Study Abroad

Yes, there are a select number of programs designed specifically for prehealth students that include clinical, shadowing, patient, and/or biomedical research experiences. There is also a plethora of programs that focus on global health, community issues, development, and translational sciences, allowing you to pursue your own interests in the health sciences.  HOWEVER, ANY STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM THAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT WILL BE REWARDING, ENRICH YOU PERSONALLY, ENAHNCE YOUR NARRATIVE, AND STRENGTHEN YOUR PROFESSIONAL APPLICATION.  Please see the selection of study abroad programs that are popular with prehealth students.

Absolutely!  It is doable and feasible for premed students to study abroad during their years at Washington University.  All it takes is good planning and a little flexibility.

No. Most medical schools will not accept prerequisites taken abroad. All of the required science and math classes should be completed at Washington University or another accredited institution of higher education in the U.S.

Yes, taking some prerequisites over the summer can build flexibility into your schedule, allowing you to better accomplish your academic goals (i.e., study abroad). This decision can be discussed individually with a prehealth advisor.

The answer depends on the individual student and his/her premed, personal, and academic timeline. Important points to consider:

• Attending a summer study abroad program will require minimal adjustment of your coursework and spare any interruptions in your academic timeline.
• Some students elect to take a gap year (year off between undergraduate studies and medical school), and in so doing, these students are easily able to complete science coursework during the normal academic year and study abroad during their Junior year.
• For those students who DO NOT plan on taking a gap year, the best time to study abroad is the Fall semester of the Junior year or during summers.

As you can begin to appreciate, there are numerous options for a premed (or prehealth) student to consider when mapping out a strategy for studying abroad. A sample of collected scheduling options can be found below. However, it is best to discuss your options with the study abroad prehealth advisor early in your WashU tenure in order to best navigate semester schedules that will fit into a manageable study abroad timeframe.

Gap Year Study Abroad Plans: For students who wish to study abroad for 1-2 semesters and apply for matriculation with a gap year, here are a few possible schedules:

	Fall	Spring	Summer
First-Year	Chem 111 Chem 151 Math (or AP credit) CWP 100	Chem 112 Chem 152 BIOL 2960 Math (or AP credit)
Sophomore	Chem 261 BIOL 2970	Chem 262 Psych or Sociol elective	Physics 117 & 118
Junior	Abroad	Abroad
Senior	BIOL 451 (biochem)	MCAT Graduate	Apply
Gap Year	Interviews, work/fellowship/volunteering
	Matriculation to health professional school

 

	Fall	Spring	Summer
First-Year	Chem 111 Chem 151 Math (or AP credit) CWP 100	Chem 112 Chem 152 BIOL 2960 Math (or AP credit)
Sophomore	Chem 261 BIOL 2970	Chem 262 Psych or Sociol elective
Junior	Physics 117 BIOL 451 (biochem)	Physics 118	MCAT
Senior	Abroad	Graduate	Apply
Gap Year	Interviews, work/fellowship/volunteering
	Matriculation to health professional school

 

	Fall	Spring	Summer
First-Year	Chem 111 Chem 151 Math (or AP credit) CWP 100	Chem 112 Chem 152 BIOL 2960 Math (or AP credit)
Sophomore	Chem 261 BIOL 2970	Chem 262 Psych or Sociol elective
Junior	Abroad	BIOL 451 (biochem)
Senior	Physics 117	Physics 118 Graduate	MCAT Apply
Gap Year	Interviews, work/fellowship/volunteering
	Matriculation to health professional school

 

 

Direct Entry (NO Gap Year) Study Abroad Plans: For students who wish to study abroad for a semester and apply for matriculation directly following graduation, here are a few possible schedules:

	Fall	Spring	Summer
First-Year	Chem 111 Chem 151 Math (or AP credit) CWP 100	Chem 112 Chem 152 BIOL 2960 Math (or AP credit)
Sophomore	Chem 261 BIOL 2970	Chem 262 Psych or Sociol elective	Physics 117 & 118
Junior	Abroad	BIOL 451 (biochem) MCAT	Apply
Senior	Interviews	Interviews Graduate
	Matriculation to health professional school

 

	Fall	Spring	Summer
First-Year	Chem 111 Chem 151 Math (or AP credit) CWP 100	Chem 112 Chem 152 BIOL 2960 Math (or AP credit)
Sophomore	Physics 117 BIOL 2970	Physics 118 Psych or Sociol elective	Chem 261 & 262
Junior	Abroad	BIOL 451 (biochem) MCAT	Apply
Senior	Interviews	Interviews Graduate
	Matriculation to health professional school

 

	Fall	Spring	Summer
First-Year	Chem 111 Chem 151 Math (or AP credit) CWP 100 Physics 117	Chem 112 Chem 152 BIOL 2960 Math (or AP credit) Physics 118
Sophomore	Chem 261 BIOL 2970	Chem 262 Psych or Sociol elective
Junior	Abroad	BIOL 451 (biochem) MCAT	Apply
Senior	Interviews	Interviews Graduate
	Matriculation to health professional school

*Note: No-Gap-year timelines can be challenging since it compresses the prerequisite coursework and one will have to potentially manage some of the logistics of professional school applications from abroad.

While there are some international sites which administer the MCAT, you should think carefully about whether you want to make the serious commitment of undertaking MCAT preparation and testing while abroad. This can very well take away from the overall study abroad experience.

No, you do not have to specifically attend a study abroad program from a U.S. college or university. Unless the program is specifically sponsored by WashU and taught by WashU faculty, students earn transfer credit from their study abroad coursework, with no grades recorded on the Wash U transcript and, hence, no impact on the WashU GPA. Nevertheless, study abroad courses can satisfy WashU graduation requirements.

On your AMCAS application, these study abroad grades will appear as P/NP and not factor into your AMCAS GPA.

This program offers you unique and valuable hands-on medical experiences, such as clinical lab exercises, as well as insight into clinical practices and health provision in Europe.
The Medical Practice & Policy program will allow you to:

• Learn from medical doctors at Copenhagen University hospitals, and gain an insider view of the workings of hospitals and clinics, and the daily practice of physicians
• Try your hand at recording patient history and clinical cases as part of the experiential learning element of the core course
• Perform physical examinations and procedures on medical phantoms, such as blood drawing, I.V. entry, and suturing
• Compare and contrast health care and medical practice in newly reformed versus welfare state systems by visiting hospitals, clinics, and research institutions on study tours in Denmark and cities in Western and Eastern Europe

This program is right for you if you have a serious interest in medicine and science and are considering pursing a graduate degree in the health professions. You will gain insight into the field of medicine through the faculty, who are Danish medical practitioners, and classes at a local university hospital. https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10265

 

Engage in a unique pre-medical experience by learning from Swedish medical doctors and researchers, focusing on how research translates into medical practices, and how patient data translates back into research.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• Explore case studies that bridge research and clinical breakthroughs within acute and chronic diseases, and investigate how diagnostic tools and treatment strategies are developed through the dynamic relationships between clinicians, physicians, and scientists 
• Perform physical examinations and procedures on medical phantoms, such as blood drawing, I.V. entry, and suturing at clinical training center in Stockholm
• Travel with DIS on course-integrated study tours to visit clinical and diagnostic hospital departments and research institutions, and gain insight into clinical practices, translational research, and the lives of research doctors
  https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10522

 

King's College London Health and Society is a unique opportunity in the UK to have a clinical placement—examples include primary care practices, walk-in centers, and sexual health centers. Course topics may focus on national health systems and medical practice, as well as medicinal ethics, anthropology and humanities. If you’re pursuing a career in medicine and have a strong academic background in biology, this could be a good option for you.

Your program will consist of a clinical placement, a cornerstone course, and three additional classes. You’ll shadow clinicians and other health practitioners, attend lectures from leading academics, and evaluate health care related literature.
https://studyabroad.arcadia.edu/find-a-program/programs-by-country/england/kings-college-health-and-society/

Gain unique insight and exposure to health care policies, politics, and delivery methods in a multicultural and rapidly changing region of South America.Central to the program is an analysis of health reform intended primarily to improve health conditions of disadvantaged groups, particularly those in Chile, while also improving health care access for the population at large.

Students carefully examine intercultural health and alternative healthcare practices in the context of Chile as well as southern Peru. Students consider different conceptions of wellness and healing, including beliefs and health practices of the Aymara and Mapuche indigenous groups. The program gives students the opportunity to experience Chile's health system firsthand with guided, insightful visits to public and private health centers.

Learning is conducted through thematic lectures, field study, and educational excursions, which challenge students to consider topics such as:

• Chile's national and indigenous health systems
• Economic, structural, and ideological determinants of public health planning and practices
• Alternative treatments of psychiatric and other mental health issues
• Healing and spiritual beliefs
• Health of women, children, teenagers, adults, and the elderly
• Public health and community empowerment
  https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10012

From barefoot doctors to traditional remedies, the Chinese public health system has drawn increasing attention in the West. In this program, students have the unique opportunity to study traditional Chinese medicine and public health issues by working with professionals in the field in both urban and rural settings. Students will have the opportunity to observe traditional practitioners of herbal medicine, acupuncture, and massage therapy, and, in some cases, receive practical training.
 

Based in the city of Kunming in Yunnan Province, China, and run in conjunction with the Yunnan Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the program provides an introduction to the ancient philosophy, theory, history, and practices in traditional Chinese medicine, one of the world's oldest, best-known, and most-developed medicinal systems, placing it in the social context of public health in China.
 

To facilitate their health-related academic work, students on this program also undertake the study of Mandarin language and Chinese culture.
Compare Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Philosophies with Practicing Doctors
 

Many of the doctors affiliated with SIT Study Abroad's program have certification in both Western medicine and TCM. Students have shared in many spirited, insightful, and often surprising discussions of the appropriate use of one treatment over another.

Learn about TCM philosophy

Much of TCM philosophy is based in Daoism. To understand the practice, students explore the concepts of yin and yang, the organs, meridians, and the basic underpinnings of many Eastern philosophies, as well as the history of TCM.

Practice techniques of massage, acupuncture, and moxibustion. Each week, the program focuses on a different TCM practice, including Chinese massage (Tuina), moxibustion, cupping, acupuncture and herbal remedies. Students practice these techniques and see doctors performing these techniques.

Explore the pharmacopeia of TCM herbal medicine

Program activities include visits to nature parks with a botanist to learn about healing plants and herbs, exploration of the TCM pharmacy, and a demonstration of medicines being made.

Visit Tibetan healers and learn of indigenous healing techniques

While on excursion in the northernmost parts of Yunnan, students will see traditional dongba healing ceremonies, meet a Tibetan healer, and learn about daily health practices in minority communities.

https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10015

This program examines health and human rights in Kenya through a complex constellation of urban issues including housing, urban infrastructures, land tenure, informal settlements, food (in)security in the city, and evictions. Students examine Kenya’s healthcare challenges, practices, and systems, in both rural and urban contexts, together with analyses of locally informed debates surrounding human rights.

Major Topics of Study Include:

Housing policies and practices in Kenya and their implication for health and human rights

Kenyan healthcare systems and healthcare challenges, including demographics, public health education, differential access to healthcare,

Health issues in Kenya, including HIV/AIDS, health issues of orphaned and vulnerable children, women’s healthcare needs, and mental healthcare

Links between access to and reliance on Kenyan healthcare services and the conceptions of human rights of individuals and communities

Successful coalition-building efforts, civil society organizations, the private sector, and others pursuing community-based approaches to myriad contemporary issues
https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10026

Examine the interplay of health care policy, education, and practice in South Africa. Students will focus on topics such as the relationship between traditional healing and western medicine, prenatal care, access to health care, and health education. Building on a multidisciplinary and historical analysis of health in South Africa, the program explores critical issues and initiatives in a nation where health policies have achieved mixed results in addressing health problems.

The program base of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal, serves as a nexus of health teaching, research, and practice in both western and traditional healing systems. Lecturers are drawn from the University of Kwazulu-Natal and a variety of non-government organizations (NGOs), most of whom are on the cutting edge of research and policy development. Students participate in a number of urban and rural homestays, in Durban and the North and South Coasts, getting a real sense of grassroots level health-care. Short excursions take students to special needs schools and various health-providing organizations. A particular highlight is the homestay with rural community health workers, whom students shadow on their daily rounds.

Major Topics of Study:

• Healthcare delivery in rural South Africa, including the practice of prevention and promotion of healthcare
• The role of the media in promoting, communicating, or influencing health issues in South Africa
• The ways in which specific health issues in South Africa are being targeted or addressed
• Rural health and social justice
• The pharmaceutical industry
• Traditional healing
  https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10043

The Andean Studies Summer Program in Lima, organized in conjunction with the prestigious Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru, has been designed as an immersion-type program that allows students to experience first-hand the legacy of ancient Inca culture and delve into the interactions between indigenous traditions and modern life. {NOTE: Spanish 202 must be completed by the start of the program}

*One course within the program allows students the opportunity to engage with traditional healers (course description is below):

 

“Public Health, Healing and Traditional Medicine in the Andean Region” focuses on the fundamental aspects of popular and indigenous medicinal systems and their interaction with contemporary medical practices and policies. Some of the topics to be covered deal with notions such as medical pluralism, medical anthropology, global health, etc. and analyze the practices of shamanism, herbalism, cuaranderismo, etc. The notions of health, healing, disease are studies in connection to environmental problems and worldviews in the diverse cultures of the region.  (3 credits)

 

https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10387

 

This course integrates classroom and field instruction to introduce students to the fundamental principles of South African medicine and public health systems.  Students will study topics including infectious diseases, epidemiology, virology and zoonosis, sexual health and reproductive issues, environmental health (vector ecology, water quality, waste management, entomology, toxicology), global health issues (emerging tropical diseases), and traditional and alternative medicine. Students will study current techniques and concerns in South African medicine and public health, analyze the impact of climate change for human health, and analyze the social and economic determinants that contribute to the expanding impact of infectious diseases. Students will learn firsthand about South Africa’s health care system, from the primary care in rural communities to large urban systems.

Visits will include primary health care facilities in rural areas including a homestay in a Venda community in Hamakuya (west of Kruger National Park). Students will also stay at the Wits Rural Facility, which is a community, supported in part by Witwatersrand University (an OTS consortium institution).  Located just west of Kruger National Park, the community is a model for studies on health care delivery and sustainability. In addition, students will have the opportunity to interview doctors and patients, analyze quarantine programs, conduct field research in biological and environmental areas relevant to human health, and learn how to document a disease-related case study. {NOTE: two semesters of college-level biology, ecology, or other related sciences must be completed by the start of the program}

https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10182

The summer program to Senegal, West Africa is designed for students who want to build their conversational French language skills, learn more about Francophone West Africa, and experiment with field research. Dakar, Senegal provides the perfect opportunity to explore themes in African and Francophone studies because of its geographical space and unique history. Geographically, Dakar naturally opens itself to the wider world, as reflected in its history, its role in the former French empire, its religious landscape, and its current relationships with other countries. Senegal, very proud of its place as an intellectual center, is the epicenter of many artistic and cultural movements. Dakar is a stable, cosmopolitan, and culturally rich capital city.

 

*In the context of this program, students have the opportunity to work at a regional malaria lab in Dakar at Hospital Dantec (which has an affiliation with Harvard School of Public Health) and/or involve themselves in shadowing and research at Hoptial Fann (psychiatry and neurology).

 

https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10081#Academics

This intensive summer program is designed for students interested in French language and cultural studies as well as pre-medical studies. The program aims at total immersion into life in France, while providing students with the opportunity to experience first-hand the French medical system. Going into its twenty-third season, France for the Pre-Med can accommodate students in a broad spectrum of health-related fields and special interests. {NOTE: two years of college-level French or the equivalent must be completed by the start of the program}

https://sa.wustl.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Programs.ViewProgram&Program_ID=10105