The Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising (OAPA) offers special assistance to students exploring majors as well as students pursuing allied health programs. OAPA staff also offer help to any students, faculty or anyone needing assistance with advising-related questions and challenges. OAPA staff passionately believe that academic advising should be student-centered, collaborative and focused on helping students make informed and strategic decisions with respect to majors and careers.

Services For Students

1. Academic Advising for students who are exploring majors or are interested in pre-professional programs
   • Learn the difference between selecting a major and selecting a career.
2. Review of general requirements
   • In conjunction with the Degree Audit available through myUMBC, advisors can assist students in course selection to ensure appropriate courses are taken.
3. Provide assistance to students in academic difficulty
   • Advisors can help get to the root cause of students’ difficulties and help make referrals to campus resources as appropriate.
4. Provide outreach and facilitate workshops for exploratory and pre-professional students
   • Workshops provide a great way to learn more about learning style, time management, and decision making, as well as helping students make informed choices regarding professional school selection.
5. Review and approve excess credits
   • Advisors work with academically talented students who are interested above the maximum amount of credits in a given semester.

Allied Health Programs

UMBC offers allied health programs to prepare students for clinical training in dental hygiene, nursing, occupational therapy, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistant. These programs involve two to four years of intensive study at UMBC. After completing 63 to 120 credits of required course work and satisfying other requirements (which may include shadowing experiences, volunteer work, patient contact hours, and scores on a national entrance examination), students apply to allied health programs in Maryland and throughout the United States. UMBC’s Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising has full-time advisors for students considering allied health professions. These advisors help students select courses, plan their careers, and apply to professional schools.

Programs

• Pre-Dental Hygiene
• Pre-Nursing
• Pre-Occupational Therapy
• Pre-Pharmacy
• Pre-Physical Therapy
• Pre-Physician Assistant