University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog
Graduate Programs and Professional Study
The School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate
Studies
The School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies
administers graduate degree programs in over 60
academic fields, including programs in education,
basic medical sciences, nursing, public health,
engineering, business and arts & sciences. There are
over 60 master's level programs and 30 doctoral level
programs available. For more information on the
School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies,
please call 852-6495 or, for a complete listing of
programs, visit our website:
http://graduate.louisville.edu .
Professional Schools
For information on pre-professional curriculum and
admissions requirements of the professional schools,
students should contact the Arts and Sciences
Advising Center.
The University includes four professional schools:
the School of Dentistry, the Brandeis School of Law,
the School of Medicine and the Kent School of Social
Work. Entrance requirements for the professional
schools are as follows:
The School of Dentistry
The School of Dentistry offers three degree
programs. They are the Doctoral of Dental Medicine,
Masters of Science in Oral Biology and a Bachelor of
Science in Dental Hygiene. For the Doctoral degree,
most applicants have earned a BA or B.S. degree
prior to enrollment. Applicants must have a
minimum of 90 college credit hours to apply to the
DMD program. It is recommended that applicants
complete a minimum of 32 hours of science course
work, including courses in biology, general
chemistry, organic chemistry and physics.
The Master's degree program in Oral Biology
contains graduate level courses provided by
departments within the School of Dentistry. This
program is directed toward a general understanding
of the biology of dental science. Students obtain
detailed knowledge and necessary skills required to
perform biologic research. For more information, see
the U of L Graduate catalog.
The Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene program
is a four year program with a Lower and Upper
Division. Students complete the lower division
requirements on the Belknap campus and then apply
Graduate and Professional Programs
Summer 2010 – Spring 2011
for admission to the Upper Division in the Dental
School on the Health Sciences Center Campus.
More detailed information about admission
requirements and application procedures may be
obtained at the School of Dentistry website:
www.louisville.edu/dental or by contacting the Office
of Student Affairs, School of Dentistry, (502) 852-
5081.
The Louis D. Brandeis School of Law
The Brandeis School of Law offers a degree program
leading to the Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree.
The program accommodates both full-time and part-
time study. Full-time students complete the JD
program in three years; part-time study can be
completed in four or five years.
The School of Law also offers seven dual degree
programs. The joint MBA/JD degree is offered in
conjunction with the University's College of
Business; the MSSW/JD is offered in cooperation
with the Kent School of Social Work. The joint
JD/MA in Humanities is offered in conjunction with
the Division of Humanities of the Graduate School.
The joint JD/Master of Divinity is offered in
collaboration with the Louisville Presbyterian
Theological Seminary. The joint JD/MA in Political
Science is offered in conjunction with the
Department of Political Science. The joint MUP/JD
degree in Urban Planning and Law is offered in
conjunction with the University's Department of
Urban and Public Affairs. The JD/Masters of Arts in
Bioethics and Medical Humanities is offered jointly
with the Graduate School, Department of Philosophy,
and Division of Medical Humanities and Ethics.
Successful candidates for admission must have a
baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution
prior to enrollment. Candidates must also take the
Law School Admission Test (LSAT) prior to
admission. More detailed information about
admission requirements and application procedures
can be obtained at http://www.
law.louisville.edu/admissions or by calling the Office
of Admissions, Brandeis School of Law, (502)852–
6364.
The law touches many phases of life and no uniform
pre-law curriculum or major is prescribed for
undergraduates. A liberal arts education is
emphasized as far more important than an education
University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog
directed toward later professional training.
Academic preparation should include courses that
emphasize critical thinking, analysis, writing, and
communication skills. These skills are necessary for
the study of law. Generally, students interested in
pursuing a legal career may follow the major of their
choice. Those most commonly chosen are Political
Science, Business, English, History, and Philosophy.
Jasmine Farrier, Department of Political Science;
Terry Edwards, Justice Administration; and Tom
Mackey, Department of History, College of Arts and
Sciences, serve as Prelaw Advisors, assisting students
in developing an integrated program of
undergraduate studies tailored to their particular
needs and interests, preparing for the Law School
Admission Test, and choosing a law school suited to
individual career objectives. The LSAT is normally
taken in June following the junior year or in the fall
of the senior year. Application packets are available
from the Admission Office at the Brandeis School of
Law and the Political Science Department. In the
course of fulfilling requirements in their major fields,
pre-law students are urged to include as many of the
following as possible:
• Division of Humanities, Arts and Sciences
—English 309, Advanced Writing*
—Philosophy 211, Critical Thinking
—Philosophy 311, Introduction to Logic*
—Philosophy 322, Contemporary Ethical Problems
—Philosophy 323, Medical Ethics
—Philosophy 350, Philosophy of Law
• Division of Natural Sciences, Arts and Sciences
—Biology 263, Environmental Biology
—Biology 364, Genetics and Man
-—Mathematics 109, Elementary Statistics
• Division of Social Sciences, Arts and Sciences
—Communication 111, Speech Communication
—Political Science 201, Fundamentals of American
Government
Graduate and Professional Programs
Summer 2010 – Spring 2011
—Political Science 202, Comparative Political
Systems
—Any two of these:
• Political Science 312, Constitutional Law*
• Political Science 313, Civil Liberties*
• Political Science 314, Judicial Process*
• Political Science 513 Politics of Law
—Psychology 383, Forensic Psychology
—History 315-316, American Constitutional History
• School of Business
—Accounting 201-202, Fundamentals of
Accounting*
—Economics 201-202, Principles of Economics*
* NOTE: Most highly recommended.
The School of Medicine
Applicants to the first-year class of the University of
Louisville School of Medicine are considered
individually and are selected based on merit without
consideration of race, religion, sex, age, or national
origin. The Admissions Committee evaluates an
applicant‘s acceptability based on the premedical
record, scores on the Medical College Admission
Test (MCAT), commendations from Premedical
Advisory Committees, established technical
standards for admissions and the applicant’s
personality and motivation as evaluated by interviews
with members of the Committee. Complete four-year
college preparation is encouraged. Early decision
program is encouraged for stellar applicants.
Inquiries concerning admission should be addressed
to:
Office of Admissions
Abell Administration Ctr., Rm. 413
323 East Chestnut St.
Louisville, Kentucky 40202 (502) 852-5193 or
medadm@louisville.edu
Programs of medical education that award the degree
University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog
of doctor of medicine in the United States and
Canada are accredited by the Liaison Committee on
Medical Education (LCME). This agency is
sponsored by the Association of American Medical
Colleges and the American Medical Association. The
University of Louisville School of Medicine is a
member of the Association of American Medical
Colleges and is accredited by LCME.
Application Process: The University of Louisville
School of Medicine participates in the American
Medical College Application Service (AMCAS).
Application materials are available by May at the
AMCAS website:
www.aamc.org.
Upon receipt of the application from AMCAS the
University of Louisville Medical School Office of
Admissions will email additional application
materials to qualified applicants. Completed
secondary applications are due in the Office of
Admissions by December 31. A processing fee of
$75.00 is charged and is not refundable, nor can it be
credited toward tuition if the applicant is accepted.
The fee may be waived, however, if the applicant has
received a fee waiver from AMCAS. More
information about the application process can be
obtained at
http://louisville.edu/medschool/admissions.
Residence Status: Although applications from
nonresidents are accepted, residents of Kentucky are
given preference for admission. This policy is
consistent with the mission of the University of
Louisville as a state university. Residency must be
established prior to making application. Absent
special circumstances, an applicant must be a citizen
or permanent resident of the United States to be
considered for admission to the School of Medicine.
Special circumstances may be considered where the
applicant has a pending application for permanent
residency status in the United States and A) is
married to a U.S. citizen who has an established
residence in Kentucky and intends to remain in
Kentucky, or B) has numerous members of his or her
immediate family who have established residence in
Kentucky and expect to remain in Kentucky
indefinitely. All decisions as to whether special
circumstances exist in a particular application for
admission shall be made by the Dean or his
designee.” The process of selecting medical school
applicants involves a variety of considerations
including academic, non-academic, and personal
Graduate and Professional Programs
Summer 2010 – Spring 2011
characteristics. Admission to medical school requires
a strong foundation in the natural sciences (biology,
chemistry, mathematics, and physics), highly
developed communication skills, and a solid
background in the social sciences and humanities.
Specific majors are not recommended, but the
undergraduate major area of study should be a careful
and considered decision. All applicants to medical
school must take the Medical College Admission
Test. MCAT applications are available via the
AMCAS web site at www.aamc.org. Students
considering making application to medical school
should contact the College of Arts & Sciences Pre-
Health Professional Advising Committee for more
information. Faculty members from different
disciplines of the University are involved in this
group. Open advising sessions are scheduled during
the academic year. Students are provided information
about the sequencing of required and recommended
courses, the admissions test and the application
process and, at the time of application to medical
school, may use services provided by the Advising
Center in putting together their Premedical
Recommendation Report.
Pre-Optometry
There are no schools of optometry in Kentucky.
However, Kentucky does have contracts with the
following schools to reserve spaces (a total of 14) for
students who are legal residents of Kentucky: the
School of Optometry at Indiana University in
Bloomington (www.opt.indiana.edu); the School of
Optometry at the University of Alabama in
Birmingham (www.uab.edu/optometry) and Southern
College of Optometry in Memphis, TN
(www.sco.edu). Admission is competitive and each
school of optometry awards its contract positions to
students who apply and are accepted into its program.
Students admitted under the contract program will be
charged reduced tuition with Kentucky paying the
difference to the college for a maximum of four
years. Students who are planning to apply to schools
of optometry can fulfill the pre-optometry course
requirements at the University of Louisville. Since
schools of optometry vary somewhat in their course
requirements for admission, students interested in
making application should select schools to which
they have an interest in applying so that they can
schedule courses to meet requirements for those
schools. In general, students planning to make
application to schools of optometry will need a
minimum of three years of college coursework
including a heavy concentration in the natural
sciences (biology, chemistry, mathematics, and
physics) as well as courses in social sciences and
humanities. Many schools of optometry give
University of Louisville Undergraduate Catalog
preference to students who have completed a
bachelor’s degree; all schools require applicants to
take the Optometry Admission Test. Students
considering making application to optometry school
should contact the College of Arts and Sciences Pre-
Health Professions Advising Committee
(http://louisville.edu/a-s/advising) for more
information. Open advising sessions are scheduled
during the academic year.
Pre-Pharmacy
Students who are interested in making application to
a school of pharmacy can complete prerequisite
course requirements at the University of Louisville.
Although requirements for admission to pharmacy
schools are similar, they do vary. Students should
select schools to which they are interested in
applying and schedule courses to meet those
requirements. The University of Kentucky College of
Pharmacy (www.mc.uky.edu/Pharmacy) is the only
school in Kentucky to offer a pharmacy degree. The
degree program involves a four year professional
curriculum leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy
degree. Pre-Pharmacy students at the University of
Louisville should consult the UK College of
Pharmacy website for the undergraduate courses
required for admission to this program. Admission to
pharmacy schools is competitive.
Students will need two to three years of college
coursework with a heavy concentration in the natural
sciences in order to meet minimum prerequisites.
Those holding bachelor’s degrees or completing
bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry are
particularly encouraged to apply. All applicants must
take the Pharmacy College Admission Test. Students
considering making application to pharmacy school
should contact the College of Arts and Sciences Pre-
Health Professions Advising Committee
(http://louisville.edu/a-s/advising) for more
information. Faculty members from different
disciplines of the university are involved in this
group. Open advising sessions are scheduled during
the academic year.
Pre-Veterinary Medicine
There is not a school of veterinary medicine in
Kentucky. However, Kentucky does have contracts
with the following schools in Alabama to reserve
spaces for students who are legal residents of
Kentucky: Auburn University College of Veterinary
Medicine (34 spaces; www.vetmed.auburn.edu) and
Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine
(2 spaces; www.tuskegee.edu/Global/category.as p?
C=41703). Admission is competitive with selection
Graduate and Professional Programs
Summer 2010 – Spring 2011
made by the respective schools. Students admitted to
either the Auburn or Tuskegee program will be
charged instate tuition, with Kentucky making a
payment for each enrolling student for up to four
years. Students planning to apply to schools of
veterinary medicine can fulfill pre-veterinary course
requirements at the University of Louisville. Since
schools may vary somewhat in their requirements,
students interested in making application should
select schools to which they have an interest in
applying so they can schedule courses to meet
requirements for those schools. The University has an
approved pre-veterinary curriculum for Auburn
consisting of approximately three to three and a half
years of college coursework with a heavy
concentration in the natural sciences.
In the event the student is not admitted to
professional school, the fourth year may be spent in
completing requirements for a bachelor’s degree with
biology or chemistry obvious choices. The Graduate
Record Exam is required for all Auburn applicants;
the Veterinary Admission Test is required for
Tuskegee applicants.
Students interested in making application to schools
of veterinary medicine should contact the College of
Arts and Sciences Pre-Health Professions Advising
Committee (http://louisville.edu/a-s/advising) for
more information. Open advising sessions are
scheduled during the academic year.
The Kent School of Social Work
The applicant must be a graduate of an accredited
four-year college with a broad background in the
liberal arts. A cumulative “B” average is preferred.
The student’s intellectual, emotional, and physical
capacity to perform graduate work will determine
admission. The admissions process includes the
preparation of an application form, an
autobiographical statement, submission of certified
copies of transcripts of all college work completed,
and three letters of reference.