Coursework
For detailed information on academic requirements for health professional schools, please read through Preparing for a Career in the Health Professions.
Basic Requirements for Medical (MD/DO) Schools
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General Chemistry |
CHM 201 (or 207) + CHM 202 or CHM 215 (if AP 1 Unit) |
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Organic Chemistry |
CHM 303 + CHM 304 |
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General Biology |
EEB 211 + MOL 214 |
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General Physics |
PHY 101 + PHY 102 or PHY 103 + PHY 104 |
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Math |
2 semesters (see notes about math below) |
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English |
2 semesters literature/writing (WRI counts as one of these) |
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Biochemistry |
MOL 345 |
While these guidelines will cover the requirements of most schools, it is impossible to summarize the specifics for each individual health professions school; as you move closer to applying to medical schools, we recommend researching schools of interest to check their pre-requisite courses. A number of schools require extra biology coursework (some Texas schools, for instance, which ask for a whole second year). Also, twenty-two of the 137 U.S. allopathic (MD) medical schools currently require biochemistry, while over seventy more “suggest” or “strongly recommend” it (Where is it required?).
An excellent resource is the Medical School Admission Requirements, published annually by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), which provides good general information and advice on medicine and medical education. This online resource gives the specific admission requirements for each school and is an important resource as you explore admission to various medical schools. Online access is available in our office, or you can purchase your own access directly from the AAMC (www.aamc.org).
A NOTE ABOUT AP:
Different schools have different policies regarding Advanced Placement credit. Most will accept advanced level courses that supplement AP to satisfy requirements. See the "Preparing for a Career in the Health Professions" handout for specifics regarding your AP credit.
A NOTE ABOUT MATH:
If you have 2 units of AP in math, you do not need to take further math for medical school; your AP in this subject, without more advanced coursework in college, will be accepted. This is the only exception to the rule about supplementing AP with upper-level coursework in college. An extra class in statistics would still be recommended.
Statistics. The following statistics courses would be acceptable choices: APC 151 (for FSI students), PSY 251, EEB 355/MOL 355, ECO 202, SOC 301, POL 345, WWS 200, WWS 332 and ORF 245.
Pre-Requisite Coursework for other Health Professions
Please see the attached chart (pdf) for an overview of the pre-requisite course work for dental, optometry, pharmacy, physician assistant, physical therapy, podiatry and veterinary medicine. If you have questions about other health professional pre-reqs, please contact HPA.
Major Choices
Study Abroad
Details on what you can expect as a pre-health student studying abroad can be found in our Study Abroad and the Pre-health Student handout.
Health-Related Courses
Health-Related & Medically Relevant Courses at Princeton is an ever growing list of health-related courses offered regularly at Princeton.