For students considering a career in medicine, the ACPHS Medical Professions Advisory Committee (MPAC) has prepared the following list of courses that fulfill the academic requirements for admission to the majority of medical schools and the courses at ACPHS that meet these requirements.
As some requirements vary by school, students are encouraged to consult websites for the medical schools they anticipate applying to ensure that they meet the requirements for each of their chosen medical schools. Also, MPAC strongly recommends that students take the courses required for medical school at ACPHS so that the Committee is better able to assess the student’s candidacy for both MSAC support and medical school admittance.
Students are encouraged to work with their Academic Advisor to schedule these classes in a sequence that best fits the core curriculum of their respective academic program. Courses recommended for MCAT preparation are also listed; click the following link for a description of the current MCAT exam format.
Courses Required for Medical School Admission
General Chemistry; one year (8 semester hours) with lab
- CHE 101/111 General Chemistry I
- CHE 102/121 General Chemistry II
Organic Chemistry; one year (4-8 semester hours) with lab
- CHE 211 Organic Chemistry I and
- CHE 221 Organic Chemistry II
General Biology; one year (8 semester hours) with lab
- BIO 101/111 General Biology I
- BIO 102/121 General Biology II
Biochemistry; one semester (3 credit hours)
- PSC 311 Biochemistry or CHE 311 Biochemistry I
- CHE 312 Biochemistry Lab I
Physics; one year (8 semester hours) with lab
- PHY 212 College Physics I
- PHY 222 College Physics II
Social and Behavioral Sciences; one semester each of psychology and sociology
- PSY General Psychology (3 credit hours)
- SOC 101 Sociology (3 credit hours)
Additional Courses Required by Most Medical Schools
- English: most schools require at least two writing-intensive courses which can be in the humanities or the social/behavioral sciences. ACPHS courses with the prefix of LIT are cross listed as ENG. Students wishing to have the ENG number appear on their transcript should contact the Registrar’s office.
- Math: requirements tend to vary significantly among schools, from no math requirement to calculus alone to both calculus and statistics. It is strongly recommended that students consult the websites of schools they are interested in applying to.
- MAT 121 Calculus I (4 credit hours)
- MAT 145 Elementary Statistics I (3 credit hours)
- Humanities and Social Sciences: area of study may include literature, history, foreign language, philosophy, arts, economics, sociology, communication, etc. Requirements/minimum credit hours tend to vary so students are urged to consult school websites. The minimum courses include:
- HUM 101/102/201 Pre-Modern, Modern, and Contemporary World (3 credit hours ea)
- COM 115: Principles of Communication (3 credits)
Other Courses Helpful for MCAT Preparation and for Medical Schools
Below are courses that are required for some programs and not for others; please consult with your Academic Advisor.
- BIO 210 - Microbiology or CLS 327/329 Clinical Microbiology I and II
- BIO 235 - Cell Biology
- PSC 321/322 - Pathophysiology I and II
- PSC 315 - Immunology
- BIO 213/214 - Anatomy and Physiology I and II
- BHS 201 - Medical Terminology
- BIO 225 - Genetics or PSC 312 - Molecular Biology
- MAT 145 - Elementary Statistics (3 credit hours)
- ETH 310 - Bioethics
- SOC 335 - Global Health
- PSY 321 - Health Psychology
- SOC 325 - Medical Sociology