Required Courses and Recommendations

The following courses form the core prerequisites for medical school. Students interested in schools for other healthcare professions may need additional or alternate courses; see links at the bottom of this page for more details.

  • Biology (with lab)
    • BIOL-11900, -12000 Fundamentals of Biology or
    • BIOL-12100, -12200 Principles of Biology
  • General/Inorganic Chemistry (with lab)
    • CHEM-12100 Principles of Chemistry
    • CHEM-12200 Principles of Chemistry Lab
    • CHEM-23200 Quantitative Chemistry 
    • CHEM-23400 Quantitative Chemistry Lab
  • Organic Chemistry (with lab)
    • CHEM-22100 Organic Chemistry I
    • CHEM-22300 Organic Chemistry I Lab
    • CHEM-22200 Organic Chemistry II
    • CHEM-22400 Organic Chemistry II Lab
  • Physics (with lab)
    • PHYS 10100, -10200 Introduction to Physics or
    • PHYS 11700, -11800 Principles of Physics
  • English or Writing (two semesters)

Some schools and standardized tests have additional course requirements. For example, the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test) also evaluates knowledge and preparation in Sociology (SOCI 10100 Introduction to Sociology), Psychology (PSYC 10300 General Psychology or PSYC 10400 Developmental Psychology), Statistics (e.g. MATH 14500 Statistics for Health/Life Sciences), and Biochemistry (BIOC 33300 Biochemistry and Molecular Biology).

In addition, advanced coursework in science can often improve the competitiveness of student applications. All of these courses are available to students at Ithaca College. Some programs require specific advanced coursework; for example, many PA and Veterinary Medicine programs recommend coursework in Microbiology. 

More information about admissions requirements

Course requirements and guidelines for different types of graduate and professional schools can be found via the links below: