Emergency Medicine Program

Return to: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medicine Program (EM) is designed to meet the growing need for the advanced clinical and leadership skills necessary for positions in the out of hospital profession. Additionally, this program is ideal for students interested in attending medical school, physician assistant programs, nursing school, or other graduate education in the health professions. 

Students entering the Program after earning 60 credits are required to complete clinical education at facilities external to the University.  These clinical and field sites require a criminal background check, child abuse clearance, and FBI fingerprint review (Act 33/34/73), physical examination, immunization verification, and a drug screen to determine if the student is eligible to participate in clinical education. The cost of these requirements, as well as required classroom and clinical uniforms, are not included as part of the program fee, tuition, or other school/program-sponsored charges.  A non-refundable program fee of $1,500, covering the fall and spring terms of the junior year, will appear on the fall tuition invoice.  Student tuition rates for the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences can be found at Financial Information | University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences  Students are required to maintain health insurance throughout the entire clinical year and it is strongly recommended for the senior year.  Additionally, in order to become certified/licensed, many states will inquire as to whether the applicant has been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony.

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 an undergraduate degree. These 30 credits may not include prerequisite courses.  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

SHRS is updating our General Education requirements. Students entering the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 2021 as first-year students, and students currently enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh and external transfer students entering the upper-level programs offered at SHRS in Fall 2023, must complete the new general education requirements before graduating. Our General Education Requirements are included in our upper-level program prerequisites and curriculum requirements; therefore, changes will be reflected in prerequisites and curriculum requirements.

Prerequisite Courses

Requirements for students who entered the University of Pittsburgh as first-year students prior to Fall 2021 applying for Fall 2022 admission:

• Natural Sciences or Psychology, 6 credits
• Humanities or Social Sciences, 6 credits
• Oral or Written Communication*, 6 credits
• Mathematics or Statistics or Computer Science, 4 credits
• Additional credits from above content areas, 8 credits

*Accepted Oral Communications Courses: COMMRC 0300 or higher. Accepted Written Communication Courses: ENGMCP 0200 or higher, or any intensive writing (W) course.

Requirements for students entering the University of Pittsburgh in Fall 2021 as first-year students, and students currently enrolled at the University of Pittsburgh and external transfer students entering the upper-level programs offered at SHRS in Fall 2023:

• Writing/Communication - 3 courses*
  • 1 Composition course - Seminar in Composition
  • 1 Writing intensive course - ENGCMP 400/450/ 530/535 recommended
  • 1 Oral Communication course

• Algebra & Quantitative Reasoning - 2 courses
  • 1 Algebra course
  • 1 Statistics course - STAT 0200/1000 preferred

• Diversity - 1 Course

• Humanities and Arts, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences - 3 courses
  • 1 Course from any of these categories (Literature/Arts/Creative Work/Philosophical Thinking)
  • 1 Social Sciences course
  • 1 Natural Sciences course

• Global Awareness and Cultural Understanding - 1 course
  • 1 Course from any of these categories (Global Issues/Specific Geographic Region/Cross-Cultural Awareness) - See DSAS Catalog

• EM 1102 - EMT Basic+

* Accepted Oral Communications Courses:  COMMRC 0520 preferred; 0500, 0510, 0530 acceptable

  Accepted Written Communication Courses: ENGCMP 0200 or higher or any intensive writing (W) course.

+ 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.

Required credits for admission for Juniors: 60 (Applications may be submitted while prerequisite coursework is in progress.)

For Transfer Senior and Active-Duty Military applicants, proof of current Paramedic certification must be provided 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 admission is competitive and limited seats are available.

Applications may be submitted while course requirements are in progress.

Apply online at:  Apply | University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Other Admission Criteria:

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

Selection Criteria/Process:

Admissions decisions are based on assessment of the applicants overall academic record and application, the letter of recommendation, personal statement and interview. 

Applications are reviewed by the Admissions Committee.  Applicants who meet the program minimum requirements are granted an interview.  Upon completion of the interviews, the admissions committee meets to review the data on all interviewed applicants and admission decisions (admitted, waitlisted, or rejected) are made. The Director of Admissions notifies the selected applicants. 

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. Senior Transfer may not use the Nursing A&P courses to meet the 30-credit minimum. 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 (which may not be online) each semester to fulfill the 30-credit requirement. 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.  Applications are accepted on a rolling basis; however, it is best to apply by March 15 as admission is limited and competitive.

Active-Duty Military Student Information:

Applicants who have completed the 51 college courses including 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. These 30 credits may not include prerequisite courses. All Active-Duty Military students will be offered a 3-credit EM elective 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).