Office of
Health Professions Advising

FIRST-YEAR STUDENT COURSE SCHEDULES.

If you are considering a career in the health professions, you will need to enroll in a series of math and science courses while at Duke. Please review the Preparing >> Course Requirements section of this website for details regarding required courses.

Students considering the health professions need a solid foundation in basic verbal and quantitative skills. Standardized admissions tests, e.g., Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), Dental Admission Test (DAT) , Graduate Record Exam (GRE), are written to test those skills. One-half of the MCAT focuses on writing skills and reading comprehension of non-scientific material. Moreover, high achievement in chemistry, biology, and physics is possible only with well-developed reading, writing and quantitative skills. Below is information to guide your course selection during your first year at Duke.

Please remember that during summer registration before you begin your first year, you only need to make choices for your fall semester courses. Once you arrive on campus, there will be a number of people available to talk with you about your prehealth plans. During Orientation, you should attend a meeting for all first year students who are interested in the health professions. The orientation schedule is posted here.

Because the course requirements for health professions schools (medical, dental, veterinary, etc) are fairly extensive and may require special attention when scheduling, all first-year students who are interested in the health professions are assigned to a prehealth advisor in the Academic Advising Center based on their East Campus residence hall. If you need to make changes in your fall classes, you will be able to do that during the drop/add period the first two weeks of classes.

There is no prescribed “prehealth” track you must follow or timeline to which you must adhere. Please keep in mind that prehealth courses are rigorous. We strongly recommend that during your first year at Duke you schedule no more than two science/math courses in the same semester. As you gain confidence in your ability to do well in those courses, you may later decide to take a heavier load of science/math courses, particularly if you decide to major in a science. For sample prehealth schedules, please see Sample Course Schedules.

Students preparing for health professions school should not take science courses that are intended for non-science majors.

1. Writing
2. Mathematics
3. Chemistry
4. Biology
5. Physics
6. FOCUS Programs
7. AP Credit
8. Postponing Course Requirements

Writing . Academic Writing (WRITING 20) in your first or second semester at Duke will count as one of the two semesters of English required by the majority of health professions schools. An English or Literature course will satisfy the second English admission requirement. AP credit in English has been accepted by nearly all health professions schools as satisfying the second semester of required English credit. Students often ask if courses coded as “writing intensive” in other departments (e.g., religion, history, philosophy, Spanish literature, etc.) can fulfill the second “English” requirement. Since individual health professions schools do not always make this clear, it has been our practice to recommend taking the safe route by enrolling in an ENGLISH or LIT course. Some schools are willing to accept a Duke course coded as “writing intensive” to fulfill the second English admission requirement. However, they prefer a writing intensive course in the humanities or possibly social sciences. Thus, we recommend that one of your W coded courses be in the Humanities or Social Sciences. For further information on the Trinity College curriculum, see T-Reqs.

Mathematics : Some US health professions schools state a specific requirement for calculus. Since introductory physics at Duke is calculus-based, it is expected that Duke students preparing for health professions school will complete a sequence in calculus. A math requirement stated as “the equivalent of two semesters of calculus” can be met in one of several ways by Duke students. MATH 25L/26L, MATH 31L/32L, Math 31 (AP)/Math 32, and Math 41 all represent two semesters of calculus, and each will satisfy the calculus requirement for enrollment into Physics 53L/54L at Duke. MATH 32 (no lab) and MATH 32L (with lab) are both acceptable. Be very careful to enroll in the math course for which you are best suited. Duke students should be aware that calculus through MATH 32 or the equivalent is required for completion of the BS degree in biology, biological anthropology and anatomy, and psychology and for the AB and BS degrees in chemistry. AP credit for calculus has generally been accepted by health professions schools. We are seeing a trend towards health professions schools recommending statistics. Remember that as a physician or other health care professional you will be continually reading studies in the health-related literature where an understanding of statistics will be valuable to you, so taking a statistics course in your undergraduate career is a good idea. For more information on math, see AP/IPC and course choices for Mathematics and Statistics or visit the math department web site.

Chemistry . When health professions schools state a requirement for “inorganic chemistry,” they mean an introductory chemistry course. Most Duke students considering the health professions will take introductory chemistry in their first year. If you plan to complete a science course in your first year, have satisfied the mathematics prerequisite, and have your advisor’s approval, your first choice should be chemistry rather than biology. You can take CHEM 20D, CHEM 31L, CHEM 43L, or CHEM 151L as your first chemistry course. Most of the chemistry courses are offered in the fall, spring, and summer, so speak with your prehealth advisor to figure out which sequence and what timing would be best for you. Placement into the appropriate level chemistry course is critical, so visit http://www.chem.duke.edu/undergraduates/placement/chart.php for more information.

If you have AP credit in chemistry, you can enroll in CHEM 43L, or go directly into CHEM 151L (organic chemistry). AP credit for introductory chemistry is awarded as CHEM 18 or 19; the former if you scored a 4 on the AP exam, and CHEM 19 if you scored a 5 on your AP exam. Any student placing in CHEM 43L or directly into CHEM 151L should plan to take BIOCHEM 227 in his/her junior or senior year. For additional information on placement in chemistry, see AP/IPC and course choices for chemistry or visit the department of chemistry web site.

Biology. Some students will elect to begin biology in the spring semester of their freshman year, but it is perfectly acceptable to wait until the sophomore year to take biology. If you are just beginning in biology, your first course will be BIO 25L. If you have AP credit in biology (BIO 19) and are considering a biology major, your first biology course should be BIO 26AL (taught in the fall) or BIO 26BL (taught in the spring). If you have AP credit in biology but are not planning on a biology major, you may choose a 100 level biology course as your first Duke biology experience. For details about biology course choices, please go to AP/IPC and course choices in biology . Please be aware that BIO 118 should not be your first biology course at Duke unless you have extremely strong science skills. Some schools (e.g. some Texas schools) require four biology courses for admission, and if this is your state of residence you will need to plan accordingly. For more information about biology courses and placement, visit the department of biology web site.

Physics. There are three sequences of physics courses taught at Duke. PHYSICS 41L/42L are for physics majors, PHYSICS 53L/54L are for biology majors and/or prehealth students, and PHYSICS 61L/62L/63L are for engineering students. Each of these sequences is acceptable to health professions schools. If you have AP credit, see AP/IPC and course choices in physics for more information. If you are contemplating study abroad or if you began your prehealth courses later on at Duke, you may wish to take your physics courses during the summer. PHYSICS 53L/54L are offered in the summer at Duke and at the Duke University Marine Laboratory. You may also wish to take physics at another institution. For information on AP Physics, please visit the department of physics web site.

FOCUS Programs. FOCUS is a terrific option for first-year and second-year students. If the FOCUS programs interest you, please feel free to pursue admission. First-year students who participate in a FOCUS program generally enroll in a chemistry course as their elective course. Students who do not have a strong background in math may elect to begin with calculus and delay general chemistry until second semester, summer, or sophomore year.

AP Credit . For information on how AP courses are seen by health professions schools see AP/IPC General Information .

Postponing Course Requirements . We want to stress again that there is no set path that must be followed in completing prehealth course work. While some students arrive at Duke convinced that they will pursue a career in the health professions, others make that decision later in their academic careers or even after they graduate. In addition, some students simply elect not to take prehealth courses until after they have explored courses in other academic fields. Students who do not initiate prehealth coursework in their first year can begin those courses later on in their academic experience. They may need to attend summer session and/or delay their application to health professions school until after graduation from Duke in order to complete the necessary requirements, but this is entirely acceptable and, for some individuals, may be preferable. Many former Duke undergraduates, now in health professions school, have benefited from this flexible approach. Those students found it relatively easy to adjust their four-year course plans to include the admission requirements for the professional schools.

Students may also choose to take course work after graduating from Duke in non-degree granting programs or in post-baccalaureate programs.

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