Pre-Health at Mac
Liberal arts and healthcare
Healthcare providers with a liberal arts background enrich our system by fostering empathy, critical thinking, and cultural awareness, which helps professionals treat patients as whole people, not just symptoms. The world needs broadly educated professionals in the medical field, including mental health specialists with expertise in music and art, multi-lingual public health experts, researchers in environmental health, and many others. At Macalester, you’ll discover where your strengths, interests, and passions intersect, and our advising team will help you design an individualized path to a health profession that is right for you.
Why Macalester?
In the heart of a major metropolitan area, surrounded by premier teaching hospitals, a medical school, biomedical research labs, and clinics that serve diverse populations, you’ll have countless options for growth and exploration. Macalester students benefit from many opportunities and initiatives which provide opportunities for challenge, growth, and reflection. All pre-health students are invited to participate in our Mac2Med program, a biennial event that brings alumni healthcare professionals back to campus to connect with current students. Students are also encouraged to participate in MacExplore excursions to cities near and far and engage with Twin Cities community partners to gain additional experience in the field.
Macalester offers a Community and Global Health concentration, which is popular with pre-health students because it provides the opportunity to study public health issues through the lenses of multiple disciplines. Students are also welcome to apply to participate in undergraduate research and the Innovation Scholars program, a collaborative project exploring the intersection of science, healthcare and medicine, economics, business, and entrepreneurship. Through it all, our small campus community allows students to form deep and lasting connections with faculty and staff advisors, all of whom are mutually invested in students’ academic and professional development and fulfillment.
Macalester graduates are typically accepted to medical school at 20–25% above the national average (source: AAMC Applicant Information System, 2020-2025 matriculants).