What kind of major do most medical schools require for admission? The answer: Any major!
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, as long as you meet medical school prerequisite course requirements, you can major in ANYTHING, including English, History, and Philosophy, and still be a competitive candidate for medical school—and perhaps be more than competitive, since your application may stand out. Since medical schools are looking for candidates with well-rounded experiences able to demonstrate a range of competencies, it can be to your advantage to complete a humanities major alongside basic and advanced coursework required at competitive medical schools. And majoring in a humanities field often improves scoring on the MCAT and other exams. Here’s how you can combine a humanities major with medical school prep work.
Most humanities majors are under 50 credits, leaving plenty of room to complete additional coursework that satisfies medical school requirements. Since most medical schools require foundational coursework in Biology, Chemistry (General and Organic), Physics, and Mathematics, you might take the following NSU courses to fulfill these requirements:
BIOL 1500 | Biology I/Lab | 4 credits |
BIOL 1510/1510H | Biology II/Lab | 4 credits |
CHEM 1300/1300H | General Chemistry I/Lab | 4 credits |
CHEM 1310/1310H | General Chemistry II/Lab | 4 credits |
CHEM 2400/2400H | Organic Chemistry I/Lab | 4 credits |
CHEM 2410/2410H | Organic Chemistry II/Lab | 4 credits |
CHEM 3650 | Biochemistry/Lab | 4 credits |
MATH 2020/2020H | Applied Statistics | 3 credits |
MATH 2100/2100H | Calculus I | 4 credits |
PHYS 2350/2350H | General Physics I/Lab | 4 credits |
PHYS 2360/2360H | General Physics II/Lab | 4 credits |
43 credits |
Up to 15 credits could be counted toward general education requirements.
In addition, with a humanities major, you would still have room for advanced preparation in courses like the following to help make you stand out as a competitive candidate. Some schools require specific additional or different requirements, so check with the schools you are interested in regarding their admission guidelines.
BIOL 3320 | Anatomy & Physiology I/Lab | 4 credits |
BIOL 3330 | Anatomy & Physiology II/Lab | 4 credits |
BIOL 3400 | Microbiology/Lab | 4 credits |
BIOL 3600 | Genetics/Lab | 4 credits |
BIOL 4340 | Cellular & Molecular Biology | 3 credits |
Meanwhile, consider the following courses as elective and/or general education courses that may further strengthen your qualifications as a medical school candidate:
HUMN 2200 | Introduction to Medical Humanities | 3 credits |
HUMN 4100 | Death and Dying | 3 credits |
LITR 3500 | Literature and Medicine | 3 credits |
PHIL 3180 | Biomedical Ethics | 3 credits |
PHIL 3220 | Philosophy of Science | 3 credits |