Required Courses for Medical, Dental, or Veterinary Schools

Note: these are the courses that are minimally required for application to medical/dental/vet school

Writing/English: Two terms are required by most schools. Writ 5 and First-Year Seminar are satisfactory. If you are exempted from WRIT 5, you must complete another course in literature in the English language; speak to a Health Professions Advisor as to which courses are acceptable.
Math: Two terms recommended by most schools; required by 20% of the schools. Several possibilities: MATH 3 (or MATH 1-2) and 8 or 3 plus a non-calculus math course, such as MATH 10 (Statistics); Advance Placement + MATH 10; or two terms Advance Placement (if the AP courses are accepted by the medical school in question). Note: MATH 10 is equivalent to SOCY 10, ECON 10, and PSYC 10 in terms of this requirement. BIOL 29 (‘Biostats’) is also a good option for biologically relevant applications. Many schools require one term of calculus and some require statistics. See Math Placement and Sequencing for options.
- NOTE: You must complete (or place out of) MATH 3 prior to enrolling in CHEM 5.
Biology: Two (2) terms with laboratory is the minimum requirement at most schools. All students wishing to satisfy this requirement must first take BIOL 11 (‘The Science of Life’). This course, offered 4 times per year without a lab, focuses on problem-solving in Biology and prepares students to take the required laboratory-based courses. One can then choose among 5 laboratory-based courses (BIOL 12-16) to satisfy this minimum requirement, with many students choosing two courses between BIOL 12 (‘Cell Biology’), BIOL 13 (‘Genetics’) and BIOL 14 (‘Physiology’).
It is recommended that all students should take BIOL 13 (‘Genetics’) and that, if they plan to take only the minimum number of lab-based courses, that either BIOL 12 (‘Cell Biology’) or BIOL 14 (‘Physiology’) is an acceptable 2nd course. However, strong consideration should be given to taking all three of these courses, and certainly more than the minimum, both for MCAT success and for success in the graduate curriculum. Other courses in Biology are strongly recommended and can be chosen from among BIOL 24, 27, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40, 42, 44, 46, 47, 66, 67, 69, 74, 78, or 79, among others. Students should consider including a course that emphasizes physiology and anatomy, such as BIOL 2, 14 and 35, since these subjects are frequently represented on the MCAT exam. Students who are uncertain about their interest in a health career or feel they have weak backgrounds in Biology prior to matriculation or who are hesitant about college science courses in general should consider BIOL 2 (‘Human Biology’) as their entry course in the fall of their first year.
- Note: The laboratory-based courses, BIOL 12 to 16 can be taken in any order after completing BIOL 11.
- Note: Most Vet schools also require BIOL 46, BIOL 40 and another course with biochemistry emphasis (e.g. BIOL 66, 69 or BIOL 78).

General Chemistry: Two (2) terms of General Chemistry required: CHEM 5/6, or CHEM 10 (which is the honors section and carries two terms of General Chemistry credit).
- Note: If you have been invited into CHEM 2, you must complete CHEM 2 prior to enrolling in CHEM 5. CHEM 2 emphasizes the quantitative and analytical aspects of general chemistry. Invitation to enroll is based on your pre-matriculation mathematics and science record.

Organic Chemistry: Two (2) terms of Organic Chemistry: CHEM 51 and 52 or CHEM 57 and 58.
- Note that if a student delays General Chemistry until the sophomore year and plans to enter med school in the fall after graduation, they could lock themselves into scheduling six consecutive enrolled terms without an off-term.
Physics: Two terms of Physics: PHYS 3 and 4, or PHYS 13 and 14, or PHYS 15 and 16.
- Note that PHYS 3/4 is the terminal physics track. PHYS 13/14 is general introductory physics. PHYS 15/16 is the honors version of 13/14.
Biochemistry: Currently 14 med schools REQUIRE a course in Biochemistry and an additional 90 schools recommend it. BIOL 40 or CHEM 41 would meet this requirement. It is a course to seriously consider, as having this background is really of great value in the first year of medical school, though not necessary for the MCAT exam.

Inform advisees about:

The Nathan Smith Premedical Society: An enormously important resource, coordinated by Lee Witters. Give advisees who express an interest in medical school the express assignment of reading through the Nathan Smith Society Website: www.dartmouth.edu/~nss – in particular the guide “Looking Toward a Career in the Health Professions” and “What Courses Specific Med Schools Require”. All first-year students interested in pre-health should join NSS, which can be done through the web site, in order to be kept abreast of developments in the pre-health experience at Dartmouth.
Career Services: Advisees interested in health careers school should make an appointment with one of the Health Professions advisors at Career Services. They will help both with curricular planning, off-term and internship opportunities, applications, etc. It is never too early for a first-year student to make an appointment to meet with a health professions advisor at Career Services and should be encouraged.
Academic Skills Center: Students committed to pre-health but struggling with some of the courses should be directed to the Academic Skills Center. Struggling does not necessarily mean that a student should abandon the goal of going into a health profession, but it may mean that they need to acquire the study habits and discipline required to excel in some of the large science classes.
RWiT: Students should be encouraged to use the Student Center for Research, Writing, and Information Technology (RWiT) to develop their writing and verbal skills. Both the MCAT exam and the centralized medical school application (AMCAS) evaluate these skills as part of the application process.