Pre-Medical

Meet Our Students

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 a track in pre-medicine. Students who wish to become physicians can meet the necessary pre-professional required courses through this program.

Medical school requires four years of post-college study leading to the M.D. degree. Depending on the type of medical specialty the student wishes to pursue, an additional two to seven years of residency are required before the physician can be licensed to practice medicine.

Medical schools give preference to students who have completed four years with a baccalaureate degree. Most students wishing to apply to medical school major in biology with a minor in chemistry due to the pre-requisite college course requirements for admission to medical school.

Students planning on applying to medical school typically take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) at the end of their junior year. Accordingly, the pre-medicine track has a recommended curriculum sequence of courses designed to prepare students for the MCAT within the first three years of their degree program.

The MCAT is a standardized test given on the same day throughout the United States, with several test dates over the calendar year. It is produced, administered and scored by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). The exam is divided into four sections: Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems; Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems; Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations of Behavior; Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills.

The biology pre-med curriculum includes course work in each of these category sections to assist students in preparing for the MCAT exam.

The criteria for acceptance into medical school are based on three general aspects of the student's college record:

• Academic performance: Generally a student needs to have an overall GPA of about 3.5 to be competitive in applying to medical school. Medical schools look more closely at science and math GPA than grades from other non-science and math courses.

• MCAT score: Students need to score a minimum of 27 overall on the MCAT to be considered for interview. In some special cases medical schools may interview students with lower scores. Obviously the higher the MCAT score, the more competitive the student will be in the application process. Private and out-of-state medical schools may require higher scores.

• Service Learning: Admissions committees of medical schools like to see students show a commitment to becoming a health care professional during the pre-medical school education. This may take the form of shadowing physicians to learn about the health care profession, volunteering at hospitals and clinics, community oriented charity work, involvement in student pre-health profession organizations on campus or other related activities.

At Murray State, the Pre-Health Professional Advisory Committee writes a letter of recommendation on behalf of the student applying to medical school. This recommendation is based upon the potential of the student applicant meeting the criteria above and whether the student, in the committee's view, would make a good physician. These committee evaluations of student applicants have helped many students successfully enter the medical school of their choice.

 

Suggested Curriculum Outline, BS in Pre-Medicine

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For First-Time Freshman (Scroll Down for Transfer Students)

Course	Credit Hours
Fall Year 1	16 hours total
BIO 100T Transitions	1
BIO 115 The Cellular Basis of Life	3
CHE 201 General College Chemistry	5
ENG 105 Critical Reading, Writing & Inquiry	4
PSY 180 General Psychology	3
Spring Year 1	18 hours total
BIO 216 Biological Inquiry & Analysis	4
CHE 202 General Chem & Quantitative Analysis	5
BIO 221 Zoology: Animal Form and Function	4
MAT 150 Algebra & Trigonometry	5
Fall Year 2	16 hours total
BIO 222 Botany: Plant Form & Function	4
CHE 312 Organic Chemistry I & Lab	5
PHY 130/131 General Physics I & Lab	4
XXX XXX Global Awareness Elective	3
Spring Year 2	16 hours total
BIO 333 Genetics	4
BIO 300 Microbiology	4
CHE 320 Organic Chemistry II	3
MAT 250 Calculus & Analytical Geometry	5
Fall Year 3	17 hours total
BIO 321 Cell Biology: Mechanisms	3
BIO 322 Animal Physiology	4
PHY 132/133 General Physics I & Lab	4
CHE 530 Fundamentals of Biochemistry	3
SOC 133 Introduction to Sociology	3
Spring Year 3	13 hours total
BIO 323 Cell Biology: Systems	3
BIO 533 Molecular Biology	3
STA 135 Intro to Probability & Statistics	4
SOC 231 Social Problems	3
Fall Year 4	12 hours total
ENG 204 Advanced Expository Writing	3
BIO 308 Ethics in Biology	3
COM 161 Intro to Public Speaking	3
HUM 211 Western Humanities Tradition	3
Spring Year 4	12 hours total
BIO 499 Senior Seminar	1
BIO XXX Upper Level Biology Elective	4
BIO 421 Vertebrate Histology	4
CIV 202 World Civilization II	3

For Transfer Students with an Associate's of Science degree

Note, this pathway follows the pre-Biology Curriculum from WKCTC. It assumes that students have taken courses that will transfer as Murray State's BIO 115, BIO 216, CHE 201, CHE 202, MAT 150 and PHY 130/131. See Murray State Transfer Equivalency Tool to help you figure out how courses transfer from your current institution. NOTE: Students wishing to begin Medical School immediately after graduation should take the MCAT in their junior year. Students can take Zoology and Microbiology prior to transferring to Murray State. This will allow them to add additional coursework in their junior year to help prepare them to score well on the MCAT.

Course	Credit Hours
Fall Year 1 Post Associate's Degree	15 total hours
BIO 221 Zoology: Animal Form & Function	4
BIO 321 Cell Biology: Mechanisms	3
CHE 312 Organic Chemistry I & Lab	5
PSY 180 General Psychology	3
Spring Year 1 Post Associate's Degree	15 total hours
BIO 300 Microbiology	4
BIO 323 Cell Biology: Systems	3
BIO 333 Genetics	4
PHY 132/133 General Physics II & Lab	4
Fall Year 2 Post Associate's Degree	17 total hours
BIO 222 Botany: Plant Form & Function	4
BIO 322 Animal Physiology	4
BIO 533 Molecular Genetics	3
CHE 320 Organic Chemistry II	3
ENG 204 Advanced Expository Writing	3
Spring Year 2 Post Associate's Degree	16 total hours
BIO XXX Upper Level Biology Elective	4
BIO 421 Vertebrate Histology	4
BIO 499 Senior Seminar	1
CHE 530 Fundamentals of Biochemistry I	3
STA 135 Intro to Probability & Statistics	4