Career options in medicine are diverse: clinical practice, community health, medical administration, health policy, teaching, research, and more. While the majority of Harvard students and alumni pursuing careers in the health field focus on human medicine (MD degree, allopathic medicine), a number of others will pursue related health fields such as public and global health, dental medicine, veterinary medicine, nursing, and osteopathic medicine. The path to becoming a medical professional is long and rigorous, and students must consider:
Advising and Events
To speak with an OCS premedical adviser, visit OCS during premed and health careers drop-in hours or chat online. Premedical and health careers events include medical school interview workshops, MD/PhD info sessions, graduate school visits, and more. See the premed calendar for the current schedules.Additional questions?
Email us at premed at fas or schedule a 30-min appointment in Crimson Careers.01/20/12: Please read "Updated Information on Courses, GPA, and Med School Requirements: A Letter from the Premed Advisers."
Meet the Advisers
Lee Ann, Director of Premedical and Health Career Advising at OCS, advises Harvard College and GSAS students and alumni on career exploration and educational planning related to medicine and other health professions. She was a member of the Harvard College Class of 1977, concentrating in Psychology and Social Relations. Lee Ann received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, was a Clinical Fellow in Psychology at Harvard Medical School and was subsequently appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Her experiences with students in several higher education settings has involved counseling, supervising, and teaching undergraduates and medical students. Lee Ann is married to Alan Michelson, Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, and they have two adult children (who have never been premed). She also has a sweet little dog who can sometimes be found sleeping on top of the Premedical Information for Harvard Students guide on Lee Ann’s desk.
Oona Ceder, PhD
Oona Ceder advises students and alumni of Harvard College and GSAS who are interested in pursuing a career in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, or another health profession. She also counsels students and alumni interested in public and global health. Coming to the United States as an international student from Göteborg, Sweden, Oona joined the Harvard community in 1986 as a member of the Class of 1990 and a graduate of Currier House. In 1991, she left Cambridge and Harvard for Stanford, where she received a PhD in Political Science and lived, for a while, in the dorm EBF (a.k.a. the Enchanted Broccoli Forest). She later moved to Southern California, where she taught Political Science and Women’s and Critical Gender Studies at the University of California, San Diego. After spending some time back in Europe at Uppsala University, Sweden, and the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, Oona returned to Harvard to serve as the Resident Dean of Eliot House and a Lecturer in Social Studies. She joined OCS in 2010, where she continues to advise and mentor Harvard students and alumni as they work to realize their academic and professional goals.
