Requirements

Students interested in a career in medicine can major in any discipline, but the core science courses (one year of Biology, two years of Chemistry, one year of Physics) must be completed to prepare for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and as prerequisites to attend most medical schools. Most medical schools also require courses in Biochemistry, Psychology, Statistics and Sociology.

Students interested in medical school typically major in Biochemistry, Biology, Chemistry or Neuroscience. Course descriptions are on those sites for all courses listed below.

Courses generally required to apply to medical school

• BIOL 150 Investigative Biological Concepts
• BIOL 155 Evolution, Ecology and Diversity or BIOL 200 Cell Biology
• BIOC 330 Biochemistry
• CHEM 140 General Chemistry
• CHEM 220 Introductory Analytical Chemistry
• CHEM 228 Organic Chemistry I
• CHEM 230 Organic Chemistry II
• MATH 151 Calculus I
• PHYS 130 Physics I
• PHYS 132 Physics II

See Sample Academic Plans

Additional advising notes for pre-med students

Start science early

Students should take Chemistry and Biology courses in their first year. Chemistry should be started in the first semester if the student plans to go to medical school immediately after graduation from Monmouth. Students are encouraged to take more of Chemistry and Biology throughout their four years.

Math matters

Students who have not had Pre-Calculus in high school should take the Pre-Calculus course in their first year or over the summer. Students may also want to take Calculus I over the summer. Calculus I is a pre/co-requisite course for Physics II.

Medical college admission test preparation

In addition to the sample plans that are required for medical school, the other courses listed in the first, second and third year are recommended in preparation for the MCAT.

These sample plans are for students who wish to attend medical school the fall after graduation from Monmouth. These students must take the MCAT at the end of their junior year, so that they can apply to medical school in the summer before their senior year.

The MCAT tests the knowledge of basic science, social science and reading comprehension. Science classes listed in the above template will prepare Biology majors for the MCAT and allow them to complete most of the major, except for research, before the end of their junior year. Biology majors should take SOCI 101, PSYC 101 and one other Psychology class prior to the MCAT. Statistics for the Sciences (MATH 207) may also be useful for the MCAT.

Many students take a year or two off between Monmouth and medical school, allowing for some courses required for the MCAT to be taken in the senior year.

Students who have proven their academic abilities (above a 3.5 GPA) may wish to take five courses a semester (adding a Psychology and Sociology course) in their sophomore year and first semester of the junior year. Students should not overload in the second semester of the junior year because they should prepare for the MCAT during that semester.

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Transfer Credits:

Across the Core Curriculum and other programs of Monmouth College, most transfer courses are accepted. Departments Chairs have the final determination regarding how transfer credit will be applied to meet major or minor requirements. More information for transfer students is available on our Admission Transfer Credits page.