Emergency Medicine, BS

Return to: School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

The Bachelor of Science in Emergency Medicine Program (EM) is an upper-division program housed in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.  The program is designed to provide the essential 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 enter the EM Program after earning 60 prerequisite and general education credits and are afforded the opportunity to develop clinical skills during the junior year at facilities external to the University.  These clinical and field sites require a criminal background check, child abuse clearance, and FBI fingerprint clearance (Act 33/34/73), physical examination, immunization verification, and a drug screen to verify eligibility 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.  Following successful completion of the junior year, students are eligible to take the National Registry of EMTs Paramedic examination (NREMT) to become certified paramedics.   

Currently certified paramedics or US SOCOM Advanced Tactical Paramedics may enter the EM program as Emergency Medicine Degree Completion students (Senior Transfers), provided they have earned 51 prerequisite and general education credits. These students must complete 30 core credits within the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences to earn an undergraduate degree. EM Degree Completion is offered in two formats: traditional in-person or asynchronous online.

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

Admission Requirements

Students must complete prerequisite courses and general education requirements before graduating. Our general education requirements are included in our upper-level program prerequisites and curriculum requirements.

Prerequisite Courses

• 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
  • 1 Diversity 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.

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).

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

For Emergency Medicine Degree Completion students (Senior Transfers), proof of current paramedic certification or US SOCOM Advanced Tactical Paramedic must be provided to receive the advanced standing of 39 credits (this 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 prerequisites and general education courses). 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 on available space. All applicants are encouraged to apply early, as admission is competitive and limited seats are available.

• Complete the application for admission
• Submit a one- to two-page personal essay discussing how you became interested in the field, any work or volunteer experience you have that demonstrates your awareness of the field, and your long-term professional goals. Also include other areas of interest, extracurricular activities, and leadership experiences;
• Submit one letter of recommendation: college instructor or supervisor preferred;
• Transcripts from all colleges/universities attended are required prior to review. Pitt students do NOT need to supply their Pitt transcript. However, if you have earned college credit from any other schools, we will require those transcripts. If you are a student in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, we should have access to the transcripts for any non-Pitt coursework that already appears on your Pitt transcript as Transfer Credit. If you have non-Pitt coursework that does not already appear on your Pitt transcript, you must send us an official transcript. Otherwise, we will contact you if any transcripts are required;
• Have a personal interview with the Emergency Medicine faculty.

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

Selection Criteria/Process:

Admissions decisions are based on an assessment of the applicant’s 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. 

 Applications may be submitted while course requirements are in progress.

Meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee admission to the program. 

Recognizing that students will be entering the program with varying levels of education and experience, students are admitted into the program at the appropriate level based on the student’s career and academic experiences. Current certified paramedics will be awarded 39 credits of advanced standing.

EM Degree Completion student (Senior Transfers) applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The EM Program is a Fall admit program only.