Premedical Requirements

The School of Medicine encourages applications from all interested students who meet the requirements given above, regardless of their area of academic study. However, each applicant must also meet the following academic requirements:

8 sem hours general biology or zoology including lab
8 sem hours general chemistry including lab
8 sem hours organic chemistry including lab
6 sem hours general physics
3 sem hours biochemistry
(Note: Combined organic chemistry/biochemistry courses are inadequate. The biochemistry course normally should be at the junior/senior level.)

Applicants are strongly encouraged to take courses in microbiology and anatomy/physiology prior to entering medical school. (The lecture portion of an anatomy course is normally adequate.) Other science courses that the student may find helpful in preparing for medical school include genetics, histology, cell physiology, immunology, and computer science. Advanced placement (AP) credit with scores of 4 or better is acceptable for the prerequisite courses in general physics, general chemistry and general biology. However, individuals exempted from the general biology prerequisite through advanced placement are required to take at least an equivalent number of college credits in more advanced biology courses with laboratory. CLEP credits are not acceptable nor can pass/fail courses or survey courses be used to satisfy the prerequisites.

Although there is no specific language requirement, competence in spoken and written English is necessary. A facility in conversational Spanish or a Native American language will be an advantage for students intending to remain in the Southwest.

In developing a premedical studies program, the student should keep in mind that a physician needs a broad educational background. Therefore, the student should not concentrate on the physical and biological sciences to the exclusion of the humanities and social sciences.

To optimize the chances of admission, the student should plan his/her course of study so that at least most of the prerequisite courses are completed prior to taking the Medical College Admission Test and before submitting an application to the medical school.

While applications from college juniors who have completed at least 90 semester hours are considered, only a very few with outstanding academic records have been accepted. The last several years, all accepted applicants have earned at least a Bachelor’s degree. Applicants are strongly encouraged to finish any degree programs they have begun prior to medical school matriculation.