Prerequisite Courses
Course Requirements for Admission to Medical and Dental Schools
Individual health professions schools set their own admission requirements. A very few schools list no specific courses for admission; however, they expect their applicants to have mastered the information covered in the standardized admissions tests, such as the MCAT for medicine and the DAT for dentistry. These are the same courses as those required by the majority of medical and dental schools. Nearly all of the medical and dental schools in the United States require the following courses:
| Course | # Semesters | Duke Equivalent (see below regarding placement) |
| Biology | 2 semesters with lab | Any two BIOLOGY or Evolutionary Anthropology (formerly BAA) courses with lab |
| Calculus | A few schools require either one or two semesters. Check the requirements of the individual schools. | MATH 25L/MATH 26L or MATH 31L/MATH 32L |
| Chemistry (General & Organic)For further placement information, see the Chemistry Department website | 4 semesters with lab**BIOCHEM 227 does not have a lab | How to fulfill the Chemistry prerequisites. Choose one of the following sequences.
1) AP Chem Score = 4: (CHEM 18 AP Credit): CHEM 43L (or 31L) > CHEM 151L > CHEM 152L > BIOCHEM 227 2) AP Chem Score = 5: (CHEM 19 AP Credit): CHEM 151L > CHEM 152L > BIOCHEM 227 3) *Students who have not taken a year of high school chemistry, and/or have a Math SAT I score of 630 or lower, the recommended prehealth chemistry sequence is: CHEM 20D > CHEM 31 > CHEM 151L > CHEM 152L > CHEM 32L *If biochemistry is required or strongly recommended by health professions schools, you should also take BIOCHEM 227. 4) *Students who have taken at least a year of high school chemistry, have a Math SAT I score of greater than 630, or who have an AP Chemistry score of 3 or less, the recommended prehealth chemistry sequence is: CHEM 31L > CHEM 151L > CHEM 152L > CHEM 32L |
| English | 2 semesters | WRITING 20 + one other English or literature course |
| Physics | 2 semesters with lab | PHYSICS 53L/54L for life sciences majors and pre-medical students, 41L/42L for physics majors, PHY61L, 62L, +/- 63L for engineering students |
Some schools require or strongly recommend other courses such as biochemistry, statistics, computer science, humanities, or social science. Most schools require two semesters of biology, but a few, such as the University of Texas system, require four. In most cases these additional requirements can be completed during the senior year. However, you should check the information for specific schools that are of interest to you. Focus on those public and private schools in your state of residence. A valuable resource published by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) is the “Medical School Admission Requirements.” Likewise, the American Dental Education Association (ADEA) publishes the “Official Guide to Dental Schools.” Both are available in the HPA office and can be purchased at the Gothic Bookshop or from the associations directly. While health professions schools accept students from a wide range of majors, they expect applicants to have taken science courses that are designed for science majors. They recommend that you do not take science courses that are intended primarily for non-science majors.
Requirements for Admission to Highly Competitive Medical Schools
Students seeking admission to what are considered by some to be the most competitive medical schools should plan to pursue a demanding curriculum that goes well beyond the minimum requirements for admission to all medical schools. Experience has shown that advanced course work, including graduate level courses (at Duke these are courses numbered 200 and above), semester overloads, and scholarship in the form of independent research is expected of successful applicants to those schools.
Course Requirements for Admission to Veterinary Medical Schools
The same courses listed for admission to the majority of medical and dental schools are also listed by the schools of veterinary medicine. Many veterinary schools, however, require further specific course work in natural and animal science such as biochemistry, genetics, microbiology, and one or two courses in animal science and/or nutrition. The latter two subjects are not offered at Duke. Pre-veterinary students may enroll in animal science and nutrition at North Carolina State University in Raleigh during the regular fall or spring terms as part of the interinstitutional agreement (see T-Reqs). Alternatively, you may enroll in an accredited institution in the summer. Admission requirements for each school are summarized in Veterinary Medical School Admission Requirements in the U.S. and Canada. It has become common (some would say required) for those seeking admission to veterinary school to have worked in a veterinary setting for a year or two before applying. Courses may be taken during that time.
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