Health Science Admission Information to Consider Before Applying:
You must complete the program's minimum prerequisites before you can apply to your intended program (must be completed or in progress at time program application is submitted)
Some programs are more competitive than others. Programs that are more competitive will require you to be a more competitive applicant. This means simply meeting program requirements might not maximize your level of competitiveness . You may need to complete most or all of general education and recommend prerequisites listed on your intend program curriculum sheet to increase your level of competitiveness.
Students may apply to a maximum of two health science programs simultaneously
If you are accepted to a program, but you have not completed all of the general education and recommend prerequisites listed on your intend program curriculum sheet, you will be required to complete those courses as part of your health science program before you can graduate from the program.
The Associate Degree Nursing, Radiography, Respiratory Therapy, Medical Sonography, Cardiovascular Sonography, and Occupational Therapy Assistant Programs will require a minimum total score on TEAS to apply. TEAS is the Test of Essential Academic Skills, developed by Assessment Technologies Institute (ATI). The minimum total score required to apply varies by program and is identified in each program’s curriculum sheet. This requirement is effective for those applying for fall 2022 and beyond. For more information about the TEAS and how to register for it, refer to PCC’s TEAS Testing Guide. Note: Students must complete TEAS testing and score the minimum total score for their intended program before they can submit an admissions application to the program.
All health science programs (with the exception of Health Information Technology) require students to submit active BLS Certification from the American Heart Association . Check your program's curriculum sheet to see the submission deadline. You can obtain BLS certification by taking the curriculum course MED-180 CPR Certification, which is 1 credit hour. This course generally does not run the entire semester and usually has a online and face-to-face component, where students must come on campus a few times during the semester to complete certification. However, students may also obtain this certification from other agencies in the community, including PCC Continuing Education, which generally offer a one-day certification course for a fee, which students are responsible for paying for. Just make sure the certification is from the American Heart Association.
Cardiovascular Sonography, Medical Sonography, and Nuclear Medicine require students to submit proof of successful completion of Nursing Assistant I (NA I) class. NA I class must include a minimum of 32 clinical hours. Applicants with degrees in cardiovascular sonography, emergency medical science, medical assisting, nursing, radiography, nuclear medicine, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and/or surgical technology are exempt from the NA I requirement. Instructions for submitting this documentation will be included in the acceptance letter. Students can complete this requirement through PCC Continuing Education.
Because limited seats are available, applicants for the Dental Assisting and Echocardiography diploma and associates degrees in Cardiovascular Sonography, Emergency Medical Science (EMS), Medical Sonography, Nuclear Medicine (campus program only), Nursing, Occupational Therapy Assistant, Polysomnography, Radiography, and Respiratory Therapy compete for admission based on quality points. Applicants earn quality points by completing the general education and recommended courses required for their program of interest with a C or better. (Refer to Curriculum Sheet for list of courses). To calculate quality points, multiply the number of credit hours for each general education course successfully completed with a C or better by the quality point value assigned to the grade earned (A=4, B=3, C=2). The best grade earned for general education and recommended courses is used to calculate total quality points and GPA. *Exception: Points will be deducted from quality point total for each repeat attempt in Anatomy & Physiology PCC Health. This means your grades in your classes have a direct impact on how competitive you are as an applicant.
BIO-163, BIO-168 and BIO-169 expire after 10 years.
Health Science Admissions requires students have transcripts for ALL schools they ever attended on file in order to process your health science admissions application. This includes schools you may have withdrawn from and/or where you have taken classes that do not transfer or will not apply to your intended program. You should submit your transcripts now to avoid delays and/or your application status defaulting to incomplete for processing.
PCC Health Science Admissions Webpage
PCC Health Sciences Admissions Step-by-Step Guide
PCC Health Science Essential FAQ's
PCC Health Science Program Curriculum Sheets