Overview

Havergal College is partnering with The Academies by Harvard Student Agencies to bring a Digital Credential in Pre-Med studies. Havergal College is offering this digital credential to allow students to explore their interest in pre-medical sciences and learn with graduate student instructors from Harvard. Uniquely positioned to connect you to Harvard undergraduate mentors, this program is offered in partnership between HC-X and The Academies and has been created with the student in mind. Alongside a unique curriculum and engaging activities, this digital credential is designed to help students feel confident in their future. 

The two programs described below are complementary and do not act as prerequisites, so they can be taken individually or in any order. 

Availability: All students in Grades 9-12, no experience required!
Program Fee: $295 USD

Please ask about financial support if applicable.

PreMed B: Human Anatomy & Physiology

Think like a doctor and learn to diagnose patients: This course is an opportunity for students to gain knowledge about the various systems of the body. Havergal students will learn about human physiology, gain exposure to pathologies such as neurology, cardiology, endocrinology & dermatology and examine medical scans. Learning about blood work and how to read medical images, including X-rays and MRIs, will prepare the students for a case study analysis, where they will be put into the shoes of a team of emergency room medical workers. This will allow students to not only learn about anatomy and physiology but also gain a better understanding of what being pre-med entails.

PreMed A: Genetics, Immunology, & Organic Chemistry

Through case studies, lectures and discussions, this course provides an opportunity for students to learn about genetics, immunology, CRISPR, and organic chemistry. Students will gain important medical background and take a deep dive into various diseases to not only learn about biology and chemistry but also gain a better understanding of what being pre-med entails. The first content module is genetic inheritance: basic molecules that store information about your genetics, how this information is converted to proteins and how it is passed on from one generation to the next. In the second content module, students explore the diverse world of hormones: what they are and how they work. The program culminates in a final presentation about a disease or genetic disorder, bringing together all the new skills our students will learn throughout the program.

Outcomes: 

• Students will work with HC-X staff to effectively prepare, plan and execute their organizational skills to be successful.

• Through The Academies by Harvard Student Agencies programming, students will explore the various concepts from pre-medical sciences, as well as  

• The case studies component prepares students for the program's final activities but also walks them through the process of understanding disease and other elements of what pre-med entails. For example, in PreMed I, emphasis is placed on how diseases are deviations from what is considered to be normal within the body by investigating how these "normal" processes work and what goes wrong to produce a disease state.

• Throughout the delivery of this digital credential, HC-X will support student learning by facilitating synchronous sessions on campus, hosting the remote instructor via Zoom, and being available for student questions.

Delivery:

• This digital credential will be 100% synchronous, Zoom-enabled class will take place at Havergal College. 

• It will run approximately 12-16 hours in a format that best fits our Havergal participants.