Most schools require two semesters of biology, each with a lab component. 

• If you enter Brown without AP credit for biology, we recommend that you start the biology sequence with BIOL 0200 and then take an additional biology course with a lab. 
• If you have AP credit for BIOL 0200, you should still take two biology courses with lab components as many medical schools will not accept AP credit to fulfill this requirement
  • Courses commonly taken by premedical students at Brown include microbiology, physiology and genetics, but you should choose the courses that are the best fit for you.​​​​​
  • Neuroscience courses are considered biology courses for many medical schools, but if the course is cross listed, we recommend enrolling in the course under the Biology heading.

Most schools require two semesters of general chemistry, each with a lab component.

• If you enter Brown without a strong background in chemistry from high school, we encourage you to enroll in CHEM 0100 to help strengthen your chemistry knowledge. The next course in the sequence would then be CHEM 0330. 
• If you enter Brown with a strong background in chemistry from high school but did not earn a score of 4 or higher on the AP Chemistry exam, you may elect to take a placement exam to see if you have enough chemistry knowledge to test into CHEM 0330. 
• If you have a minimum score of 4 on the AP Chemistry exam, or minimum score of 5 in IB Chemistry, you may enroll in CHEM 0330 as your first chemistry course at Brown. 
  • While many medical schools accept the intensive CHEM 330 course in lieu of two separate general chemistry courses, some medical, veterinary, and approximately two-thirds of dental schools are less flexible and require 2 semesters of general chemistry with lab. If you are interested in dental school or one of these veterinary or medical schools, we recommend that you enroll in CHEM 0400 or CHEM 0500 to fulfill the requirement for that second semester of general/inorganic chemistry. Some schools may accept the laboratory course BIOL 0285 in lieu of a second semester of general chemistry, but you should check with the specific school to ensure this will meet their requirements.
  • Note: Students with a minimum recorded AP chemistry score of 3 who also successfully complete CHEM 0330 may request a retroactive placement notation for CHEM 0100 on their transcript. This can be done through the Student Petition link in ASK.

Most schools require two semesters of organic chemistry, each with a lab component.

• CHEM 0350 and CHEM 0360 will fulfill this requirement.

Some medical schools require biochemistry while others simply recommend it. However, the content in biochemistry is on the MCAT exam so we strongly encourage students to enroll in a biochemistry course. 

• BIOL 0280 will fulfill the biochemistry requirement for medical schools with this requirement. 
  • Some schools will require this in lieu of a second semester of general chemistry if you have opted to start your chemistry sequence at Brown with CHEM 0330 (see chemistry explanation above). 
  • Some students may elect to take BIOL 0285, which is a laboratory-based course in biochemistry as a mechanism to fulfill an additional chemistry lab course requirement.

Most medical schools require two semesters of physics, each with a lab component.

• Many students who don’t have a strong interest in physics enroll in PHYS 0030 and 0040 to fulfill their physics requirements.
• Students who have a stronger interest in physics often enroll in PHYS 0050 and 0060, or PHYS 0070 and PHYS 0160.
• Students planning to concentrate in engineering can satisfy the physics requirement with ENGN 0040 and ENGN 0510. If your concentration changes and you have already completed ENGN 0040, take PHYS 0040 or higher.
  • For students with AP credit in Physics, please review this site for information about obtaining retroactive credit on your transcript.

Medical schools generally require two semesters of mathematics and encourage students to take one semester of calculus and one semester of statistics. 

• Students can enroll in either MATH 0090 or MATH 0100 for calculus and should make this decision based on their high school preparation. If you have recorded AP credit for calculus, this may be accepted by some, but not all medical schools and so an additional math course may be required. 
• Because Brown does not have a statistics department, you can enroll in a statistics course in the department that best fits your interests.

Most schools require two semesters of English courses and prefer one in composition and one in literature, but two of each is often accepted. 

• Courses offered outside the English Department are acceptable if they are clearly composition or literature courses and are taught in English. The primary focus of the course must be composition or literature and not simply a course that focuses on a different topic but requires extensive reading or writing assessments.
  • WRIT-designated courses do not not automatically satisfy the English requirement, as they may not be composition or literature courses. 
  • Many English courses are offered in the mandatory S/NC format. Medical schools will accept this for their prerequisites as you did not have the choice to take the course for a grade. However, if you take a course that does offer a grade, you will need to opt for the graded format for the schools to accept the course as fulfilling their requirements.

The MCAT contains a section on the social and behavioral sciences so you will need this content knowledge for the exam. A small number of schools require a semester in both of these fields and many other schools recommend such course work. We encourage all students at Brown to explore the curriculum and take one or two introductory courses in these disciplines.

• Online labs are often not accepted so all laboratory-based prerequisite courses should be taken in an in-person format. 
• Summer courses are generally not recommended for the medical school prerequisites. Although they may be accepted if only one or two are taken, students are encouraged to take the majority of their prerequisite courses over the course of the fall or spring semester.
• None of the prerequisite courses can be taken during study abroad or at an international institution. Other relevant coursework can be helpful, but the schools will not accept these courses in fulfillment of their requirements.

We cannot state specifically if a course will fulfill a requirement as this is up to each individual school. However, if the primary focus of the course is composition or literature (and the course is taught in English), then it will likely meet the requirement. If it is a course on a different topic that simply includes a significant component of composition and/or literature, this is not likely to fulfill the English requirement of medical schools. 

The WRIT designation at Brown is different from the English requirement for medical schools. Unless the WRIT course is specifically focused on composition or literature, it will likely not fulfill the English requirement of medical schools.

Each school has their own policies on whether or not they will accept AP credit for their prerequisite courses. Some schools will not accept AP credit for any course, others will accept AP credit for all and many have different policies for courses in different subject areas. The most detailed information about what AP courses are accepted can be found in an annual list published by the AAMC on MSAR Report site.

Many medical schools view our intensive CHEM 0330 course as sufficient to meet their requirements of two semesters of general chemistry with lab. Other schools may require you to take an additional upper level chemistry course to meet these requirements. Still other schools will accept BIOL 0280 as part of their required chemistry sequence. It is your responsibility to check with the individual schools to see what they will accept.

No, although there is general agreement among medical schools for prerequisite requirements not all schools require the same courses. Some are very specific in the courses they will accept while others are more flexible in their requirements. It is your responsibility to check with the individual schools to see what they will accept.

We encourage you to limit the number of courses you take in the S/NC format. Medical school is a very rigorous endeavor and the schools want to see that you can handle a challenging course load and still be successful.

All of the prerequisite courses must be taken in the graded format. The only exception to this is if the course is only offered in the mandatory S/NC format. This will be noted on the transcript and in the cover letter that Brown sends with your letter packet. The schools understand that you were not given a choice of grading format and have accepted this as fulfilling their requirement.

At Brown it is possible to take a semester with three classes during your first two years and then another semester with three classes during your second two years and still graduate on time while remaining in good academic standing. However, medical schools like to see that you have chosen to challenge yourself with a rigorous course load each semester, so we typically recommend taking four classes each semester. If you have a semester with significant demands on your time (thesis research, sport season, increased need for employment, etc.) it may be advisable to reduce your course load that semester but this should be done rarely.

Yes, one lower grade does not disqualify you from medical school! It is not uncommon to have one particular topic or course in which you struggle. If this happens, it is important for you to reflect on why the grade in the course was not as strong and work to remedy that situation. Perhaps work on your studying style, your note-taking skills, your time management or other areas where you struggled. The key is to show improvement and the ability to be successful in future courses. 

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) publishes an annual report of the requirements for each medical school. This can be found on their programs and requirements website.

Most schools recommend some courses in these areas but do not have specific requirements. Other schools have no recommendation or requirement. The topics covered in an introductory psychology and sociology course will be on the MCAT so it is important that you learn the content. Some students self-study the material while others choose courses that match their interests. It is your responsibility to check the requirements of each school to which you plan to apply to be sure you meet their expectations.