Coursework

One of your goals in the Pre-Medical program will be to acquire the necessary academic background to assure success in medical or dental school. Besides the general academic skills in which you will be expected to show high proficiency, you will also have to demonstrate good results in a basic core of math and science courses.


CORE UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

One year each of the following courses are required by most medical and dental schools:

• Math (with some Calculus)

• Biology (BIOL 103 plus a second lab course)

• Physics (not always required  by dental schools)

• General Chemistry

• Organic Chemistry

See the complete list of core undergraduate courses at Georgetown.

These are the minimum requirements, but they are adequate if grades are uniformly strong. If grades are weak in any of these areas, a student should consider bolstering his or her background in that area by taking additional courses. The Pre-Med advisor can help with this decision.

Medical schools are interested in how well you are able to handle a full and demanding curriculum. They will want to see evidence that you can carry a normal full-time program with science laboratories, and with a reasonable amount of outside activities to show you have some reserve energy and broad interests.

Note that the five math and science courses listed above should be taken before the MCAT. Consequently, it is an advantage to schedule them in your first three years so that the MCAT can be taken in the spring of Junior year or in the summer before Senior year. However, there is nothing wrong with taking the MCAT later (e.g., in Senior year) and planning on doing something else for the year after graduation. These are very individual plans and the Pre-Med advisor can help with your scheduling.

AP courses may accelerate your degree program, but medical schools and the Georgetown Pre-Medical Recommendation Committee will want to see at least four year-long lab science courses done in college plus at least one semester of college mathematics.


ADVANCED UNDERGRADUATE COURSES

There is a strong tendency for medical schools (especially the more competitive ones) to expect more science preparation rather than less, so you may also wish to take advanced science courses, such as:

Genetics
Biochemistry
Mammalian Physiology
Functional Human Anatomy
Microbiology
Cell Biology
Developmental Biology
Immunobiology
Neurobiology

See a list of advanced undergraduate courses at Georgetown.
 

POSTBACCALAUREATE PRE-MEDICAL CERTIFICATE PROGRAM COURSES

Georgetown offers the standard undergraduate Pre-Medical courses to qualified students who have finished their undergraduate degrees. The requirements for the Postbaccalaureate Pre-Med Certificate are successful completion of the five year-long courses (Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Math, and Physics) including 24 credits of Pre-Med level mathematics and science courses at Georgetown.

These credits must be earned from among the following courses (note that all Postbaccalaureate students must take the PBPM versions of Introductory Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Principles of Physics unless otherwise approved by the Postbacc Pre-Med advisor):


MATHEMATICS

Calculus I
Calculus II
Probability and Statistics


BIOLOGY

Introductory Biology I  (includes lab)
Introductory Biology II (includes lab)
Genetics
Biochemistry
Mammalian Physiology
Functional Human Anatomy


CHEMISTRY

General Chemistry I   PLUS  General Chemistry I lab
General Chemistry II  PLUS  General Chemistry II lab
Organic Chemistry I   PLUS  Organic Chemistry I lab
Organic Chemistry II  PLUS  Organic Chemistry I lab


PHYSICS

Principles of Physics I (includes lab)
Principles of Physics II (includes lab)

Some students may wish to take all the Pre-Med requirements, which include two semesters each of Mathematics, Biology, General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry and Physics. Others may have already completed some of these before coming to Georgetown, and want to complete their remaining requirements and take additional electives from the list above in order to strengthen their backgrounds in science before applying to medical school.

It should be noted that the Introductory Biology, General Chemistry, and Organic Chemistry courses are offered with Saturday laboratories for the convenience of students who are working during the week.

See the complete list of Postbaccalaureate courses at Georgetown.