By Megan Boone

Congratulations, you’ve graduated with your Bachelor’s degree! 

In the Health & Science community, many students choose to take a gap year(s) between their undergraduate degree and graduate or a professional program. A gap year is a wonderful opportunity to gain professional experience and build transferable skills that can be beneficial in a graduate/professional program and beyond as a professional in a future career. 

When deciding what you’d like to do in your gap year and how to maximize your time, it’s beneficial to reflect on what you’ve already done and what you’d like to focus on during your gap year. 

First, it’s important to ensure that you’ve completed all prerequisites needed for your graduate/professional program you’re applying to. If there are outstanding courses, clinical hours, experiences, exams, etc. you need to complete, your gap year is a great time to finish those. 

If you have all of your prerequisites completed, next, it can be helpful to reflect on what types of experiences that you haven’t already had exposure to. For example, didn’t have a chance to do research during your time in undergrad? Potentially seeking out a research assistant role during your gap year would give the opportunity to gain hands-on research experience and would ultimately diversify your experiences on your application. 

Outside of experiences, another perspective to consider is seeking out working with populations you haven’t had exposure to. Perhaps you’re interested in working with kids in the future but haven’t had direct experience working with this population. In your gap year, directly looking for an experience that would allow you to work with kids would help identify if this is a population you’re interested in continuing to pursue to work with in the future. 

Finally, in addition to considering experiences and populations you haven’t had exposure to, identifying areas of upskilling can be a way to narrow down what type of opportunities to seek out during your gap year. In reflection, it’s helpful to identify your skills. If there are certain skills that are applicable to your field that you didn’t have the opportunity to gain throughout your undergraduate career, your gap year is an optimal time to look for an opportunity that would help you build and utilize a certain skill. Outside of experiences, upskilling can also be done in the form of taking a course or investigating the topic further. LinkedIn Learning is a platform that allows you to upskill and is FREE with your DePaul login information.   

Now that you’ve reflected on experiences, populations, and skills you’re interested in building for your gap year, it’s time to look into what types of opportunities there are available to pursue. 

The following are different areas and job titles that are common for Health & Science students to complete in their gap year:

Research Roles

  • Research Assistant 
  • Research Coordinator 
  • Behavioral Research Associate
  • Research Analyst 
  • Research Technician 
  • Laboratory Technician 

Clinical Roles 

Typically don’t require a certification: 

  • Health Outreach Coordinator 
  • Health Aide
  • Scribe 
  • Health Educator
  • Rehabilitation Aide

Typically require a certification:

  • Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
  • Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
  • Medical Assistant (MA)
  • Pharmacy Technician 
  • Phlebotomist 

Formal Gap Year(s) Programs

For a more extensive list of job titles, check out the College of Science and Health’s Gap Year Opportunities page.

If you’re planning to take a gap year(s) before entering graduate school or a professional program, there are many different ways to maximize your time. Prior to starting your gap year, it’s beneficial to reflect on what you’d like to accomplish to identify the type of experience, populations, and skills you maybe haven’t had exposure to that you’d like to seek out. Selecting an area that you haven’t had much exposure to, can not only diversify your application, but can also be beneficial in the future to narrow down your interests that can impact your future career. 

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Need help planning your gap year? Searching for opportunities? No matter where you’re at, we are here to help you. Book an appointment with Megan, or another member of the advising community through Handshake, or by calling the front desk at (773) 325-7431.