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UC Davis School of Medicine

Admission requirements

The MCAT and three years (90 semester hours or 135 quarter hours) in an accredited college or university in the United States or Canada are required. Applicants are urged to take the MCAT in the spring but no later than the summer in which the application is made. A course of study leading to a bachelor's degree is recommended.

The school believes a medical student should have a sound background in the humanities and behavioral and social sciences as well as in the physical and biological sciences. Premedical requirements must be completed by January of the year of desired entry.

The following college-level courses are required:

  • English: 1 year (Courses in Comparative Literature and/or Classics will fulfill the English requirement.)
  • Biological Sciences, lower division (with lab): 1 year
  • Biological Sciences, upper division (lab not required): 1/2 year*
  • General Chemistry (with lab): 1 year
  • Organic Chemistry (with lab): 1 year
    (If two or more undergraduate courses are offered, the more rigorous option is recommended)
  • Physics (with lab): 1 year
  • Mathematics (college-level math): 1 year
    (College-level statistics fulfills a portion of the requirement.)

AP/CLEP credit is not acceptable for prerequisite courses. On-line, electronic, distance learning or correspondence courses will not be accepted.

* Upper division biological science requirement can be satisfied by one semester or two quarters of biochemistry, molecular biology, cell biology or genetics. Admission to medical school requires that the applicant have an understanding of fundamental concepts of biomedical science. Although a biochemistry course is not absolutely required for admission, it is strongly recommended.