Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Program Guidelines
National Admissions Tests
All health professional programs require results of national admissions tests as part of the application package. Below is a list of the admissions tests required for each health professional program.
| Medicine |
MCAT |
Veterinary Medicine |
GRE |
| Osteopathic Medicine |
MCAT |
Physical Therapy |
GRE |
| Podiatric Medicine |
MCAT |
Occupational Therapy |
GRE |
| Dentistry |
DAT |
Physician Assistant |
GRE |
| Optometry |
OAT |
Relevant Health Professional Experience
Most health professional programs require that their applicants have experiences in a relevant health professional setting prior to submitting an application. these experiences can be in the form of employment, volunteer work, or shadowing a practitioner. Many health professional programs require letters of recommendation from a health professional which the student has identified as providing one of these experiences. The Pre-health Advising Office can provide information about professionals who are willing to provide experiences for prospective applicants.
Courses Required by most Doctoral Health Professional Schools
MATH 147 , Pre-calculus, 5 credits (or MATH 143, College Algebra, 3 credits plus MATH 144, Trigonometry, 2 credits)
MATH 160 , Brief Calculus, 4 credits (May or may not be required. Depends on major and schools to which application will be made)
CHEM 111, 112 , General Chemistry, 9 credits
ENGL 101 , English Composition, 3 credits
ENGL 102 , Critical Reading and Writing, 3 credits
BIOL 101, 101L, Biology I, 3 credits
BIOL 102, 102L, Biology II, 3 credits
BIOS 206 , Cell Biology, 4 credits (includes lab)
CHEM 301 302, 303, 304. Organic Chemistry with lab, 8 credits
PHYS 111, 112, 113, 114. General Physics with Lab, 8 credits
Courses Highly Recommended by many Medical and Dental Schools
BIOS 324 , Developmental Biology, 4 credits
BIOS 432 , Biochemistry, 3 credits (required by several medical and dental schools, and some PA programs)NOTE: An additional year of biology is highly recommended to provide an adequate background in biology for admissions tests, particularly the DAT, MCAT or OAT. That year should include a physiology course (BIOS 301, 302, Human Anatomy and Physiology, 8 credits; or BIOS 303, Principles of Animal Physiology, 4 credits; or BIOS 449, 456, Human Physiology I and II, 8 credits); a microbiology course (BIOS 221, 223 or BIOS 235) would also be helpful.
Other Courses Required or Recommended by some Health Professional Schools
MATH 253 , Introduction to Statistics, 3 credits
BIOS 358 , General Genetics, 3 credits
BIOS 419 , Mammalian Histology, 3 credits
Literature , (various courses)
Psychology , 6 credits required by the University of Nevada School of Medicine and some other medical schools
The above courses will fulfill the requirements of most American medical and dental schools; some schools may have additional special requirements. Consult the latest edition of Medical School Admission Requirements, USA and Canada , published by the Association of American Medical College, One Dupont Circle, N.W. Washington D.C. 20036, or Official Guide to Dental Schools , published by the American Dental Education Association, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036. The Chair of the Health Professions Advisory Committee has copies of the above publications.