Academic Policies for the Premedical Program

Most premedical/predental/pre-veterinary students will need two years to complete their program requirements, although depending on their credit assignment some are able to do so in one year and a summer.

Most pre-PA students will need between two and three years to complete the program.

You cannot be enrolled as a candidate in the Premedical Program and another Harvard Extension School degree program simultaneously. However, existing ALB and ALM biology degree candidates can ask to receive premedical advising from the Premedical Program office.

Admission Enrollment

Once admitted in April, you need to register during the upcoming summer or fall term. If you do not, your admission will be rescinded, and you’ll need to re-apply to the program the following year. Students whose acceptance is contingent on conferral of a bachelor’s degree will only be permitted to register starting in the fall term.

Continuous Enrollment throughout the Program

Once you begin your studies, you must maintain continuous enrollment (fall and spring) in Premedical Program coursework throughout the program. Courses for the PMP must be taken for a letter grade — registering only for a non-credit option will be considered a failure to register.

You are welcome to take HES courses that are neither PMP core nor elective courses, but they will not be considered for continuous enrollment. Enrollment during the summer semester and January term is optional and is not required to maintain standing in the program.

Failure to register during a fall or spring semester, or dropping/withdrawing from all courses in a single semester without approval of the program director, will result in your being voluntarily withdrawn from the program. This withdrawal would be nonpunitive; it is not a disciplinary action. However, if you wished to return to the program, you would need to reapply and go through a new admission process and decision.

Short leaves of absence from the program can occasionally be granted for extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis. See the leave policy guidelines below.

Minimum Enrollment for Sponsorship

If you plan to seek sponsorship, you must remain enrolled in Premedical Program coursework for at least one academic year (fall/spring semesters) following admission to the program.

Program Completion Timeline

Premedical/predental/pre-veterinary students are required to complete the program within two years. Pre-PA students are required to complete within three years.

If you need more time to complete the program you will need program director approval for an exemption with the acceptance of conditions that you continue to meet with a premedical program advisor at least twice per semester to have your course selection and plan of study approved.

Only students who are making satisfactory academic progress will be granted an additional year. Requests for additional time beyond three years (four years for pre-PA students) are not ordinarily approved.

Once you complete your credit assignment, your program participation will automatically end, along with program privileges, such as Harvard University ID card access, unless you are deferring sponsorship for a year.

When a student fulfills the required number of credits, we officially designate students as having completed the program three times per year:

• November (if you finish your credit requirement in a summer term)
• February (if you finish your credit requirement in a fall term)
• May (if you finish your credit requirement in a January session or spring term)

Deferred Sponsorship

Premedical and predental students may remain eligible for sponsorship for one year beyond program completion, as long as they remain enrolled in Premedical Program coursework at Harvard during that entire year (fall and spring).

Please note that students who complete the program, but wish to defer sponsorship for a year may remain in a “pending completion” status rather than “program complete” status, if they notify the Premedical Program the semester before completing their credit assignment. Once a student’s status is “program complete,” the change cannot be reversed, and will result in loss of access to certain privileges granted to active students.

Course Repeat Policy

This policy refers to repeating courses previously completed at Harvard Extension or Summer Schools; it does not refer to courses previously completed at another institution.

Students generally cannot repeat courses. You may only repeat a course with permission from the PMP office. Permission will only be granted for a PMP core course in which you earned a grade of a C+ or lower. You may only repeat a course once, where any letter grade or WD counts as one previous attempt. Students will not be allowed to repeat more than two core courses under this policy. (As with the WD policy, if one subject has separate lecture and lab registrations and you repeat them both, this will count as a single repeated course.)

When you repeat a course, both grades count toward your GPA.

If there are multiple offerings of the same course with different course numbers, courses that cover identical content are considered repeat courses. For example, a student will not receive credit for CHEM E-17  or E-27 if they have already taken CHEM S-20AB.

Please contact the program if you have questions about how to avoid registering for repeat course work or to obtain permission to repeat a core requirement.

Academic Standing

You must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher in all your courses with us to be considered in good academic standing.

If your GPA falls below this, you are in poor academic standing. If you remain in poor academic standing after the following two terms, (including summer terms during which you are enrolled in classes) you will be required to withdraw from the program.

You need to complete at least two-thirds of your attempted Harvard credits to make satisfactory academic progress in the program.

If you are in poor academic standing or not making satisfactory progress, you are ineligible for financial aid. If you are receiving financial aid, be sure to speak with a financial aid advisor before withdrawing from any course. Even one WD grade can affect your eligibility to receive aid.

Grade-Point Average Calculation

Once accepted, all Harvard grades received henceforth are included in the program grade-point average calculation (medical science and non-medical science courses).

Premedical Program courses taken at Harvard Extension School during the two terms (fall and spring) prior to your June admission to the Premedical Program will be included in your program GPA and count toward the WD policy (see below); courses completed with grades of B or above will be applied toward your assigned credit requirement for program completion/sponsorship eligibility. The only exception is if the courses were already applied to any other HES degree or certificate program.

WD policy. The first two grades of withdrawal (WD) are not included in the calculation of the cumulative grade-point average, but the third and subsequent WD grades count as zeroes.

Ordinarily, registration in a course—not the course’s credit value—determines the instance of a WD grade. For example, if you register for an 8-credit course and withdraw from it, you would earn one WD grade. An exception to this policy is if one subject has separate lecture and lab registrations and you withdraw from them both in the same term, in which case you would earn only one WD grade; however, if you withdraw from only the lab or lecture course, you are held to the policy and would earn one WD grade.

See Grades for the values used for the calculation.

Leave Policy

Non-Medical Leave Policy and Procedure

Petitions to take a semester off from the program for a non-medical reason are considered on a case-by-case basis. Speak to one of the program advisors. If granted, you’ll be given a new firm deadline to complete the program taking the leave into account.

Medical Leave Policy and Procedure

If you have a documented health or medical issue that requires a modification of, or reasonable accommodation to, the continuous enrollment and/or completion policy, then you need to proactively work with the Accessibility Services Office (ASO) to request a medical leave.

ASO will help make appropriate arrangements for the duration of the leave as well as plans to return and ensure compliance with all academic rules. ASO will engage in an individualized and interactive assessment, which may require consultation with others at the University, as appropriate. With prior permission, ASO may also require consultation with your healthcare providers.