We provide comprehensive support to students and alumni from all majors interested in pursuing graduate study and eventual careers in the health professions. Housed within Career & Professional Development, H3P offers resources, opportunities, and guidance to empower students to achieve their academic, professional, and personal goals, and provides leadership to the campus community regarding pre-health concerns and initiatives.
The university prepares students for a life in service and leadership with others. Gonzaga students engage in more than 75,000 service hours each year and can participate in any number of 140+ student clubs and organizations. Zags care deeply for underserved populations and develop interpersonal skills that are essential to the healthcare profession.
Spokane is the major hub for healthcare in the Inland Northwest, boasting 6 major hospitals and a high density of clinical practices that offer students volunteer, internship, and shadowing opportunities. Many graduates seek employment in Spokane as EMTs, CNAs, medical assistants, technicians, and PT aides during gap or growth years.
Students at Gonzaga have excellent opportunities to research a broad range of topics, including those with direct connections to health and medicine. For many majors, research is an important part of the academic experience. Students also secure competitive positions with UW-Medicine in Seattle, WSU-Spokane, and summer undergraduate research programs across the country.
The partnership’s mission to educate and train future leaders in healthcare provides many opportunities for Gonzaga’s pre-health undergraduate students, including shared learning space, undergraduate research, opportunities to learn and observe through the UWSOM’s Anatomy Lab, and panels with medical and PA students.
With the opportunity to choose from 53 academic majors and 68 minors, specialized program offerings, a broadening Core Curriculum, and dedicated advisors to assist in mapping out pre-health requirements, Gonzaga students are well prepared for the intellectual and ethical challenges of health professions graduate programs.
Each year, approximately 20 percent of incoming Gonzaga students indicate a pre-health interest. This active pre-health community includes several campus clubs that plan events and opportunities to connect. Zag alumni are engaged in mentoring current students through guest speaking roles and 1-on-1 interactions.
Dr. Jake Deckert (he/him/his) has been teaching courses in biochemistry, immunology, and physiology for over a decade. He has been a part of the UWSOM-GU Health Partnership since 2019. Advising in health and medicine has been a part of his role from the beginning of his PhD work. In 2022, Dr. Deckert and UW Spokane medical students began an “Exercise is Medicine Club” that focuses on the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of exercise. When not working with students, he coaches athletes in nutrition and performance and greatly enjoys running, skiing, hiking and generally being outdoors.
