Bachelor in Pre-Medicine

Build an extensive record of relevant experiences

• Shadow a doctor/clinical observation – gain knowledge of the medical field and confirm this field as your passion
• Community service/volunteer – students should have a passion for helping others; service could be both inside and outside of medical/clinical settings
• Research/lab experience
• Leadership – roles on and off-campus

Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)

• Completion of the basic pre-requisites is needed to be prepared to take the MCAT.
• The MCAT is required for all U.S medical schools. It is about 7.5 hours long and costs $305.
• Students who are on the traditional plan of going to medical school directly following graduation from UT should be prepared to take the MCAT in the late spring/ early summer of your junior year.
• Take the MCAT before applying to medical schools.

Medical school applications

• Students apply to medical school a full year before they intend to start (summer of junior year through fall of senior year).
• Applications open every May, and each school has its own deadline, usually between October and December.
• Most medical schools have rolling admissions, so they will review student files as soon as they are completed and submitted. Applicants are encouraged to apply early!
• Take a look now at what is expected of the application: AMCAS sections and instructions.

Preparing for Medical School

Earn a bachelor’s degree

Medical school is a graduate program; to become eligible to apply to medical school you need to earn a bachelor's degree and take specific pre-requisites (classes that medical schools require). At UT, students can earn a bachelor's degree and take pre-requisite courses. Then they will need to choose a major as pre-med is not a major or a program at UT.

Students who are interested in going to medical school typically major in biology, chemistry, or biochemistry. These majors include most of the required courses for entrance into medical programs and will help prepare students for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). However, other degrees can also prepare students for health professions; thus students are encouraged to major in the field where they excel and should consult the pre-health professions advisor about course work.

Basic pre-requisite* courses required for medical school:

• Biology I and II with labs
• General Chemistry I and II with labs
• Organic Chemistry I and II with labs
• Physics I and II with labs
• Biochemistry
• Calculus and/or Statistics
• Intro to Psychology and Intro to Sociology: these behavioral sciences are needed for the MCAT

*Each medical school has its own set of prerequisites and students need to research the admission requirements of each school they are intending to apply. Search accredited medical schools in the U.S. and their prerequisites.

Medical School Information and Beyond

• A traditional medical school program is four years long. In most schools, the first two years are spent in preclinical course work followed by two years of clinical rotations and electives.
• After completion, the students earn a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.)
• A residency program is required after medical school.
  • Residency programs are between three and eight years long depending on the type of residence chosen.
• After residency is complete, students may choose to pursue further training in a subspecialty and complete a specialty fellowship, which can last between one and three years.

Pre-Health Professions Committee (PHPC)

Members of the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics and the Department of Biology offer guidance to students and write recommendations through UT's Pre-Health Professional Committee (PHPC) composed of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and physics faculty.