Emergency Medicine Program

Return to: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The Emergency Medicine Program is designed to meet the growing need for the advanced skill levels required in the EMS profession and to prepare students for the technical, clinical, and administrative challenges of a career in EMS and health care today. Many Emergency Medicine (EM) students continue to medical school, physician assistant, nursing, and other graduate-level education.

Students entering the Program as Juniors are required to complete clinical education at facilities external to the University, and such facilities require a criminal background check, Act 33/34/73 clearances, physical examination, blood titers, and a drug screen to determine whether the student applicant is eligible to participate with clinical education requirements. Students must be currently certified as an EMT by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Out-of-state and Nationally Registered EMTs must apply for and receive endorsement by certification equaling reciprocity. A Program Fee of $1,500 is charged to each junior student to cover the cost of disposable equipment, supplies, and specialty certifications. Students are required to purchase and wear clinical uniforms designated by the Program and to maintain independent health insurance throughout the entire junior year.

Students entering the Program as a Senior Transfer or Active Duty Military must complete 30 credits within the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences to obtain a bachelor degree. Additional details are located under Transfer Student Information and Active Duty Military Student Information areas of the EM catalog section.

For more information, please contact the program at 412-647-4547.

Admission Requirements:

The courses listed below are required of all students working toward the Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medicine.

• Oral*/Written Communications - 6 Credits
• Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Science - 4 Credits
• Natural Sciences/Psychology - 6 Credits
• Historical Change/Social Science (e.g., Anthropology, Economics, English Literature/Writing, Second Language, History, Music, Performing & Visual Arts, Philosophy, Religion, Sociology, etc.) - 6 Credits
• Additional Credits from Above Content Areas - 8 Credits
• EMT with Lab * - 4 Credits
• Additional Coursework - 26 Credits

*Verification of current Pennsylvania or National Registry EMT certification must be provided. If a non-credit course was taken for this certification, 4 credits may be granted through credit-by-course examination. Junior-year students without Pennsylvania EMT certification will be required to apply for and receive reciprocity from the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

For Transfer Senior and Active Duty Military applicants, current Paramedic certification must be demonstrated to receive the advanced standing of 39 credits (includes four credits of EMT). The awarding of 39 advanced standing credits limits the transfer of college credits to no more than 51 credits (including the required 30 prerequisites and 21 additional coursework credits). College classes taken as requirements for obtaining paramedic certification may not be utilized toward the 51 credits.

Application Procedures:

Applications are due March 15 and interviews will begin in January for all applicants. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed based upon available space. All applicants are encouraged to apply early, as limited seats are available. Applications may be submitted while course requirements are in progress.

All students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 (based on 4.0) and minimum prerequisite GPA of 2.5. A minimum grade of C- or better is required for EM prerequisite courses and a grade of D or better is required for additional coursework taken at Pitt. A minimum grade of C is required for transferred credits.

Selection Criteria/Process:

Notification of admission occurs after a personal interview with the Emergency Medicine faculty and evidence of completion of all prerequisite criteria.

Transfer Student Information:

Students are required to earn 30 credits within the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and these may not include prerequisite courses. Senior Transfer students are required to have current certification/licensure as a paramedic and have completed 51 college credits, including the required prerequisite courses. All Senior Transfer and Active Duty Military students will be offered a 3-credit online EM course each semester to fulfill the 30-credit requirement (Beyond the Body will be offered in the fall semester and Organizational Theory will be offered in the spring). Students may take other 3-credit courses within SHRS each semester to fulfill the 30-credit requirement. Senior Transfer students must complete EM core credits in a traditional format; web-based or distance course delivery format is available only to enrolled Active Duty Military students.

Active Duty Military Student Information:

Students who have completed the prerequisite courses, are currently active with the military, and are currently US SOCM ATPs or certified or licensed at the paramedic level (by a state EMS agency or the National Registry of EMT), may be awarded advanced standing and admitted into the Program as Active Duty Military students. During the senior year, these students will be required to complete 30 credits within the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences to be eligible for graduation. Web-based delivery format is provided for all core courses.

For additional admission criteria, please refer to the SHRS Admissions  section of this catalog.