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Academic Bulletin Pre-Professional - 2012-13

Currently viewing 2012-13 bulletin

The Schroeder Center for Career Development (Career Services)

Career Services prepares students to make a successful transition to the world beyond Wabash. We create opportunities for students to explore and reach their individual career goals, regardless of what those goals may be. Whether you want to perform biotechnology research, teach English in Africa, conquer Wall Street, or work with a professional basketball team, we offer individualized programs and resources just for you. Stop by and see us – no appointment needed. We offer:

Our services include:

  • Personal career counseling for all students
  • Personality type inventories and assessment
  • Search assistance and listings for professional development opportunities; externships, internships, jobs, graduate schools, fellowships, and special programs (e.g. Peace Corps)
  • Resume and cover letter guidance and resources
  • Mock interviews, workshops, seminars, information sessions, panels and speakers
  • Alumni networking advice, resources, and events on-and off-campus
  • Off-campus career and graduate school fair visits
  • Organizational and graduate school site visits
  • On-campus recruiting and information sessions
  • Graduate school test and application assistance, including personal statement reviews
  • Extensive online resources for information and listings
  • Assistance from Peer Career Advisors---student-workers trained in basic career services
  • Special programs- Small Business Internship Fund (SBIF), Supporting Entrepreneurial Enrichment and Development (SEED) Grants, Wabash Externships
  • Evening and weekend service, beyond regular office hours

Preparation for Business

Business Sequence
Students interested in business should be aware that a high-quality liberal arts education provides excellent preparation for the business world. For those students who wish to incorporate into their academic program some specific preparation for a career in business, Wabash offers the Business Sequence, a collection of courses selected for their relevance to business careers. These courses consist of the following:

ECO 101 — The Principles of Economics (1 credit offered every semester)

ECO 251 — The Economic Approach with Microsoft Excel (1/2 credit offered in the fall)

ECO 262 — Financial Institutions and Markets (1 credit offered every in the spring; note that ECO 262 does not count toward the Economics major. Majors should substitute ECO 361 or ECO 362)

ACC 201 — Financial Accounting (1 credit offered in the fall)

ACC 202 — Managerial Accounting (1 credit offered in the spring)

ENG 411 — Business and Technical Writing (1 credit offered in the spring; juniors and seniors only)

RHE 101 — Public Speaking (1 credit offered every semester; required for students graduating in 2013 or later)

Please note that the Business Sequence does NOT substitute for a major, minor, or area of concentration. As such, students should consider using two of the Economics courses and the English course to fulfill distribution requirements in Behavioral Science and Language Studies, respectively, or pursuing a minor in Economics.

Timing: Students should consider taking ECO 101 during the freshman or sophomore year, though this is not essential. Accounting should ideally be taken in the sophomore year in order to open up a wider array of internship possibilities and free up the junior year for overseas study opportunities. Should a course in the Business Sequence not be available, the student may petition the Business Committee to substitute a relevant course. However, students should be aware that any business courses other than the two accounting courses offered at Wabash will not be recognized by the Registrar as counting toward graduation requirements.

Certification on Transcript: Students who complete this sequence will be certified by the Registrar upon graduation. This certification will appear on the student’s transcript upon graduation and may be included as an academic item on the student’s resumé.

In addition to the Business Sequence, Wabash offers other types of programs and services designed to support students interested in business, including internships and co-curricular programs. Students interested in business should contact both the Business Committee Chair and the Schroeder Career Center early in their college careers so that they may be included in mailings about special events and programs.

Pre-Professional Preparation in the Health and Allied Sciences
The Pre-Health Professions Committee assists students with their pre-health programs, including preparation for medical, dental, optometry, veterinary, osteopathic, and podiatry schools and other health professions. The committee also provides assistance with application materials and makes recommendations for students as they apply to professional schools. Any student who is considering the health professions should meet with the committee’s faculty chair or with Jill Rogers (rogersji@wabash.edu) the Pre- Health Advisor as early as possible to discuss his plans. Prerequisite coursework for various health professions can be found at www.wabash.edu/academics/medicine/. Students should consider early on how prerequisite courses align with other coursework necessary for their major/minor, and Wabash graduation requirements.

**The  MCAT exam will change in the year 2015 to reflect the changing healthcare system. Freshmen entering Wabash in the fall of 2012 will be the first class to take this exam. Prerequisites coursework will be affected. Students should make sure they are aware of the increased social science and biochemistry coursework necessary for MCAT2015.

Pre-Law Preparation
The Pre-Law Committee works in close conjunction with the Pre-Law Society in sponsoring programs which enable students to familiarize themselves with the diverse opportunities available in the practice of law. These programs include a Moot Court competition with alumni attorneys serving as tutors and judges, an LSAT practice test, and trips to visit Indiana Law Schools. Members of the Pre-Law Committee also meet with students, mainly during their senior year, to discuss their plans for attendance at law school. Any student who is considering the study of law might be well advised to discuss his plans with one of the members of the Pre-Law Committee.

Preparation for Secondary Teaching
The Chair and the Director of Teacher Education, in cooperation with academic departments, provides guidance and course work for students wishing to fulfill the licensing requirements to teach in the middle and high school level I Indiana and over 40 other states. If a student begins the Teacher Education Program no later than the first semester of the sophomore year, he can usually fulfill the requirements for the degree and licensing by the end of the senior year. The Program is accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and as reported for the most recent year for Title II requirements, candidates have a 100% pass rate on state-required Praxis I tests.

Note: Wabash College is approved to recommend for licensing at the middle and high school levels teachers in the following subjects: Biology, Chemistry, English (with Rhetoric), French, German, Latin, Mathematics, Physics, Spanish, Theater, the latter being a license under Fine Arts, and Social Studies. History, Economics, Political Science, and Psychology majors are licensed under the Social Studies program. Please see the Teacher Education Program web site for more details.

 

Pre-Engineering Preparation
 
Wabash College offers joint programs (known as dual degree programs) with Purdue University, Columbia University and Washington University-St. Louis. In these programs, students may study the liberal arts at Wabash for three years and engineering or applied science at Purdue, Columbia or Washington, typically for two years. These programs lead to both the Bachelor of Arts degree from Wabash and the Bachelor of Science degree in engineering or applied science from Purdue, Columbia or Washington.
 
Wabash students who participate in the joint program may qualify for the A.B. degree by completing all of the Wabash requirements for graduation (listed in the curriculum section) other than the 34-course minimum, and by successfully completing the appropriate number of courses at Purdue, Columbia or Washington. Senior comprehensive and oral examinations may be taken during the junior year or during the first year of work at the engineering school, either on the Wabash campus or, under a program approved by the Wabash faculty, at the engineering school administered under supervision of the dean’s office of the School of Engineering. If the oral exam is taken after the junior year, it must be taken on the Wabash campus sometime during the two years of engineering school.
 
Students not completing the requirements for the Wabash A.B. as outlined above may be accepted at the end of their junior year by Purdue, Columbia or Washington upon the recommendation of Wabash, even though no Wabash degree is granted.
 
In addition to the requirements for Wabash, certain courses in physics, chemistry, mathematics, and computer science must be taken at Wabash for admission into Purdue, Columbia or Washington.  Each university also has a minimum GPA requirement. The exact requirements for the three schools differ somewhat, and the student should consult with his advisor and a member of the Pre-Engineering Committee. Completing the requirements for both degrees requires careful planning, and the student should begin taking the appropriate courses in his freshman year.
 
Students need not major in physics, chemistry, or mathematics to participate in the program. In particular, both Columbia and Washington seek out applicants who major in non-technical fields, feeling that the technical depth of an engineering degree and the breadth of a liberal arts degree make a valuable combination.
 
In addition, a student finishing Wabash with a strong background in science and mathematics can be admitted to a number of engineering programs, not necessarily at Purdue, Columbia or Washington. Many Wabash graduates have pursued engineering degrees without participating in the dual degree program.

For more detailed information on the pre-engineering program, click here.