Pre-Medical, Pre-Dental, Pre-Pharmacy
Departmental Affiliation: Pre-Professional Health Advisors are in the Biology and the Physical Sciences/Mathematics Departments
Medical, dental, and pharmacy schools accept students from any academic major. However, a strong background in science, including chemistry, biology and mathematics, is recommended and/or required for entrance into most professional health programs. Common undergraduate coursework requirements include the following Mount Saint Mary’s University courses:
General biology, one year: BIO 1/BIO 1L; BIO 2/BIO 2L (10 units)
General (inorganic) chemistry, one year: CHE 1A, CHE 1D, CHE 1AL; CHE 1B, CHE 1BL (10 units)
Organic chemistry, one year: CHE 6A, CHE 6AL; CHE 6B, CHE 6BL (10 units)
Physics with lab, one year: PHY 1A or PHY 11A; PHY 1B or PHY 11B and PHY 1L (8 units)
Calculus, one year: MTH 5A and MTH 5B (8 units)
English, one year: ENG 1A and ENG 1B (6 units)
Specific requirements for different professional health schools vary; be sure to check the requirements of the school in which you are interested. Other required or recommended courses may include upper division science courses in biology, biochemistry and chemistry, as well as statistics, sociology, psychology and ethics.
Professional health school admissions are competitive. A grade point average (GPA) of at least 3.5 is preferable, but applicants with GPAs of 3.0 may be considered for admission if there are additional educational experiences such as undergraduate research and volunteer service.
Your performance on the admissions test is important: the Medical School Admission Test (MCAT), the Dental Aptitude Test (DAT), and the Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) may be given substantial weight by professional schools. In general, the sections of these tests are similar to the required undergraduate coursework.
Please work with your academic advisor to design a curriculum that will satisfy the requirements for the health professional school of your choice.