All medical and dental schools list four specific courses as entrance requirements: general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, and physics. Some schools require calculus or some other math option, and a few require two years of biology. An increasing number of schools also require biochemistry. Many schools require english courses, and a few designate the completion of humanities courses.
As a general rule of thumb, the set of courses listed below will satisfy the requirements of many health professions schools:
• 1 yr. of inorganic (general) chemistry with associated labs
• 1 yr. of organic chemistry with associated lab (one lab at Hopkins)
• 1 yr. of biological science coursework with associated labs
• 1 yr. of general physics with associated labs
• 1 yr. of English (composition and/or literature)
• 1 yr. of mathematics (calculus and/or statistics)
• 1 sem. of biochemistry (recommended or required by approximately 30 schools)
• Social sciences and humanities
We have created the following worksheets to help you account for the courses you are taking to fulfill the requirements and when you are taking them.
The undergraduate program at Johns Hopkins has a myriad of majors that do not allow a single set of prescribed set of courses which meet premedical requirements to be identified. Also, premedical requirements are impacted significantly by the AP, IB, or other advanced credit you bring with you to Hopkins. It is important that you work closely with the Office of Academic Advising, the Office of Pre-Professional Programs and Advising, and your faculty advisor to insure you are meeting your premedical requirements.
CHOOSING A MAJOR
One of the biggest pre-med myths is that you have to major in the sciences to get into medical school. This is absolutely not true. Each year, we have a number of students majoring in subjects from Writing Seminars to Psychology and more who successfully get accepted to medical school. At the JHU School of Medicine, more than 1/3 of the class are non-science majors. Other medical schools, including GW, have more than 55% of their class who are non-science majors. Medical schools value the diversity these students bring to the class and many medical schools are creating special programs specifically designed to encourage students to pursue majors in humanities subjects. One of the most well-know programs is through Mt. Sinai. A science and non-science major applicant to Hopkins have comparable chances of admission, Dr. David Nichols, vice dean for education at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, wrote in an e-mail. "All things being equal, I would predict that for example a poet who has...[has pursued his/her passion for writing and] done well enough in the pre-requisite courses and MCATs that we think he or she will be able to master our curriculum, is more likely to get admitted than a biochemistry major whose only evidence of excellence is good grades in college courses and high MCAT science scores," Nichols wrote. The key when choosing a major is to choose a subject you are passionate about. You will perform better academically and medical schools will look favorably on coursework beyond the sciences. Regardless of the major you choose, you must still complete the pre-medical course requirements outlined above. ADVANCED PLACEMENT CREDITS
Students receiving AP credit for biology, chemistry, and physics will be required by many medical schools to show college-level coursework in those subject areas. Generally, a year of biological science coursework with lab will be expected regardless of AP credits. Freshmen with AP credit in one of the prerequisite sciences (e.g., general chemistry) are urged to begin science coursework at Johns Hopkins in a different introductory-level science (e.g, general physics) rather than choosing an intermediate course in the subject where AP credit was awarded. A student's choice of major, as well as the strength of his/her background, will influence decisions regarding AP credit. Be sure to speak with a Pre-Professional Advisor or an advisor in the Office of Academic Advising to determine whether your coursework is compliant with health professions schools requirements. Students with AP credit should refer to the document Guidelines for Freshmen Pre-Health Students and AP Credits. DOWNLOAD THE AP GUIDE FOR PRE-HEALTH STUDENTS
REQUIREMENTS BY SUBJECT
The following list attempts to identify the courses which most commonly meet premedical requirements at Johns Hopkins:
Most medical schools expect students to take 1 year of inorganic (general) chemistry with labs and 1 year of organic chemistry with its lab. Students who come in with AP chemistry credits only need to take 1 semester of upper-level chemistry. For students in Arts and Sciences, we recommend that students with AP credit in general chemistry take biochemistry with its corresponding lab. For students in Engineering, we recommend that you code thermodynamics as inorganic (general) chemistry credit. Medical schools want to see at least 1 year of biology courses and labs REGARDLESS of whether or not a student has AP credit. Students with AP credit should take other upper-level biology courses. Students need to take a course with its associated lab. For example, you cannot take Cell Biology and then Biochemistry lab. Instead, you would take Cell Biology with Cell Biology lab. Biochemistry can count towards part of the year of biology as long as a student has taken a year of chemistry (in other words, you cannot double-count biochemistry).
One year of college-level physics is required by most medical schools. Students with AP credits need to take 1 semester of college-level physics. Courses including Biological Physics (171.310), which has lab elements incorporated into the course, would fulfill the 1 semester requirement for students with AP credit. Students with a calculus background/AP credits are encouraged to take physics early on in their college career. All students are encouraged to enroll in calculus while taking physics coursework.
Medical schools look for 1 year of mathematics coursework. While a small group of medical schools designate calculus, many will count statistics towards the requirement. Students coming in with AP calculus credits still need to take a semester of college-level mathematics. Columbia University maintains a list of medical schools with additional math requirements.
Approximately 30 medical schools recommend or require a semester of Biochemistry. It may be counted as a Biology course or as a Chemistry course depending on the other courses students have taken. Columbia University maintains a list of medical schools with additional biology and/or science requirements.
Medical schools expect that students will take 1 year of english coursework. This is a requirement where there is considerable latitude in interpretation by both the student and the medical school. Since the english requirement is intended to demonstrate competency in grammar and composition as well as comprehension and analysis of dense written material, courses that match this criteria and, in general, have a title that reflects either a literature or writing-based course, meet this requirement. Many medical schools, however, recommend that at least one of the courses be writing-intensive and one of the courses be literature-intensive. In general, 1) any course from the English and Writing Seminars departments may be used to satisfy this requirement 2) courses from the Professional Communication Program do not fulfill the “intent” of the english requirement and therefore are not recommended to be used to satisfy this requirement. Popular courses that fulfill this requirement include such courses as Expository Writing and Introduction to Fiction and Poetry Writing.
It is important to show interests beyond the sciences. While medical schools do not look for specific humanities/social science course work aside from the english requirement, they want to see that students who have diverse intellectual passions. Courses in anthropology, music, history, and many other areas are recommended. Again, this is a requirement where there is considerable latitude in interpretation by both the student and the medical school. Columbia University maintains a list of medical schools with additional prerequisites that typically included additional humanities/social science coursework. | 
