Academic Support

Science center where postbac students complete prerequisites needed to apply to medical school and professional schools.

The academic environment of the W.M. Keck Science Department, although rigorous and challenging, is overwhelmingly positive and supportive. Post-bac students enjoy personalized guidance from both faculty and staff to select courses and assess their performance and progress. Advisors in the program support students as they adapt to the fast-paced learning environment in the Keck Science Department.

Many post-bac students take advantage of the extensive academic support offered to our students to help facilitate their academic success. In-person group tutoring on evenings and weekends is a popular feature of the program, and post-bac and undergraduate students often work together in small study groups. Many post-bac students also take advantage of one-on-one peer tutoring in specific science subjects. Other support services include math review sessions, which are offered every summer to incoming students, and the Math Spot tutoring center, which students utilize throughout the academic year.

Most post-bac students take advantage of the following free resources for academic support:

  • Professor office hours, available typically 2-4 times per week and as requested. The science faculty at Keck are eager to support students both inside and outside of the classroom.

  • Keck Science subject-specific group tutoring, available 5 nights a week

  • Weekly problem-solving sessions outside the classroom, in which students have access to academic support specific to their assignments to help them stay on track with their courses

  • Free one-on-one peer tutoring, as needed, provided by the Scripps Tutoring Program. Many students take advantage of this program when working through particularly challenging course materials to develop their study skills and glean strategies from their peers while mastering the content.


Kevin Lu"After attending a large university for my undergraduate studies, I especially appreciated how personal the classes were at Scripps. Professors knew students by name and often ate lunch with them. Office hours, while formally established, were also available on an as-needed basis. It was clear that professors really cared—they patiently spent hours and hours with students."

Kevin Lu, Class of 2016
Hofstra North Shore LIJ School of Medicine, Class of 2020