a stethoscope

Health Professions Program

Lake Forest College (LFC) and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFU) announce an innovative approach that prepares students for a future career in the health professions.

WHY have we launched this program?

With healthcare predicted to have six of the 10 fastest growing jobs,* the Health Professions Program was created to innovatively prepare students to meet this demand and to become future leaders in a variety of healthcare careers.

The field of healthcare is rapidly evolving and growing at a pace well beyond the average rate for other professions,** highlighting the importance of the field. The innovative approach prepares you with the skills needed to practice in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare systems. A liberal arts curriculum is at the foundation of your undergraduate work, providing a grounding in the sciences and humanities, as well as problem solving, critical thinking, and solid communication skills.

This education model combined with access and early exposure to healthcare faculty, pioneering research labs, and graduate-level experiences at Rosalind Franklin University allows for hands-on exploration—taking the guesswork out of your future career path.

*CNBC 2019
 ** Bureau of Labor Statistics

WHAT is the Health Professions Program?

The Health Professions Program is a unique program among liberal arts colleges designed to prepare students early in their academic career for a variety of professions in healthcare.

The innovative program consists of a core of health-related courses and opportunities for exploration along with clearly articulated joint-degree programs with nearby Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. 

The Health Professions Program will prepare you for future success in the rapidly evolving field of healthcare by equipping you with the foundation of a liberal arts and sciences curriculum and interprofessional acumen—the core of Rosalind Franklin’s mission.

The curricular core merges four basic natural science/math/social science courses, two “SHIP” courses (Science and Health from an Interdisciplinary Perspective), and several experiential activities into a foundation that will prepare you for continued study or immediate employment in a host of health-related fields.

Part of the experiential activities are multiple seminar series that will take you to the Rosalind Franklin campus (only 10 minutes away) and expose you to the breadth of their programs and their interprofessional practices. The joint-degree programs clearly lay out your curricular path through Lake Forest College and the milestones to meet in order to have a seamless transition into a program at Rosalind Franklin. These joint-degree programs help take the guesswork and anxiety out of post-graduate planning.

WHO is the program for?

The Health Professions Program recruits and supports a diverse and broad cohort of students interested in health professions. Our ideal student is not just the traditional pre-health student (interested in Medical School, Nursing, Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, Podiatry, and more), but also includes students outside of these tracks. You may be interested in Health Care Administration, Public Health, Global Health, Data Analytics, Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Clinical Counseling, Clinical Nutrition, and more. The Health Professions Program encourages you to think outside the traditional box and explore the future of where healthcare careers are headed.

Our “big tent” will admit all interested students into the Health Professions Program cohort, which we expect will grow to approximately 100 per entering class. Rosalind Franklin University believes strongly in the value of the College’s liberal arts education and our goal is to create an inclusive program that can draw students from any major. You can still pursue up to two majors and a minor. This program has no additional cost.

To apply, students submit a short essay describing their interests and motivations to study health-related professions. There is an application window in the fall and in the spring. There are milestones for continued participation, including a minimum semester GPA and progression through the requirements. 

Students can apply to join the Health Professions Program up through the fall of their junior year, to maximize flexibility for most of our current students and to create opportunities for incoming transfers to participate in the program.  

   The Facts on Health Professions

  • Six of the 10 fastest growing jobs in the next decade are predicted to be in healthcare
    –CNBC, 9/7/2019
  • Employment of healthcare occupations is projected to grow 14 percent from 2018 to 2028, much faster than the average for all occupations
     –Bureau of Labor Statistics, 9/2019
  • Best jobs in healthcare with median salary
    U.S. News & World Report 2020
  • Healthcare jobs dominate best jobs of 2020 list
    U.S. News & World Report 2020

2023 LFC-RFUMS Summer Scholars named

This summer, 19 Lake Forest College students are conducting medical research at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFU) through our Lake Forest College - Rosalind Franklin University Summer Scholars Program, which began in 2010 as the original partnership effort between the College and RFU. Each Forester is paired with an RFU professor who will serve as a mentor during the 10-week program. Over 150 have completed the program to date. All students from this cohort plan to pursue careers in biomedical research or the health professions.

Kotryna Andriuskeviciute '24 Prof.David Mueller (Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) 
Naina Beishembieva '25 Prof. Holly Hunsberger (Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities)
Elma Choi '25 Prof. William Frost (Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy) 
Kesang Dorji '25 Prof. Lisa Ebihara (Department of Physiology and Biophysics)  
Jorge Garcia '24 Prof. John Buolamwini (Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences) 
Ying Han '24 Prof. EunJung Hwang (Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy 
Joysia Kimambo '25 Prof. Hongkyun Kim (Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy)   
Rick Liao '25 Prof. Neelam Sharma-Walia (Department of Microbiology and Immunology)
Taylor Lyons '24 Prof. Rahul Vijay (Department of Microbiology and Immunology)
Monica Marusarz '24 Prof. Joseph Reynolds (Department of Microbiology and Immunology)
Mohammed Javed '24 Prof. Ryan Crews (Department of Podiatric Surgery & Applied Biomechanics)
Lorena Monroy '24 Prof. Joanna Dabrowska (Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology)
Jasmin Montes '24 Prof. Amiel Rosenkranz (Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology
Ama Owusu-Ofori '24 Prof. EunJung Hwang (Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy)
Danielle Selby '24 Prof. Nicole Ferrara (Department of Physiology and Biophysics) 
Lauren Steidl '23 Prof. Kristin Schneider (Department of Psychology)
Sara Taha '25 Prof. Kaiwan Kam (Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy) 
Megha Verma '25 Prof. Holly Hunsberger (Department of Foundational Sciences and Humanities)
Lira Zajmi '25

Click on any of our alumni profiles below to read more

Meet our alumni pursuing their Dual Degrees at RFU

Yvette Ramirez

Yvette Ramirez '18

DPT - Doctor of Physical Therapy

Joseph Mountain Portrait

Joseph Mountain ’22

MS
Rosalind Franklin University

Danielle Shaw

Danielle Shaw '20

MS
Clinical Counseling
Rosalind Franklin University

Peter Nesper

Peter Nesper '15

MS - Biomedical Sciences
MD - Doctor of Allopathic Medicine

See where else our alumni have pursued their degrees

Anna Denslow Portrait

Anna Denslow ’20

Master of Occupational Therapy
Nova Southeastern University Florida

Uribe portrait

Yesenia Uribe ’21

PhD
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Danielle Sychowski Portrait

Danielle Sychowski ’19

DO
Midwestern University

Jarred Applegate Portrait

Jared Applegate '20

MD
University of Michigan Medical School

Kari Hatridge Portrait

Kari Hatridge ’21

Doctor of Optometry
Midwestern University

Cassandra McCray

Cassandra McCray ’16

MS-PA
Midwestern University

Mohini Verma

Mohini Verma ’18

DMD
Midwestern University

Kristina Johnson

Kristina Johnson ’12

Clinical Psychology
Illinois Institute of Technology

Sydni Cole

Sydni Cole ’12

Neurology Residency, Beth Israel Hospital (Harvard medical School)
Vascular Neurology Fellowship, University of Pennsylvania

Tianna Beilke Portrait

Tianna Beilke '21

MS
University of Southern California

PhD leading to diverse Health Professions Pathways

Uwera portrait

Desire Nalukwago Uwera ’22

PhD
Stanford University

Jennillee Wallace

Jennillee Wallace '09

PhD Immunology
Rush University

Tubanji Walubita

Tubanji Walubita '19

PhD Global Health
Northwestern University
Accepted to multiple programs

Ryne DeBo

Ryne DeBo '08

MS Medical Laboratory Science
Rush University
PhD Molecular Medecine and Translational Science
Wake Forest University

Lokesh Kukreja

Lokesh Kukreja '08

PhD Integrated Program in Life Sciences
Northwestern University

Lauren Giurini

Lauren Giurini '20

PhD Epidemiology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Galina Lipkin

Galina Lipkin '14

MA Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Northeastern Illinois University
PhD in Business Psychology- Consulting at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Beyond traditional Health Professions

Chisomo Mwale ’19

Chisomo Mwale ’19

Clinical Research Coordinator
Northwestern Feineberg School of Medicine

Alexandra Skokzec

Alexandra Skoczek '18

DO
Emory University

Arlyn Bateman

Arlyn Bateman '16

MS
Marriage and Family Therapy
Northwestern University

Logan Graham

Logan Graham '17

MHSA and MBA
Xavier University

Maegan Schultz

Maegan Schultz '15

MS
University of Illinois Chicago

Morgan Marshall

Morgan Marshall '16

MS Biomedical Visualization
University of Illinois at Chicago

Headshot of Amanda Allred

Amanda Allred '14

MS in Genetic Counseling
Brandeis University

Jaime Perez Pineda

Jaime Perez Pineda '10

MS
Prosthetics and Orthotics
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Natalie Brusie

Natalie Brusie '16

MS
Healthcare Administration
University of Minnesota

Tianna Beilke Portrait

Tianna Beilke '21

MS
University of Southern California

Uwera portrait

Desire Nalukwago Uwera ’22

PhD
Stanford University

Aasimah Tanveer

Aasimah Tanveer '18

Master's Data Science
DePaul University

Reshma Kurian

Reshma Kurian '16

MS
Public Health and Policy Administration
University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

Sara Murillo

Sara Murillo '16

Master's in Biotechnology
JD
Chicago Kent Law School

Few national liberal arts colleges have such a close and distinctive partnership with a premiere interprofessional health sciences university. —Dr. Shubhik DebBurman

Few national liberal arts colleges have such a close and distinctive partnership with a premiere interprofessional health sciences university. —Dr. Shubhik DebBurman

Few national liberal arts colleges have such a close and distinctive partnership with a premiere interprofessional health sciences university. —Dr. Shubhik DebBurman

Few national liberal arts colleges have such a close and distinctive partnership with a premiere interprofessional health sciences university. —Dr. Shubhik DebBurman

Few national liberal arts colleges have such a close and distinctive partnership with a premiere interprofessional health sciences university. —Dr. Shubhik DebBurman

Related Programs

Contact Us

FACULTY CONTACT

Ann Maine, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology
Chair, Pre-Health Advising
Director, Health Professions Program and Nursing Pathways Program

Lillard Science Center 246
847-735-6037
maine@lakeforest.edu

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTACT

Kathleen Elsasser
Health Professions Program Coordinator
kelsasser@lakeforest.edu
847-735-6041

CAREER CONTACT

Khadija Manzoor
Career Advising Contact 
Career Advancement Center
kmanzoor@lakeforest.edu