NU-PATHS

 

What is NU-PATHS?

In too many of Nebraska’s communities, health care providers and health-related research activity, are lacking as a result of economic disadvantages, inadequate educational opportunities, failure to communicate health information, and other challenges related to societal structures, both within and outside of the community in need. The Nebraska University Pre-Admissions to the Health Sciences (NU-PATHS) is a collaborative program developed by the four University of Nebraska campuses [ University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK), University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC)], designed to address that lack of health related resources.

NU-PATHS seeks to identify academically talented University of Nebraska undergraduates with a genuine commitment to serve these communities in need. In addition to other indicators of commitment and ability, research indicates that health care/ research professionals, who are members of underrepresented ethnic groups and those who have experienced educational or economic disadvantages, are more likely to pursue careers in communities where the disparity in health related resources is most noted.

Benefits of the Program

Students selected for the NU-PATHS program receive:

• Full tuition scholarship at the University of Nebraska campus (UNK, UNL, UNO) from which they were selected for their undergraduate professional program.
• On-going advisement and career mentoring from advisors from both their undergraduate campus and from UNMC faculty in their professional program of choice.
• A specific pre-professional program of study to prepare them for a professional program at UNMC.
• Regularly scheduled visits to UNMC to learn more about the campus and their selected program.
• Opportunities to participate in summer educational and research programs at UNMC.
• Guaranteed admission to the selected UNMC program upon successful timely completion of their undergraduate pre-professional program of study.

Career Development and Experience

Real-life experience is an important element of the NU-PATHS program. Participating students are offered opportunities, such as:

• Attending UNMC seminars, workshops and video conferences.
• Attending sample UNMC classes (non-credit).
• Developing relationships with professionals in the student’s chosen career.
• Participating in summer enrichment programs, research positions, shadowing professional practitioners, and other activities offered at UNMC, and at the student’s undergraduate campus.

 

Who Should Apply?

Prerequisites

• U.S. citizen or permanent resident status
• Currently enrolled full-time, undergraduate students at UNK, UNL, or UNO in the second semester of their freshman or sophomore year, as of the application deadline date, with no previous undergraduate degree; and
• Completed at least 13 college credit hours, but not more than 60 college credit hours.
• At the time of application, applicants for all programs except the College of Medicine must have an overall college-level GPA of 3.25. College of Medicine applicants with less than 30 college credit hours must have an overall GPA of 3.25 or higher and a GPA of 3.25 in college math and science courses. College of Medicine applicants with greater than 30 college credit hours must have an overall GPA of 3.5 or higher and a GPA of 3.25 in college math and sciences courses.

Promoting NU-PATHS Objectives; Additional Qualifications

The following, while not requirements, are factors that may be considered:

• Member of a group(s) underrepresented in health care/research professions. (“Underrepresented” means those racial and ethnic populations whose numbers are disproportionately smaller in the health care professions relative to their numbers in the general population.)
• Person who shows a demonstrated or sustained commitment to providing service, as a health care/research professional, to urban and other communities and neighborhoods in need of health care services.
• Individual from an environment of educational or economic disadvantage.
• Individual who demonstrates an active involvement in communities and neighborhoods where opportunities are diminished, especially those opportunities to receive the benefits of health care and health care research.
• Superior academic performance.
• Proficiency in languages spoken in communities with health care needs.
• Nebraska resident.

 

How to Apply

• Fill out application on this website.
• Submit all application materials to the same address on your campus, postmarked no later than February 1 prior to the academic year for which you seek to enter the program.
• Only one application to a single UNMC program per academic year is allowed.

Selection Process

Applications will be evaluated by a committee of professional representatives from the particular UNMC health career program chosen by the applicant. Certain applicants will be selected for interviews with representatives from both UNMC and their campus. Shortly after the interviews, the successful applicants will be chosen, and all applicants will be notified of the outcome with respect to their application.

Participating UNMC Health Education Programs

Annually, UNMC makes available to NU-PATHS’ student participants on each campus (UNL, UNO and UNK) the following number of guaranteed admission positions in the programs listed:

 

Contact Information

For more information about the NU-PATHS program, contact:

NU-PATHS Program

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Office of Undergraduate Studies

201 Seaton Hall

PO BOX 880683

Lincoln, NE 68588-0683

402-472-1185

unlous@unlnotes.unl.edu

www.unl.edu/ous/student_programs/nupaths.shtml

 

Please send completed applications to:

NU-PATHS Program
University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Office of Undergraduate Studies
201 Seaton Hall
PO Box 880683
Lincoln, NE 68508-0683