Pre-Health Course Requirements
Pepperdine Courses Recommended to Satisfy Medical and/or Dental School Requirements
As a pre-med student at Pepperdine, it is recommended that students take the following courses. This list provides the classes necessary to do well on the MCAT and for some dental and veterinary schools. Many medical schools presently do not have a required courses list. For details on particular schools and their requirements, consult the following external resources:
Medical School Applicants
Medical School Admission Requirements
Dental School Applicants
ADEA Official Guide to Dental Schools -
http://www.adea.org/publications/pages/officialguide.aspx
http://www.ehow.com/list_6531775_dental-school-prerequisite-courses.html
| Recommended Courses | Recommended Semester Hours | Pepperdine University Recommended Classes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry (General) |
8 | CHEM 120 and 121 - General Chemistry I and II |
| Organic | 4 | CHEM 310 - Organic Chemistry I |
| Biochemistry | 4 | CHEM 330 - Cellular Biochemistry |
| Biology (Introductory) |
8 | BIOL 211 - Biology of Cells BIOL 270 - Principles of Human Physiology |
| Advanced Biology | 4-8 additional | BIOL 350 - Genetics BIOL 410 - Principles of Physiology (for biology majors) BIOL 411 - Advanced Cell Biology BIOL 420 - Microbiology |
| Advanced Chemistry | 4-8 additional | CHEM 331 - Advanced Cellular Biochemistry CHEM 430 - Bio-Organic Chemistry |
| Physics |
8 | PHYS 202 and 203 - Basic Physics I and II |
| Mathematics | 4 | Statistics (in any major/department) |
| Psychology & Sociology | 6 | PSYC 200 - Introduction to Psychology SOC 200 - Introduction to Sociology |
| English | 3-6 | ENG 101 - English Composition and one additional English course may be required |
| Additional Courses | The above listed requirements should be regarded as general requirements and students must be aware of additional required or recommended classes of individual institutions by referring to the links above. |
Other Information About Required Courses
Major Courses
Students can work with their academic advisors to plan their course requirements for their major. If you are a science major it is less likely that your pre-med science requirements will conflict with your major requirements.
Summer School Courses
Pepperdine offers many summer school courses. It is an excellent time for pre-med majors to catch up on general education courses or explore an overseas program. The only science class regularly offered in summer school is Chemistry 121 but sometimes Physics 203 is offered. More information about summer classes at Seaver can be found at https://seaver.pepperdine.edu/summer-school/.
Courses for the Medical School Admission Test (MCAT)
The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a standardized test consisting of four parts. In order to prepare for this test we recommend taking the courses listed above. It is advisable to include both human physiology and genetics courses in the biology courses and biochemistry in the chemistry courses you take. For success on the MCAT exam, these classes need to be taken before taking the MCAT. It's common to take the MCAT in the spring or summer of your junior year.
For more information on the MCAT, please see: https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/
Withdrawing from a Course
Medical schools generally disprove of a "W" on transcripts. Only drop a course if there is no way to bring your grade up to a C. When applying to medical school, it is important to explain why you dropped a class.
Advanced Placement (AP)
At Pepperdine you can receive pre-med course credit for calculus and physics if you have the required AP score. Please refer to the AP course credit handout from Pepperdine University.