pre-Health) provides future health care professionals with the foundational courses, standardized test preparation and real-world experiences necessary for a successful application to a health professional program. An emphasis on personalized advising prepares students for their individual journey to the health care field of their choice.
Alumni Medical Network
Rockhurst Pre-Health students participate in our Alumni Medical Network events, connecting them to current students, residents and professionals in various health professions in the Kansas City area and beyond.
The University is favorably situated in a thriving scientific community in the Midwest that includes several research-intensive institutions providing study and clinical opportunities for our students in addition to on-campus research experiences conducted by full-time Rockhurst faculty members. Rockhurst has an established institutional partnership with Kaplan that offers considerable discounts on test preparation for the DAT, GRE, MCAT, OAT and PCAT exams.
Post Bacc Program Attributes
- Volunteer opportunities at local hospitals and clinics
- Alumni medical networks in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri, and Omaha, Nebraska, to facilitate shadowing
- Active Pre-Health Blackboard page to consistently communicate research, volunteer and shadowing opportunities
- Annual meetings with local and regional admissions representatives from health professional programs
- Class sizes all under 48 and taught by full-time faculty
- Open-door access to professors
- Personalized advising
- Free tutoring and supplemental instruction
- Kaplan Institutional Partnership with half-price MCAT, DAT, PCAT and GRE courses
- 77% placement rate for students into health care professional programs in the past five years
Health Care Career Paths
The Rockhurst Pre-Health directors work with students to identify the appropriate pre-requisite courses for the following careers:
Post Bacc Program Coursework
Potential elective courses outside of traditional prerequisites include:
- Cadaver Dissection Laboratory
- Health Communication
- Health Policy
- Medical Spanish
- Ethics
- Philosophy of Death and Dying
- Physics of the Body
- Physics of Medical Imaging
- Optics
- Medical Terminology
Please refer to our individual program pages for typical prerequisite coursework.
Students develop quality individual plans every semester with academic advisors and our program directors Dr. Annie Lee, Ph.D. and Dr. Laura Salem, Ph.D.
In addition to basic prerequisite courses, students have the opportunity to take additional coursework to enhance their application and preparedness for graduate programs. Summer courses are available in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Availability of courses in the summer and online help increase flexibility and shorten timelines toward applying. Priority registration guarantees spots in needed classes.
Recent Medical School Acceptances
PostBac students have been accepted to the following medical programs in the past five years:
- University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine
- University of Missouri-Kansas City Masters of Medical Science Physician Assistant
- University of Missouri School of Medicine
- University of Kansas School of Medicine
- A.T. Still University—Kirksville College of Medicine
- Kansas City University of Medical Biosciences—College of Osteopathic Medicine
POST BACCALAUREATE STUDENT FEEDBACK
"I have attended multiple universities on both coasts for undergraduate and graduate studies, but I never imagined I would find my most valuable and life-changing education at a small Jesuit college in the Heartland. Rockhurst's PostBac pre-med program is one of the finest in the country. With small class sizes and an open-door policy to engage with all professors, the faculty and administrative support ensured my success on both my MCAT and acceptance into my first-choice medical school. I am deeply grateful and will sing their praises to the moon and back!"
- Trace Shapiro
First-year medical student
University of Missouri-Kansas City
“I am so grateful that I chose to complete my pre-medical post-baccalaureate at Rockhurst! The professors were phenomenal, and the courses helped prepare me for the challenges of medicine. Perhaps most importantly, I felt like my advisors truly cared about me as they helped guide me through the process of applying to medical school. They wanted to know my goals and worked with me to help me achieve them.”
- Katie Sheahon
B.A. French, Wellesley College
M.D. UMKC School of Medicine, 4-year cohort
Resident, University of California at San Francisco, Pathology
Program Cost
The cost for the program is $600 per credit hour during the fall and spring semesters. Summer coursework is $450 per credit hour for 1000- and 2000-level courses and $614 per credit hour for 3000- and 4000-level courses.
How to Apply
Students apply through the national portal PostBacCAS
OR through the Rockhurst University Application Portal
Contact Information
Pre-Health Program Directors
Annie Lee, Ph.D.
Laura Salem, Ph.D.
