Pre-Med Curriculum

Choice of Major

The majority of our pre-medical students major in Chemistry or Biology, but in recent years we have sent students to medical school with majors in Religion, Philosophy, English, and Sociology. In every case, however, they had taken the required courses for medical school and had demonstrated the ability to do well in challenging science courses, usually through a minor in Chemistry and/or Biology.

Course Requirements for Medical School

All medical schools require the following courses:

  • One year of General Chemistry with lab
  • One year of Organic Chemistry with lab
  • One year of Biology with lab
  • One year of Physics with lab
  • One year of English

Individual medical schools may have additional course requirements, such as Calculus.

We recommend that premedical students take Biology 305-306 (Human Physiology I & II) during their sophomore or junior year. You should also take additional upper level science courses, in order to demonstrate that you can succeed in medical school coursework. The following courses are good choices for premedical students:

  • CHE 307 Chemistry and Cancer
  • CHE 327 Medicinal Chemistry
  • CHE 341 Biochemistry
  • BIO 213 Organismal Diversity
  • BIO 260 Preceptorship in Health or Veterinary Sciences
  • BIO 311 General Microbiology
  • BIO 312 Pathenogenic Bacteriology and Immunology
  • BIO 325 Vertebrate Anatomy and Embryology
  • BIO 335 Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • BIO 337 Cell Biology
  • BIO 421 Developmental Biology

There are also appropriate electives offered through other departments, including Kinesiology & Health Sciences (KHS), Psychology, and Philosophy.

*For additional details, please see the Biology Dept. website at Georgetown College.