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Premedical Studies in Yale College

Pre-health students may and do major in any discipline without adversely affecting their admission into a health professions school.  However, there are basic pre-requisite courses that must be completed prior to matriculation into a health profession school. A sample schedule is available to help you develop a 4-year course work plan (PDF).

Required Courses for MCAT Preparation

Each medical school has its own individual set of pre-requisite requirements. School websites have the most current information for these requirements, but another comprehensive resource is the online version of the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR).

Grades of C or higher are required in all areas noted below.

Chemistry (General) – required for both the current and MCAT 2015 exams
(One year recommended of both lecture and lab, unless placing into advanced level courses and have acceleration credits on transcript)

Lecture


Lab

112a and 113b; 114a and 115b; 115a or 118a


116La and 117Lb, or 119La

If during freshman year you complete Freshman Organic Chemistry or regular Organic Chemistry and labs, and receive two acceleration credits to fulfill inorganic chemistry, you typically only need an additional term of biochemistry with lab. Check the requirements of medical schools to be certain that they will accept this combination. Refer to the Medical School Admission Requirements.

Chemistry (Organic) – required for both the current and MCAT 2015 exams
(One year recommended of both lecture and lab)

Lecture


Lab

124a and 125b; 220a and 230b; or 225b and 227a


126La and 127Lb, or 222La and 223Lb

Biochemistry – required for the MCAT 2015 exam
(One term of lecture recommended; one term of lab recommended if need additional chemistry labs)

Lecture


Lab

MCDB 300B or MB&B 300a (some majors will require MB&B 301B)


MB&B 251La/MCDB 301La

Biology – required for both the current and MCAT 2015 exams
(One year recommended of both lecture and lab)

Lecture


Lab

BIOL 101a, 102a, 103b & 104b modules; MCDB 200b, MCDB 202a, MCDB 205b (Any other upper level MCDB or E&EB courses)

Any combination of MCDB and/or E&EB labs

Physics – required for both the current and MCAT 2015 exams
(One year recommended of both lecture and lab)

Lecture


Lab

170a and 171b, 180a and 181b, 200a and 201b, or 260a and 261b


165La and 166Lb, or 205L and 206L

College Math – Calculus required for the current exam and Statistics for MCAT 2015 exam
(One term recommended of each)

Calculus


Statistics

through MATH 115 or 116; MATH 120 is required for some majors


STAT 101-109; or STAT 238; or PSYC 200; or Biostatics in a graduate department

Psychology and Sociology – required for the MCAT 2015 exam
(One term recommended of each)

Psychology


Sociology

Introductory Psychology


Introductory Sociology (Yale does not currently offer this course, but many courses taken for distributional requirements may provide similar information)

English
(Two terms recommended)

  • Any course in the English Department; most courses in the Literature Department; courses in literature from cultural departments (taught in English Translation are acceptable to fulfill this requirement.
  • Some medical schools will accept Writing Intensive (WR) courses to fulfill one term; many medical schools prefer at least one writing course.

Additional Requirements

Keep in mind, the general information regarding the premed coursework required by most U.S. medical schools is provided here, but it is important to investigate the individual requisites for each school in which you plan to apply. Some schools, in particular the state-supported schools in California and Texas, require additional coursework. These requirements are listed in the Medical School Admission Requirements guide (MSAR). (Please check the requirements of your state-supported schools, as nearly 70% of applicants attended medical school in their home state.)

Advanced Placement

Advanced Placement courses and/or Acceleration Credits often do not satisfy premedical requirements for admission to medical school, but may be used to elect advanced courses.