Pre-Medical

The Department of Biological Sciences at Murray State University offers a four-year program leading to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in biology with an option in pre-medicine. Students who wish to become physicians can meet the necessary pre-professional required courses through this program. Most medical schools give preference to students who have completed four years with a baccalaureate degree. Most students major in biology and minor in chemistry because of the relationship of the subject matter to medical school curriculum. Pre-meds typically take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) as juniors, and the Department of Biological Sciences' pre-med program is designed with this in mind.

Medical school requires four years of post-college study leading to the M.D. degree. Then an additional two to seven years of residency are required before the physician can be licensed to practice medicine in a specialty/subspecialty. The physician can concentrate in surgery, family practice, ophthalmology, pediatrics, internal medicine, anesthesiology, etc.

The criteria for acceptance into medical school is based on academic records, personal interview, recommendation of faculty and very importantly, the MCAT. The MCAT is a standardized test given on the same day throughout the United States and is divided into four categories: biological sciences, physical sciences, verbal reasoning, and a writing section. The biology pre-med curriculum outlined below includes course work in each of these categories.

Curriculum

General Education Requirements - 51 hrs: includes general psychology, mathematics, general physics I & II. Required Courses - 28 hrs: Freshman Orientation, Cellular Basis of Life, Biological Inquiry and Analysis, General Zoology, General Botany, Cell Biology, Animal Physiology, Genetics, Senior Seminar. Biology Electives - at least 12 hrs: Suggested courses include Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy, Vertebrate Embryology, Vertebrate Histology, Parasitology, Into. Microbiology, Virology, Cell Physiology. Chemistry Co-Requirements - 19 hrs. Required Minor - 21 hrs (Chemistry minor strongly recommended). Electives - 18 hrs (Writing Composition Course Recommended; remaining hours can be biology course or in other departments). Total Curriculum Requirements - 128 hrs.

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