Course Requirements
Specific course requirements do not vary widely for different medical schools. UAMS accepts AP credit for prematriculation requirements but not CLEP credit or correspondence courses for the required classes listed below. The specific requirments for the UAMS College Medicine can be found in the 2007 Guide for Applicants or by consulting the UAMS College of Medicine catalog. It is wise to check with your premedical advisor for requirements specific for all other medical schools.
For UAMS the following courses must be completed prior to matriculation:
- 2 SEMESTERS* BIOLOGY
- 2 SEMESTERS GENERAL CHEMISTRY (University Chemistry I & II or Chemistry for Majors I & II)
- 2 SEMESTERS ORGANIC CHEMISTRY (Organic Chemistry I & II or Organic Chemistry for Majors I & II)
- 2 SEMESTERS PHYSICS (College Physics I & II or University Physics I & II)
- 2 SEMESTERS MATHEMATICS (College Algebra, Plane Trigonometry, Finite, Precalculus, *Calculus)
- 2 SEMESTERS ENGLISH (Comm 1313 and any ENGL or H2P)
*2 SEMESTERS or the equivalent usually means 6 credit hours for non-science courses or 8 credit hours for science classes, which includes 3 hours of lecture credit and 1 hour of laboratory credit per course.
**Calculus is not a specific requirement for UAMS but most medical school applicants complete at least Calculus I. If students have either AP credit for Calculus or complete only Calculus I as an undergraduate, the UAMS College of Medicine does not require a second mathematics course.
Courses recommended for the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
Many students who are not Biology majors choose to take more than the minimum 2 semesters of Biology required by medical schools to be better prepared for the MCAT exam. Some recommended classes include the following:
- Comparative Anatomy or Human Anatomy
- Comparative Physiology or Human Physiology
- General Microbiology
- General Genetics
- Cell Biology
Other courses that are beneficial for the MCAT
- Biochemistry (Introduction to Biochemistry or Biochemistry I & II)
- Essay Writing
- Philosophy (Introduction, Logic or Introduction to Ethics)
- American National Government or Introduction to Comparative Politics
Courses recommended prior to medical school
- CPR
- Cell Physiology
- Biochemical Genetics
- Developmental Biology
- Embryology
- Histology
- Immunology
- Interpersonal Communication
- Mechanisms of Pathogenesis
- Medical Terminology for Health Professions
- Microbial Genetics
- Neurobiology
- Virology

