Careers in Health & Wellness

Use this section to research career paths, typical job titles, and how to start building skills to get prepared for the health and wellness industry.

Each spring we also host a series of events called Pre-Health Prep Week to help you learn more about different pre-health fields and the path to pursuing them!

• Explore Health Careers
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Community and Social Service
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Healthcare
• Occupational Outlook Handbook: Personal Care and Service
• O*NET Online: Registered Nurses

Use this section to learn about student organizations you can join at UT to learn more about the health and wellness industry, gain volunteering or clinical experience, network with professionals and peers with similar interests, and build transferable skills. This is a sampling of student organizations related to health and wellness. A full current list of student organizations can be found on VolLink.

• Academy of Student Pharmacists
• Alpha Epsilon Delta Health Preprofessional Honor Society
• American Medical Student Association
• Clinic Vols
• Future Physical Therapists Service Association
• Healthy Habits UTK
• Kinesiology Student Association
• Pre-Optometry Club
• Pre-Physician Assistant Student Association
• Remote Area Medical, UT Campus Chapter
• Student Dental Association
• Student Nurses Association
• Undergraduate Nutrition Student Association
• VOLS 2 VOLS Peer Health Educators

If you are considering a Masters or PhD, gaining research experience is very important (possibly even critical) for graduate school admissions. Explore the following resources for ideas on how and where to get started.

• UT’s Office of Undergraduate Research
• Handshake
• Current Work & Research: University of Tennessee One Health Initiative
• MD-PhD Summer Undergraduate Research Programs (AAMC)
• Summer Research Scholars (UTHSC)

For specific research opportunities, students are encouraged to reach out to faculty directly by browsing the department websites to learn about research areas and sending a direct email to the faculty member. Students should make sure their email is professional and may want to consider attaching a resume. Below is a sampling of UTK research webpages by department.

• Research: Chemistry
• Research: Department of Nutrition
• Research: Kinesiology, Recreation, and Sport Studies
• Undergraduate Research: Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Undergraduate Research: Biological Sciences
• Undergraduate Research Opportunities: Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
• Neuroscience and Behavior: Psychology Department

Professional Organizations can be helpful in exploring more about certain sub-industries within the health and wellness industries, finding job opportunities, and connecting with professionals in your area of interest. Many have their own job search boards along with a way to sign up for job alerts. You can view a list of Professional Organizations associated with your area/major on What Can I Do With This Major. Below are a few examples of some professional organizations:

• American Academy of Audiology
• American Medical Association
• American Dental Association
• American Nurses Association
• Society for Public Health Education

Check out these sites in addition to our Handshake feed below. Use this section to search for specific job, volunteering, clinical experience, shadowing, and internship boards for the health and wellness industry.

Volunteering

• Covenant Health
• Tennova
• Blount Memorial
• UT Medical College Volunteers
• East Knox Free Medical Clinic
• West Tennessee Healthcare
• East Tennessee Children’s Hospital

Internships

• Knox County Academic Health Department
• Pre-Health Internships Catalog (Johns Hopkins)
• Tennessee Department of Health Internships
• Pre-Health Internship Opportunities (Pitt)
• Pre-Health Internships Directory (Claremont Colleges)
• Healthcare Internships (International Medical Aid)
• UTC Shadowing/Internships
• UT College of Medicine Medical Exploration Program
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Internships
• Engage Chicago Summer Field Study
• Summer Health Professions Education Program
• JACK’s Summer Scholars (Children’s Hospital of Richmond)
• Vanderbilt Summer Science Academy
• St. Jude Pediatric Oncology Education Program
• Students | Labcorp

Nursing

• NCSBN (NCLEX Exam)
• TravelNursing
• EveryNurse
• Nurse.org
• NursingJobs.com

Postbac Programs

• NIH Postbac IRTA
• AAMC Postbaccalaureate Programs
• How to Know if a Postbaccalaureate Program is Right for You (YouTube)

To find other opportunities, use one of the following search engines:

• NSF
• BioSpace
• MedZilla

Graduate School Application Resources

Many graduate school resources can be found on our Plan & Apply graduate resources page, including deciding on graduate school, resumes, graduate entrance exams, letters of recommendation, and admissions essays/personal statements. Graduate School Applications take time and will require roughly 6-9 months of preparation.

Pre-Health Professional Programs

If you are planning to apply to a professional program such as medical schools, dental schools, nursing programs, or allied health schools, the application process may differ significantly from that of other graduate programs.

• Pre-Health: College of Arts and Sciences

Taking a Gap Year

A gap year(s) is a planned or unplanned break after college before starting graduate school or professional school. Gap years are particularly common in healthcare, as they provide additional time to strengthen your application to professional programs by gaining valuable experience, preparing for exams like the GRE or MCAT, and exploring meaningful professional, service, or research opportunities.

• Gap-Year Opportunities (Undergraduate Research & Fellowships)
• Gap Year Options (Center for Career Development & Academic Exploration)
• 2025 Guide to Taking a Gap Year Before Medical School (Med School Insiders)