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Medical & Dental School Requirements

Medical/Dental School Requirements

The Council and Association of American Medical Colleges have established minimum requirements for admission to an approved medical school. These include general and organic chemistry, biology, physics, and mathematics. These are minimums and many medical colleges require course work beyond the minimum. For this reason, it is imperative that a pre-medical student plan his or her college program in close consultation with the faculty advisor for pre-medical students. 

Most medical and dental schools prefer a broad, liberal education in addition to specific course requirements. They do not advocate a particular major or majors and the field of concentration is not a determining factor in admission as long as the specified course requirements are met. Many pre-medical students will major in biology or chemistry, but a major in the areas of humanities and social sciences allows sufficient electives to meet the requirements of most schools. Medical and dental schools require an aptitude examination, which is ordinarily taken in the spring semester of the junior year. For more information, see Pre-Health Advising.