Overview

Prerequisites for Health Professions Schools

While there is no required major for entrance in to a health professions school, there are many skills, abilities, and values you can develop during your undergraduate years to help you succeed. Among them are:

• Mastery of basic scientific principles
• Demonstration of a broad exposure to the humanities and social sciences
• Mastery of life-long learning skills
• An understanding of the physician-patient relationship
• Demonstration of desired personal traits such as maturity, integrity, compassion, empathy, and leadership
• Establishment of relationships with faculty members
• Demonstration of caring for fellow human beings
• Demonstration of an understanding of the health care profession of choice
• Demonstration of a commitment to public service

The set of courses listed below will generally satisfy the requirements of many health professions schools:

• 1 yr. of general chemistry with associated labs
• 1 yr. of organic chemistry with one associated lab
• 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 (required by 30+ schools) with associated labs
• Up to 24 credits in social sciences and humanities

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.

The “English” Requirement For Medical School

Medical schools require applicants to take two English courses prior to matriculating.  The English requirement is intended to demonstrate competency in grammar and composition as well as comprehension and analysis of dense written material.  The following guidelines apply:

• Any course from the English and Writing Seminars departments may be used to satisfy this requirement.
• The courses do not need to be designated “W” in order to fulfill this requirement.  However, many medical schools recommend that at least one of the courses be writing-intensive and one of the courses be literature-intensive.
• 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.

The English requirement does not have to be completed before taking the MCAT.  However, if you feel that analysis of written material is a weakness, then it may be very useful to fulfill the English requirement prior to taking the MCAT in order to further develop the kinds of abilities that are tested on the Verbal Reasoning portion of the MCAT.

In addition, the English requirement does not need to be completed prior to applying to medical school.  It may be listed on the AMCAS application as a course that will be completed during the application year.

Pursuing an Academic Major

It is important for pre-health students to develop academic interests in and outside of the sciences.  The majority of Hopkins pre-health students major in the sciences, including biology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, neuroscience, and biophysics. These students are strongly encouraged to explore an academic area outside of the sciences to demonstrate the breadth of their interests.  Other students build their pre-health requirements into a major outside of the sciences, pursuing disciplines such as history of science and technology, English, and psychology.  Public health studies is a unique major offered at Hopkins that allows undergraduate students to take graduate-level courses at the renowned Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  Students who choose to major in public health studies gain exposure to such areas as population health, biostatistics, and epidemiology, critical foundations for a career in healthcare.  Some students interested in international health major in international relations.