Pre-Professional Programs
Programs Available
- Dentistry
- Optometry
- General Medicine
- Pharmacy
- Physical Therapy
- Veterinary
Professionals who Heal and Care
At Franciscan University of Steubenville we believe that the world needs more professionals in the healthcare industry who operate knowing that the healing is not just of the body, but of the whole person.
For us, medicine means more than biology and chemistry, and being a doctor means more than diagnosis and treatment. We believe that physicians should be masters of the art of healing, and practitioners of compassion and care for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of the afflicted.
That’s why we have designed pre-professional programs for dentistry, optometry, general medicine, pharmaceuticals, and physical therapy that are unlike any other in the country. Our programs are strong on the hard science of medicine, while giving healthy respect to the human qualities and ethical dimensions that so many competing programs, and even medical schools, leave out.
Good physicians, not just scientists
Contrary to the common notion, you don’t have to major in a science as an undergraduate if you want to go to medical school.
While our Biology and Chemistry programs will well prepare you for medical school, we crafted our pre-professional programs so that students in the humanities and other majors will have sufficient knowledge of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics to get into and succeed in the medical school of their choice.
But beyond the technical knowledge, you will acquire the ability to think well on your feet, solve problems, listen with care, communicate with compassion and clarity, and, importantly, the perspective needed to make sound, ethical decisions. Especially in today’s healthcare climate, physicians well-versed in sound Christian bioethics are much sought after by those who value being seen as a person in distress rather than merely as a patient to be seen or a disease to be treated.
Academic Catalog
View the Pre-Professional Programs on the Undergraduate Catalog
Inquire For More Information
Alumni Profiles
Lynne O’Mara ’10
Biology
A career in medicine often comes with a high price — long years of study, high debt and delaying the start of family. But at the age of 26, Lynne… read more
Teresa Jensen ’02
Biology
“My job is immensely satisfying. I help teach people who they are.” Every day at work, Teresa Jensen, MD, uses the philosophical formation she received from Franciscan University (BA ’02,… read more
Michael McLaughlin ’15
Chemistry, Biology
When Michael McLaughlin had to choose what college to attend, Franciscan University was the obvious choice. He had attended a Steubenville Youth Conference as a freshman, and he knew Franciscan… read more
Beyond the Classroom
Franciscan Institute for Science and Health
The Franciscan Institute for Science and Health (FISH) is an initiative of Franciscan University of Steubenville with a mission to provide real-world experience and hands-on training to every Franciscan undergraduate science major and Engineering Dual-Degree student.
Franciscan Institute for World Health
Through Franciscan University’s Omicron Iota chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the international English honor society, you’ll make lasting connections with distinguished English majors on campus and nationally and internationally. Society members serve others through service projects right here in Steubenville, Ohio. You’ll also have opportunities to write for the Sigma Tau Delta literary magazine, which could lead to recognition and awards.
Austrian Semester Abroad
Grow, develop, and be formed into a more mature student by spending a semester in Franciscan’s Austrian program. You’ll expand your major in unbelievable ways by traveling to places such as Rome and the holy sites of Christendom, and through courses taught at a 14th-century monastery that also serves as your home.
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