PRE-MEDICINE AND PRE-OSTEOPATHY CURRICULUM

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Program Coordinator	Melinda Ekkens-Villanueva, Ph.D \| mvillanu@wau.edu

It is recommended that students obtain information from the medical school they plan to attend for details regarding specific requirements for admission.

Further resources regarding entrance requirements are available at the websites of the Association of American Medical Colleges | aamc.org and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine | aacom.org.

In addition, premedical students are encouraged to consult on a regular basis with WAU’s pre-medicine program coordinators. The minimum GPA for premedicine students is 3.3. However, in order to be competitive, and apply to medical school, a student’s science and overall, GPA should be 3.5 or higher.

Regardless of a student’s major, the minimum courses normally required for admission to medical school include the following:

Required Courses (48 Credits)

ENGL 101 - Composition Credits: 3
ENGL 102 - Research and Literature Credits: 3
PSYC 105 - Introduction to Psychology Credits: 3
Social Science elective Credits: 3
BIOL 161 - College Biology I Credits: 4
BIOL 162 - College Biology II Credits: 4
CHEM 151 - College Chemistry I Credits: 4
CHEM 152 - College Chemistry II Credits: 4
CHEM 221 - Organic Chemistry I Credits: 4
CHEM 222 - Organic Chemistry II Credits: 4
CHEM 461 - Biochemistry I Credits: 3
CHEM 463 - Biochemistry Lab I Credits: 1
PHYS 271 - College Physics I Credits: 4 - AND
PHYS 272 - College Physics II Credits: 4
- or -
PHYS 281 - Physics for Scientists and Engineers I Credits: 4 - AND
PHYS 282 - Physics for Scientists and Engineers II Credits: 4

Additional Requirements for Medical or Osteopathy school (19 Credits)

Students who are planning to attend medical or osteopathy school, regardless of their major, should also endeavor to take all of the courses listed below.

BIOL 305 - Genetics Credits: 4
BIOL 315 - Histology Credits: 4
BIOL 330 - Systems Physiology Credits: 4
BIOL 405 - Cell and Molecular Biology Credits: 4
CHEM 462 - Biochemistry II Credits: 3

Notes:

In addition to these courses, some medical schools strongly recommend that their applicants complete MATH 151 (Contemporary Calculus I) in addition to these courses. It is likely that omission of any of these courses will potentially place the student at a serious disadvantage in both successfully competing for the highest score on the MCAT and facilitating the best possible performance in medical school.

In order to strengthen their applications, students need to observe or shadow working professionals and otherwise obtain experience in a medical-related area.

Typically, medical schools require that prerequisite courses be taken from an accredited college or university and that science sequences be completed within five years of admission to medical school. A final consideration is to take the required courses in a normal semester with a full load. Classes taken as AP, CLEP, summer, or on a student’s own are discouraged.