Pre-Health

Students considering a Pre-Health track should take CH 1010 Chemical Properties, Bonding, and Forces in A term, if it is consistent with your major advice. CH 1010 is the first course in the sequence and is a recommended background for future Chemistry courses. Most health professions programs' general chemistry prerequisite requirements will require you to take three general chemistry courses at WPI (CH 1010, 1020, and 1030). Because CH 1030 is only offered in C term, Pre-health Advising recommends students take CH 1010 and 1020 in the fall so they can take CH 1030 in C term of their first year.

If you have AP credit for CH 1010, Pre-health Advising recommends you re-take the course at WPI anyway, unless your major will require you to take significantly more advanced Chemistry classes in the future that could fulfill your chemistry prerequisite requirements. Many health professions programs either strongly discourage or do not accept AP credits for their prerequisite requirements, especially in the sciences, so it is beneficial to take all science prerequisites at WPI. 

Please consult with the Pre-Health advisor (contact info above) for alternative options if you do not wish to take CH 1010 in A term.  

Health professions programs vary in their math requirements, but Pre-health Advising recommends students take at least Calculus I (MA 1021/1020), Calculus II (MA 1022/1120), and Statistics (MA 2610/2611) to fulfill a majority of programs' prerequisite requirements.

• Note: Many health professions programs specifically require or recommend Statistics, such as MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences or MA 2611 Applied Statistics I, both of which have recommended backgrounds of MA 1022 Calculus II. 
• MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences is only offered in C term, whereas MA 2611 Applied Statistics I is offered every term. Either option is applicable, but students who prefer to take the life sciences version of stats should note this when planning when to take math.

If it is consistent with your major advice, you can take Math in A and B terms of your first year. 

• Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and other majors that require a lot of math should plan to take Math in A and B term.
• Biology and Biotechnology, Psychological Science, and other majors that don't require as much math may prefer to wait until later in their first year or their second year to take Math. Students in these majors may choose to take another major-specific course in place of math in A and B term of their first year.

In choosing which Math course you will begin with, please consider the following.  

1. Complete the Math Placement Exam. The Math Placement Exam will tell you which Calculus course you should start in based on your current knowledge. If you are recommended to start in MA 1020, this will be your math course for both terms.
2. Consider if you have AP Credit (new policy as of 10/20/25):
   Students who obtain a score of “4” on the AB-level Exam will receive credit for MA 1021 and should begin with MA 1022 in A term followed by MA 1023 in B term. Those that obtain a score of "5" on the AB-level Exam will receive credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022 and should begin with MA 1023/1033 in A term followed by MA 1024/1034 in B term.
   Students who obtain a grade of “4” or “5” on the BC-level Exam will receive credit for MA 1021, MA 1022 and MA 1023 and could begin with MA 1024 in A-term then MA 2051 in B-term, OR MA 1033 in A-term followed by MA 1034 in B-term. 
3. Students who received a 6 or 7 on the IB will receive 2/3 credit of MA 1000, and should use the math placement exam results to decide which math class to take.
4. Consider the possibility of retroactive credit. If the Math Placement Exam recommends that you start in MA 1022, MA 1023/1033, or MA 1024 but you do not have AP credit, this could be a great option for you. If, in your first year, you complete MA 1022 and MA 1023/1033 on your first attempt, you will receive retroactive credit for MA 1021. If, in your first year, you complete MA 1023/1033 and MA 1024/1034 on your first attempt you will receive retroactive credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022.  If, in your first year, you complete MA 1024 and MA 2051, you will receive retroactive credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022. Please note that there is no retroactive credit for MA 1023. In determining if this is the right path for you, we strongly recommend completing the Math Placement exam and following the suggestion given to you. 

The sequence MA 1033 Theoretical Calculus III and MA 1034 Theoretical Calculus IV is an alternative to the MA 1023, MA 1024 sequence in A and B terms. The sequence is designed to give a deeper and more mathematically rigorous presentation of the relevant calculus topics. If you really enjoy math and have credit for Calculus I and II already, you should consider this sequence instead of the MA 1023-MA 1024 sequence.

Your third course should be a GPS, Humanities and Arts, Social Science, or a Major Specific course. More information is available about these courses below. 

Great Problems Seminar

GPS stands for Great Problems Seminar, which are courses exclusively for first year students that allow students to learn about a problem in the world and work with a group on how to fix it. These courses are helpful with the transition to college as well as useful for students when preparing for projects such as IQP and MQP in junior and senior year. GPS courses run for both A and B term, so you will only need to choose one. More information can be found here.

The GPS Heal the World: Disease, Medicine, and Technology may be of particular interest to pre-health students who wish to explore topics related to global health and the spread of disease. Credit from this GPS can also count towards a minor in Global Public Health. 

• Please note: Any student wishing to pursue a Biomedical Engineering major pursing a Pre-Health course of study should contact the BME Pre-Health Advisor, Professor Ambady (sambady@wpi.edu), BEFORE registering for this course sequence.

Humanities and Arts

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

• Art/Art History (AR)
• Music (MU)
• Theatre (TH)
• Modern Languages - Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN), Integrated Skills in English (ISE)
  • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu) 
  • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
  • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
  • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
  • For Integrated Skills in English Information: The placement exam is not currently required and students are welcome to register for all ISE courses. Please contact Prof. Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu) or Prof. Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) if you have any questions.
• Literature (EN)
• Writing/Rhetoric (WR)
• History (HI)
• Humanities (HU)
• International and Global Studies (INTL)
• Philosophy (PY)
• Religion (RE)

You should pick courses in subjects you are interested in. When you come to campus you will learn more about the HUA requirement and how you will complete it. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend Writing/English courses as prerequisites. Pre-health Advising recommends taking WR and/or EN courses towards your HUA requirement to ensure you are meeting prerequisites for your chosen health professions programs.

Social Science

You are required to take two Social Science Courses in your time at WPI. The subjects that are considered Social Science are:

• Development (DEV)
• Economics (ECON)
• Environmental Studies (ENV)
• Government, Political Science, and Law (GOV)
• Psychology (PSY)
• System Dynamics (SD)
• Sociology (SOC)
• Social Science (SS)
• Society/Technology Studies (STS)

Note: ID 2050 is a course that is required before you go away for IQP and counts as one of your Social Science Courses. If you are planning on going away for IQP in your junior year, you may only want to take one social science course in your first year. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend behavior sciences courses such as Psychology as prerequisite requirements. Pre-health Advising recommends taking PSY and/or SOC courses towards your social science requirement and/or free elective requirement to fulfill prerequisites.

Major-Specific Courses

Please see your intended Major's course advice and if there is a specific course they recommend you can also pursue that in this slot. 

Students considering a Pre-Health track should take CH 1020 Chemical Reactions in B term if it is consistent with your major advice. CH 1020 is the second course in the sequence and is a recommended background for future Chemistry courses. Most health professions programs' general chemistry prerequisite requirements will require you to take three general chemistry courses at WPI (CH 1010, 1020, and 1030). Because CH 1030 is only offered in C term, Pre-health Advising recommends students take CH 1010 and 1020 in the fall so they can take CH 1030 in C term of their first year.

If you do not wish to take CH 1020 in B term, please consult with the Pre-Health advisor (contact info above) for alternative options. 

Health professions programs vary in their math requirements, but Pre-health Advising recommends students take at least Calculus I (MA 1021/1020), Calculus II (MA 1022/1120), and Statistics (MA 2610/2611) to fulfill a majority of programs' prerequisite requirements.

• Note: Many health professions programs specifically require or recommend Statistics, such as MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences or MA 2611 Applied Statistics I, both of which have recommended backgrounds of MA 1022 Calculus II. 
• MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences is only offered in C term, whereas MA 2611 Applied Statistics I is offered every term. Either option is applicable, but students who prefer to take the life sciences version of stats should note this when planning when to take math.

If it is consistent with your major advice, you can take Math in A and B terms of your first year. 

• Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and other majors that require a lot of math should plan to take Math in A and B term.
• Biology and Biotechnology, Psychological Science, and other majors that don't require as much math may prefer to wait until later in their first year or their second year to take Math. Students in these majors may choose to take another major-specific course in place of math in A and B term of their first year.

In choosing which Math course you will begin with, please consider the following.  

1. Complete the Math Placement Exam. The Math Placement Exam will tell you which Calculus course you should start in based on your current knowledge. If you are recommended to start in MA 1020, this will be your math course for both terms.
2. Consider if you have AP Credit (new policy as of 10/20/25):
   Students who obtain a score of “4” on the AB-level Exam will receive credit for MA 1021 and should begin with MA 1022 in A term followed by MA 1023 in B term. Those that obtain a score of "5" on the AB-level Exam will receive credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022 and should begin with MA 1023/1033 in A term followed by MA 1024/1034 in B term.
   Students who obtain a grade of “4” or “5” on the BC-level Exam will receive credit for MA 1021, MA 1022 and MA 1023 and could begin with MA 1024 in A-term then MA 2051 in B-term, OR MA 1033 in A-term followed by MA 1034 in B-term. 
3. Students who received a 6 or 7 on the IB will receive 2/3 credit of MA 1000, and should use the math placement exam results to decide which math class to take.
4. Consider the possibility of retroactive credit. If the Math Placement Exam recommends that you start in MA 1022, MA 1023/1033, or MA 1024 but you do not have AP credit, this could be a great option for you. If, in your first year, you complete MA 1022 and MA 1023/1033 on your first attempt, you will receive retroactive credit for MA 1021. If, in your first year, you complete MA 1023/1033 and MA 1024/1034 on your first attempt you will receive retroactive credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022.  If, in your first year, you complete MA 1024 and MA 2051, you will receive retroactive credit for MA 1021 and MA 1022. Please note that there is no retroactive credit for MA 1023. In determining if this is the right path for you, we strongly recommend completing the Math Placement exam and following the suggestion given to you. 

The sequence MA 1033 Theoretical Calculus III and MA 1034 Theoretical Calculus IV is an alternative to the MA 1023, MA 1024 sequence in A and B terms. The sequence is designed to give a deeper and more mathematically rigorous presentation of the relevant calculus topics. If you really enjoy math and have credit for Calculus I and II already, you should consider this sequence instead of the MA 1023-MA 1024 sequence.

Your third course should be a GPS, Humanities and Arts, Social Science, or a Major Specific course. More information is available about these courses below. 

Great Problems Seminar

GPS stands for Great Problems Seminar, which are courses exclusively for first year students that allow students to learn about a problem in the world and work with a group on how to fix it. These courses are helpful with the transition to college as well as useful for students when preparing for projects such as IQP and MQP in junior and senior year. GPS courses run for both A and B term, so you will only need to choose one. More information can be found here.

The GPS Heal the World: Disease, Medicine, and Technology may be of particular interest to pre-health students who wish to explore topics related to global health and the spread of disease. Credit from this GPS can also count towards a minor in Global Public Health. 

• Please note: Any student wishing to pursue a Biomedical Engineering major pursing a Pre-Health course of study should contact the BME Pre-Health Advisor, Professor Ambady (sambady@wpi.edu), BEFORE registering for this course sequence.

Humanities and Arts

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

• Art/Art History (AR)
• Music (MU)
• Theatre (TH)
• Modern Languages - Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN), Integrated Skills in English (ISE)
  • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu) 
  • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
  • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
  • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
  • For Integrated Skills in English Information: The placement exam is not currently required and students are welcome to register for all ISE courses. Please contact Prof. Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu) or Prof. Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) if you have any questions.
• Literature (EN)
• Writing/Rhetoric (WR)
• History (HI)
• Humanities (HU)
• International and Global Studies (INTL)
• Philosophy (PY)
• Religion (RE)

You should pick courses in subjects you are interested in. When you come to campus you will learn more about the HUA requirement and how you will complete it. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend Writing/English courses as prerequisites. Pre-health Advising recommends taking WR and/or EN courses towards your HUA requirement to ensure you are meeting prerequisites for your chosen health professions programs.

Social Science

You are required to take two Social Science Courses in your time at WPI. The subjects that are considered Social Science are:

• Development (DEV)
• Economics (ECON)
• Environmental Studies (ENV)
• Government, Political Science, and Law (GOV)
• Psychology (PSY)
• System Dynamics (SD)
• Sociology (SOC)
• Social Science (SS)
• Society/Technology Studies (STS)

Note: ID 2050 is a course that is required before you go away for IQP and counts as one of your Social Science Courses. If you are planning on going away for IQP in your junior year, you may only want to take one social science course in your first year. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend behavior sciences courses such as Psychology as prerequisite requirements. Pre-health Advising recommends taking PSY and/or SOC courses towards your social science requirement and/or free elective requirement to fulfill prerequisites.

Major-Specific Courses

Please see your intended Major's course advice and if there is a specific course they recommend you can also pursue that in this slot. 

Most health professions programs' general chemistry prerequisite requirements will require you to take three general chemistry courses at WPI (CH 1010, 1020, and 1030).

CH 1030 Kinetics, Equilibrium And Thermodynamics is third in the general chemistry sequence and is only offered in C term. If you took CH 1010 and 1020 in the fall, you should take CH 1030 in C term. 

If you have not yet taken CH 1010 Chemical Properties, Bonding, and Forces, you should take this in C term. 

Health professions programs vary in their math requirements, but Pre-health Advising recommends students take at least Calculus I (MA 1021/1020), Calculus II (MA 1022/1120), and Statistics (MA 2610/2611) to fulfill a majority of programs' prerequisite requirements.

• Note: Many health professions programs specifically require or recommend Statistics, such as MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences or MA 2611 Applied Statistics I, both of which have recommended backgrounds of MA 1022 Calculus II. 
• MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences is only offered in C term; students who have completed MA 1022 and prefer to take this version of stats and should plan to take it in C term.

If it is consistent with your major advice, you should continue with the Calculus sequence you started in the fall, or take Statistics. 

• Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and other majors that require a lot of math should plan to take Math in C and D term.
• Biology and Biotechnology, Psychological Science, and other majors that don't require as much math may prefer to wait until their second year to take Math, or they may choose to take Math in the spring semester of their first year. 

If you don't wish to take Math in C term, you should refer to your major's guidance for a major-specific course to take instead.

Your third course should be a Humanities and Arts, Social Science, or Majors-specific course.

Humanities and Arts

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

• Art/Art History (AR)
• Music (MU)
• Theatre (TH)
• Modern Languages - Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN), Integrated Skills in English (ISE)
  • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu) 
  • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
  • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
  • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
  • For Integrated Skills in English Information: The placement exam is not currently required and students are welcome to register for all ISE courses. Please contact Prof. Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu) or Prof. Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) if you have any questions.
• Literature (EN)
• Writing/Rhetoric (WR)
• History (HI)
• Humanities (HU)
• International and Global Studies (INTL)
• Philosophy (PY)
• Religion (RE)

You should pick courses in subjects you are interested in. When you come to campus you will learn more about the HUA requirement and how you will complete it. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend Writing/English courses as prerequisites. Pre-health Advising recommends taking WR and/or EN courses towards your HUA requirement to ensure you are meeting prerequisites for your chosen health professions programs.

Social Science

You are required to take two Social Science Courses in your time at WPI. The subjects that are considered Social Science are:

• Development (DEV)
• Economics (ECON)
• Environmental Studies (ENV)
• Government, Political Science, and Law (GOV)
• Psychology (PSY)
• System Dynamics (SD)
• Sociology (SOC)
• Social Science (SS)
• Society/Technology Studies (STS)

Note: ID 2050 is a course that is required before you go away for IQP and counts as one of your Social Science Courses. If you are planning on going away for IQP in your junior year, you may only want to take one social science course in your first year. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend behavior sciences courses such as Psychology as prerequisite requirements. Pre-health Advising recommends taking PSY and/or SOC courses towards your social science requirement and/or free elective requirement to fulfill prerequisites.

Major-Specific Courses

Please see your intended Major's course advice and if there is a specific course they recommend you can also pursue that in this slot. 

Most health professions programs' general chemistry prerequisite requirements will require you to take three general chemistry courses at WPI (CH 1010, 1020, and 1030).

If you have not yet taken CH 1020 Chemical Reactions, you should take this in D term. 

If you've taken CH 1010, 1020, and 1030 and it is consistent with your major's recommendations, you can take CH 1040 Spectroscopy In Organic And Polymer Chemistry in D term. Most health professions programs will not require CH 1040 for a prerequisite requirement, but it may be required or strongly recommended for your major.

Health professions programs vary in their math requirements, but Pre-health Advising recommends students take at least Calculus I (MA 1021/1020), Calculus II (MA 1022/1120), and Statistics (MA 2610/2611) to fulfill a majority of programs' prerequisite requirements.

• Note: Many health professions programs specifically require or recommend Statistics, such as MA 2610 Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences or MA 2611 Applied Statistics I, both of which have recommended backgrounds of MA 1022 Calculus II. 

If it is consistent with your major advice, you should continue with the Calculus sequence or take Statistics. 

• Biochemistry, Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, and other majors that require a lot of math should plan to take Math in C and D term.
• Biology and Biotechnology, Psychological Science, and other majors that don't require as much math may prefer to wait until their second year to take Math, or they may choose to take Math in the spring semester of their first year. 

If you don't wish to take Math in D term, you should refer to your major's guidance for a major-specific course to take instead.

Your third course should be a Humanities and Arts, Social Science, or Majors-specific course.

Humanities and Arts

Every student at WPI must complete the Humanities and Arts (HUA) Requirement. This consists of 6 courses in HUA subjects. The subjects available for HUA are:

• Art/Art History (AR)
• Music (MU)
• Theatre (TH)
• Modern Languages - Spanish (SP), German (GN), Arabic (AB), Chinese (CN), Integrated Skills in English (ISE)
  • For Spanish Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Angel Rivera (arivera@wpi.edu) 
  • For German Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Daniel DiMassa (ddimassa@wpi.edu)
  • For Arabic Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Mohammed El Hamzaoui (melhamzaoui@wpi.edu)
  • For Chinese Placement Information, Please Email: Professor Wen-Hua Du (wdu2@wpi.edu)
  • For Integrated Skills in English Information: The placement exam is not currently required and students are welcome to register for all ISE courses. Please contact Prof. Esther Boucher-Yip (efboucher@wpi.edu) or Prof. Althea Danielski (amdanielski@wpi.edu) if you have any questions.
• Literature (EN)
• Writing/Rhetoric (WR)
• History (HI)
• Humanities (HU)
• International and Global Studies (INTL)
• Philosophy (PY)
• Religion (RE)

You should pick courses in subjects you are interested in. When you come to campus you will learn more about the HUA requirement and how you will complete it. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend Writing/English courses as prerequisites. Pre-health Advising recommends taking WR and/or EN courses towards your HUA requirement to ensure you are meeting prerequisites for your chosen health professions programs.

Social Science

You are required to take two Social Science Courses in your time at WPI. The subjects that are considered Social Science are:

• Development (DEV)
• Economics (ECON)
• Environmental Studies (ENV)
• Government, Political Science, and Law (GOV)
• Psychology (PSY)
• System Dynamics (SD)
• Sociology (SOC)
• Social Science (SS)
• Society/Technology Studies (STS)

Note: ID 2050 is a course that is required before you go away for IQP and counts as one of your Social Science Courses. If you are planning on going away for IQP in your junior year, you may only want to take one social science course in your first year. 

• Please note: Many health professions programs require or recommend behavior sciences courses such as Psychology as prerequisite requirements. Pre-health Advising recommends taking PSY and/or SOC courses towards your social science requirement and/or free elective requirement to fulfill prerequisites.

Major-Specific Courses

Please see your intended Major's course advice and if there is a specific course they recommend you can also pursue that in this slot.