Career Tracks

TTU designates “career tracks” to support students who intend to enroll in professional schools. To declare a career track, students should contact the advisor for their career track of interest to initiate enrollment in that program. Each career track provides a student with a curriculum guide that is designed to satisfy the minimum requirements for admission to various types of professional schools. Dedicated pre-professional advising is provided to students in career tracks. Participation in a career track does not guarantee students admission to professional schools, nor are students who intend to attend professional school required to join a career track.

Career tracks are not “majors” and do not lead to a degree on their own. Commonly selected majors, concentrations and options are provided for each career track; however, these are by no means required for selection. They have commonly been selected by students in the past since they meet the majority of the pre-requisites required by professional schools. Fulfillment of the requirements of such majors leads to a baccalaureate degree. A major in Interdisciplinary Studies may be appropriate for students who intend to graduate with a baccalaureate degree, but do not wish to declare one of the suggested majors. Students who wish to declare a non-suggested major should contact the appropriate professional career-track advising office to ensure that they will be able to complete the coursework necessary for admission to professional graduate schools through fulfillment of the requirements of their major. Financial aid requirements may not permit such students to receive financial aid for courses that are not part of their major program of study or would lead to the student going beyond the permissible number of elective credits.

Some students wish to only complete the coursework designated in each career track without seeking a degree from TTU. These students may not be eligible to receive financial aid. These students should carefully review the requirements of the professional school to which they intend to apply. Many, but not all, professional schools require that students obtain a degree prior to admission. Students considering dental hygiene or medical technology school should be in a major that leads to a degree even though there is a possibility they may transfer to one of those professional programs.

Career Track	Intended for Students Seeking Admission to:	Suggested Major(s)	Suggested Concentration(s)
Lower-Level Nursing	TTU’s bachelor of science in nursing program (BSN)	For students seeking admission to the Upper Division Professional Nursing Program (“NURS”), which is a nursing major that culminates in a BSN, an Interdisciplinary Studies major is suggested as the initial major. Students who are accepted into the NURS program may then transfer to the nursing major.
Athletic Training	A master’s-level program in athletic training	Exercise Science, Physical Education & Wellness	Pre-Athletic Training
Dental Hygiene	A baccalaureate program in dental hygiene	Interdisciplinary Studies	Student Defined (work with advisor)
		Biology	Cellular and Molecular Biology Health Sciences Biology
		Human Ecology	Child Development and Family Relations Nutrition and Dietetics
Dentistry	A doctorate program in dentistry (D.M.D. or D.D. S)	Biology	Cellular & Molecular Biology Health Science Biology
		Chemistry	Biochemistry
		Chemistry	Applied Chemistry – Health Science Option
Health Information Management	Master of Health Informatics and Information Management Program	Interdisciplinary Studies	Interdisciplinary Studies
Law	Law School (J.D.)	TTU offers a Legal Studies concentration in its Political Science major, but there is no required or best major for admission to law school, nor any pre-requisite courses.
Medical Technology	A baccalaureate program in medical technology	Biology	Cellular and Molecular Biology Health Sciences Biology
Medical Technology	A baccalaureate program in medical technology	Chemistry	Biochemistry Applied Chemistry – Health Science Option
Medicine	A doctoral program in medicine (M.D. or D.O.)	Biology	Cellular & Molecular Biology Health Sciences Biology
		Chemistry	Applied Chemistry – Health Science Option
		Chemistry	Biochemistry
Occupational Therapy	A masters or doctoral program in occupational therapy	Exercise Science, Physical Education & Wellness	Pre-Occupational Therapy
		Biology Psychology	Health Science Biology
		Human Ecology	Child Life Nutrition and Dietetics
Optometry	A doctoral program in optometry (O.D.)	Biology	Cellular & Molecular Biology Health Sciences Biology
Optometry	A doctoral program in optometry (O.D.)	Chemistry	Applied Chemistry – Health Science Option Biochemistry
Pharmacy	A doctoral program in Pharmacy (PharmD)	Biology	Cellular & Molecular Biology Health Sciences Biology
		Chemistry	Applied Chemistry – Health Science Option
		Chemistry	Biochemistry
		Human Ecology	Nutrition and Dietetics
Physical Therapy	A doctoral program in physical therapy (DPT)	Exercise Science, Physical Education & Wellness	Pre-Physical Therapy
		Biology Psychology	Health Sciences Biology
		Human Ecology	Nutrition and Dietetics
Veterinary Medicine	A doctoral program in veterinary medicine (D.V.M.)	Agriculture	Animal & Pre-Veterinary Science – Pre-Veterinary Science
Physician Assistant	A masters program in science or medical science focusing on Physician Assistant Studies	Biology	Health Science Biology Cellular & Molecular
		Chemistry	Health Science Chemistry Biochemistry
		Exercise Science, Physical Education & Wellness	Pre-Physician Assistant
		Human Ecology	Nutrition and Dietetics

Career Track Advisors:

Law School	Dr. Lori Maxwell	LMMaxwell@tntech.edu	DANL 319	931-372-3683
Veterinary Medicine	Dr. Bruce Green	BGreen@tntech.edu	OKLY 139	931-372-3019
Nursing	Benjamin Clark	bclark@tntech.edu		931-372-3229
Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Optometry, Physician Assistant, Dental Hygiene, Medical Technology, Health Information Management, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy	Ann Marie Carrick	ACarrick@tntech.edu	LSC 1110	931-372-3093
Athletic Training, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Physician Assistant in Exercise Science	Patrick Mannle	pmannle@tntech.edu	FARR 302D	931-372-6448