Saint Louis University — Madrid is committed to promoting a global perspective among future health care professionals through innovative academic programs and extracurricular activities.
At SLU-Madrid, health science students gain knowledge in global health care while learning and practicing Spanish, a language increasingly in demand in health professions in the United States and elsewhere.
SLU-Madrid's programs in health sciences are recognized for their excellence across the U.S. and worldwide. They've been honored by the Heiskell Award Special Recognition for Internationalizing and Globalizing the Professions, an award created by the Institute of International Education to acknowledge the most outstanding initiatives conducted in international higher education.
SLU-Madrid Programs
2 years in Madrid + 2 years in St. Louis
Registered nurses make up the largest health care occupation in the world, with 2.9 million jobs in the U.S. alone. Nurses play an active role in directing and establishing medical care plans for their patients, and teach patients and their families how to manage illness or injury. Baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses have great advancement opportunities for management-level positions, as well as advanced practice degrees.
SLU-Madrid's baccalaureate nursing degree with international preparation allows you to complete the first two years of your nursing degree in Spain. For your final two years of study, you'll transfer to the campus in St. Louis.
The baccalaureate nursing program is partnered in Spain with a local health care provider, Sanitas. One of Spain's leading private health care companies, Sanitas is also a member of British United Provident Association Group, the number one private health care company in the United Kingdom. During the two years of study at SLU-Madrid, you will conduct your clinical experiences at Sanitas facilities in Madrid. Later, during the last two years of study on the St. Louis campus, you will conduct your clinical experiences at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital, which is regarded as one of the foremost medical establishments in the U.S.
SLU-Madrid's baccalaureate nursing with international preparation program obtained the 2013 Heiskell Award Special Recognition for Internationalizing and Globalizing the Professions. The Institute of International Education (IIE) created the award to promote and honor the most outstanding initiatives conducted in international higher education by U.S. universities and colleges.
Admissions Requirements
Freshman (first year)
- High school diploma or acceptable General Educational Development Test (GED) score. An official high school transcript must be submitted.
- High school GPA of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
- Transfer students must have a GPA of 3.4 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
- High school or college entry-level chemistry and biology courses.
- Extracurricular activities are also taken into consideration in admission decisions.
External Transfer
- Transfer GPA of 3.4 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
- Successful completion of Human Anatomy and Human Physiology OR Human Anatomy & Physiology 1 and Human Anatomy & Physiology 2, Chemistry, and Lifespan Human Growth and Development is recommended.
- Extracurricular activities are also taken into consideration in admission decisions.
For more information about this degree, see Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
2 years in Madrid + 3 years in St. Louis
Athletic trainers are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to optimize the activity of athletes, patients and clients. Athletic training practice includes injury prevention, injury assessment, immediate management of athletic injury, rehabilitation, sport-specific conditioning, administrative duties and professional development.
Our athletic training program allows you to earn both a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and a Master of Athletic Training through two years of study at SLU-Madrid, followed by three years at the St. Louis campus.
During the three years of study on the St. Louis campus, athletic training students from SLU-Madrid have access to all the same opportunities and facilities as students who began their degrees in St. Louis. The program is affiliated with 10 colleges and 20 high schools in the St. Louis area as clinical sites, and also has affiliations with the St. Louis Cardinals, as well as numerous medical clinics.
The Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training is located on the Medical Center Campus at Saint Louis University in the Doisy College of Health Sciences, where more than 1,500 students study in 17 health science programs. The Department of Physical Therapy and the athletic training program are also closely affiliated with SLU's School of Medicine and Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing.
For complete information about this degree program, see Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science/Master of Arts in Athletic Training.
2 years in Madrid + 2 years in St. Louis
Offered through the Doisy College of Health Sciences, SLU's undergraduate degree in health science is a path for students interested in entering a non-clinical, health-related field, such as health care coordinator, case manager, health services manager, privacy officer, corporate wellness administrator, medico legal death investigator, patient advocate/patient navigator and health literacy educator.
The B.S. in health science also offers a solid, scientific education for students pursuing a pre-professional track such as pre-medicine, pre-occupational therapy and pre-physician assistant who wish to go on to earn an advanced degree.
You will complete your first- and second-year coursework at SLU-Madrid before transferring to the St. Louis campus for your third-year and fourth-year coursework. Our curriculum includes study of the U.S. health care system, medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, human development and neuroscience. You'll also become familiar with electronic health systems, consumer health care issues and legal aspects of health care. This flexible degree program allows for diverse areas of concentration such as pre-medicine, pre-physical therapy, and pre-occupational therapy, so you can focus on those areas of health science that most interest you.
For more information about this degree program, see Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences.
2 years in Madrid + 2 years in St. Louis
The Department of Health Science has a pre-med track embedded in the health science coursework. To complete the health science program with the pre-med track in four years, students must transfer to St. Louis at the end of the second year.
Students not applying to SLU's School of Medicine must contact other medical schools for admission information. Completing the pre-med prerequisite coursework does not guarantee entry into a medical school in the U.S. unless you have successfully completed the selection process of that medical school.
Health professions schools require applicants to have completed the pre-med curriculum before application. If you expect to complete a degree in four years and go directly into medical school, you must complete the curriculum by the end of your third year of college.
The Saint Louis University pre-med requirements meet the entrance criteria for most health professions schools in the U.S. These courses serve as a common denominator among applicants and are also the foundation upon which you will build after arriving at a professional school. Courses required for admission to medical, dental, optometry, podiatry and veterinary schools, with few exceptions, include:
- Principles of Biology I and II (lectures and laboratory)
- Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and Cell Structure and Function
- Introduction to Chemistry I and II (lectures and laboratory)
- Principles of Organic Chemistry I and II (lectures and laboratory)
- Physics I and II (lectures and laboratory)
- Calculus I
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Sociology
This required curriculum should be considered the minimum science preparation for a health professions school. You should strive to take additional upper-division biology and chemistry courses to strengthen your background in the sciences. Additional courses are cellular biochemistry and molecular biology, cellular structure and function, quantitative analysis, general physiology, physical chemistry, embryology and comparative anatomy.
Medical and other health professions schools value broad general training at the undergraduate level. The University's Core curriculum includes courses that satisfy non-science requirements, such as general psychology, composition and other courses that develop communication skills. You should take more than the minimum core requirements in humanities and social sciences.
2 years in Madrid + 2 years in St. Louis
Public health is the science of improving the health of communities through education, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and research for disease and injury prevention. These communities can range from small villages to entire countries.
Public health professionals promote disease prevention through educational programs, policies, services and research, as well as regulating health systems and health professions. This contrasts with clinical professionals, such as doctors and nurses, who focus primarily on treating individuals after they become sick or injured.
Our curriculum focuses on the vast challenges of modern health care: health disparities, lack of preventive services and multifaceted causes of disease. It recognizes the multidisciplinary facet of health care by combining a traditional liberal arts education with the core disciplines of public health: epidemiology, biostatistics, behavioral science, health education and environmental health.
You will begin your undergraduate studies at SLU-Madrid, where you will complete your first- and second-year coursework. You will then transfer to the St. Louis campus for your third- and fourth-year coursework.
You may apply to the accelerated 4+1 program in St. Louis in your fifth semester of collegiate study (fall of junior year). The program allows students to complete the Master of Public Health with one additional year of study after their bachelor's degree.
Our program in public health, accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, prepares students to enter the workforce or to pursue graduate education in fields such as health administration, public health, medicine, law and more.
Saint Louis University is the only Jesuit (and the only Catholic) college for public health and social justice in the United States. Dedicated to the Jesuit mission, the public health program fosters leaders who will immediately impact their community both locally and globally.
For complete information about this degree program, see Bachelor of Science in Public Health.
For complete information about this minor, see the Minors webpage.
SLU-Madrid's competitive Summer Immersion Program in nursing offers junior nursing students the opportunity to complete clinical rotations in Madrid for one month. Students work alongside a Spanish nursing mentor on the specialty of their preference and expand their nursing knowledge in an intensive learning environment within the Spanish health care system. In addition, students refine their Spanish communication skills while enhancing other skills in the areas of critical thinking, decision-making, delegation and teamwork.
Pre-medical students are encouraged to gain clinical experience during their undergraduate years of study in preparation for application to medical school.
The Physician Shadowing Program hosted by SLU-Madrid will provide you with an intensive learning experience in a clinical setting under the guidance of a Spanish doctor in a health care center or hospital in Madrid.
In addition, you will refine your Spanish communication skills while strengthening your candidacy for medical school.
SLU's Albert Gnaegi Center for Health Care Ethics is committed to excellence in teaching, service and research in bioethics. The Center for Health Care Ethics offers a three-week summer intensive course in Madrid.
Open to students in all majors, this three-credit hour course, "Bioethics and Human Nature Through Film," uses popular films to explore the social and cultural dynamics that influence issues in bioethics in Spain and the U.S.
Saint Louis University's Doisy College of Allied Health Professions and the School of Public Health and Social Justice offer a range of exciting programs that prepare students for careers in healthcare. For many of these programs, students can spend their first year of study in Madrid or a semester or more studying abroad at the Madrid Campus.
- Health Information Management (minor)
- Health Management
- Medical Sciences
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- Medical Laboratory Science
- Nuclear Medicine Technology
- Nutrition and Dietetics
- Radiation Therapy
For more information about options for study in Madrid, contact admissions-madrid@slu.edu.
For information about the assessment of student learning in these programs, please see the University-wide website.