Pre-Health
Prerequisites
For students interested in pursuing a career in medicine, dentistry or veterinary medicine after obtaining a B.A. or B.S.
You do not need to major in the sciences to apply to medical, dental, or veterinary schools. However, regardless of major, you need to do well in your courses, and especially in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses, to be a competitive applicant to medical, dental, or veterinary medical schools.
Below are the prerequisites needed to apply. You are strongly encouraged to visit the websites of the schools you are interested in applying to make sure you have all the needed courses as schools may have slightly different requirements.
You are encouraged to visit the Center for Career & Professional Development website, which contains many helpful documents.
Students often take the MCAT or DAT in April of their junior year and prepare their medical or dental school applications during the summer prior to their senior year. Therefore, we encourage you to complete the prerequisites by then. Other students schedule the MCAT or DAT later in the summer early fall, in anticipation of taking a gap year between completion of Southwestern and the start of medical or dental school. You should carefully consider your options and understand the deadlines associated with each. In addition, some schools will also require the CASPer situational judgement test.
Medical and Dental Schools Prerequisites:
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Biological Sciences |
14 semester hours (12 semester hours of lecture & 2 semester hours of formal lab) Biology First year courses: BIO50-123/121; BIO50-133/131 (=6 semester hours of lecture and 2 semester hours of lab) 2 Upper level Biology courses TCU Medical school requires Organ Physiology BIO50-424 and Genetics BIO50-314 |
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General Chemistry |
8 semester hours including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab) General Chemistry I with lab (CHE51-103/101); General Chemistry II with lab (CHE51-203/201) |
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Organic Chemistry |
8 semester hours including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab) Organic Chemistry I & II with labs (CHE51-314/311 and CHE51-324/321) or CHE51-314 and CHE51-324 and CHE51-832 (Combined O Chem Lab 1 &2). |
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Biochemistry |
3 semester hours Principles of Biochemistry (non-Biochem majors) CHE51-604 OR General Biochemistry I & II CHE51-614 and CHE51-624 This requirement is in addition to the biological science requirement of 14 hours and may not be used to fulfill the biological science requirement. |
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Physics |
8 semester hours including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab) PHYS53-154 and PHY53-164 |
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English |
6 semester hours of college English. |
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Statistics |
3 semester hours Introduction to Statistics MAT52-114 |
Veterinary schools prerequisites:
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Biological Sciences |
14 semester hours (12 semester hours of lecture & 2 semester hours of formal lab) Biology First year courses: BIO50-123/121; BIO50-133/131 (=6 semester hours of lecture and 2 semester hours of lab) Microbiology with lab (BIO50-484) Genetics with lab(BIO50-314) Animal Nutrition or Feeds & Feeding |
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General Chemistry |
8 semester hours including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab) General Chemistry I with lab (CHE51-103/101); General Chemistry II with lab (CHE51-203/201) |
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Organic Chemistry |
8 semester hours including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab) Organic Chemistry I & II with labs (CHE51-314/311 and CHE51-324/321) or CHE51-314 and CHE51-324 and CHE51-832 (Combined O Chem Lab 1 &2). |
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Biochemistry |
3 semester hours Principles of Biochemistry (non-Biochem majors) CHE51-604 OR General Biochemistry I & II CHE51-614 and CHE51-624 This requirement is in addition to the biological science requirement of 14 hours and may not be used to fulfill the biological science requirement. |
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Physics |
8 semester hours including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab) PHYS53-154 and PHY53-164 |
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English & Communication Studies |
6 semester hours of college English 4 semester hours Public Speaking COM75-154 |
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Statistics |
3 semester hours Introduction to Statistics MAT52-114 |
*****NOTE: Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine specifies that the following courses must be completed at a 4 year institution at a Junior or Senior level. These courses may not be taken at a community college. They are: Genetics, Animal Nutrition, Biochemistry & Statistics.*****
Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine does require the CASPer situational judgement test.
During your first year, consider taking biology and chemistry. However, if you feel like you can take only one or the other, choose chemistry because you can begin the biology introductory courses in the spring, but you cannot begin the chemistry sequence in the spring semester. Students who consider postponing the first-year Chemistry courses until the sophomore year, will then take Organic Chemistry in their junior year together with Physics. Or defer, Physics until the senior year. Furthermore, keep in mind that many upper-level biology courses have Organic Chemistry I as a pre-requisite. Thus, deferring first year chemistry to the sophomore year would then result in submitting the applications materials during the summer of your senior year, resulting in a bridge (‘gap’) year.
Some medical schools also require additional courses in calculus, comparative morphology, and quantitative analysis; others do not accept AP credits for prerequisite coursework. Since January 2015, behavioral-sciences and biochemistry questions are also being included on the MCAT.
We recommend the following courses, which will maximize your general-education courses and help you prepare for the new MCAT:
- Principles of Psychology (PSY33-104)
- Introduction to Sociology (SOC34-114) or Social Problems (SOC 34-124)
The content of these courses is most appropriate for the types of competencies being tested on the new MCAT.
We also strongly recommend the following courses:
Please contact Dr. Maria Cuevas, chair of the Pre-Medical Advisory Committee, and other members of the Pre-Medical Advisory Committee about your plans for preparing for the medical school admission process.
Members of the Pre-Medical Advisory Committee
Dr. Cody Crosby, Assistant Professor of Physics
Dr. Carmen Velez, Director of Organic Laboratories
Dr. Jethro Hernandez-Berrones, Associate Professor of History
Mr. Dave Seiler, Director Center of Academic Success