Pre-Medicine, Pre-Dentistry Programs, and Other Pre-Professional Health Tracks in the College of Arts and Sciences
A student planning to apply for medical, dental, or any of the other pre-health profession schools will receive advising from both an advisor in their major as well as the Chief Health Professions Advisor. The role of the advisor in their major is to ensure the student fulfills the requirements for the chosen major. The major advisor is the student’s primary advisor and should be consulted early and often. The Chief Health Professions Advisor is available to help a student make important choices regarding the professional school admission requirements extra-curricular activities, and the application process.
Medical, dental and other health profession schools do not recommend any one major for a student. Nor is there one field which will give you an advantage. Instead, those schools look for a rigorous arts and sciences education with a strong emphasis in science and mathematics. Select a major that you not only enjoy and have a passion for, but will demand excellence in critical thinking, expository and persuasive writing, oral communication, critical reading, research and organization. Also, seek out a curriculum that requires research papers, substantial reading, laboratory experiences, essay exams and oral presentations. Some of the more common majors chosen are biology, chemistry, chemistry-biochemistry, mathematics, engineering, english, and psychology.
You should plan your academic program so that minimum pre-professional admission requirements are completed by the time you apply to professional school –– normally the summer following your junior year. This timing will place you in the most advantageous position for both your application and the admissions exam (DAT, MCAT, PCAT, VCAT, etc.).
Required courses may not be taken Pass/Fail. A grade of "C" or better (or AP credit) is required in each course used to meet dental/medical school admission requirements. (Admission to professional schools is very competitive. As a result, it is imperative that you consistently perform well academically.)
Following are the UT Tyler courses which meet minimum admission requirements for dental/medical schools in Texas
(Please refer to the College of Arts and Science website http://www.uttyler.edu/cas/preprofessional/index.php for example prerequisites for other pre-professional health tracks like pharmacy, veterinary medicine, physician's assistant, etc.)
Biology: 14 sem. hrs. (must contain a minimum of 2 sem. hrs. of lab)
General Biology: 8 sem. hrs. (Including Lab)
Students are urged to begin taking general biology during the freshman year because many of the required science courses have general biology prerequisites.
| BIOL 1306 | General Biology I [TCCN: BIOL 1306] | |
| BIOL 1106 | General Biology I Laboratory [TCCN: BIOL 1106] | |
| BIOL 1307 | General Biology II [TCCN: BIOL 1307] | |
| BIOL 1107 | General Biology II Laboratory [TCCN: BIOL 1107] | |
Other Biology Courses: 6 sem. hrs. (The labs are not required, but are strongly recommended.)
Choose two of the following.
Chemistry: 19 sem. hours – General, Organic and Biochemistry
General Chemistry: 8 sem. hours (Including Lab)
Students are urged to begin taking general chemistry during the freshman year because many of the required science courses have general chemistry prerequisites.
| CHEM 1311 | General Chemistry I [TCCN: CHEM 1311] | |
| CHEM 1111 | General Chemistry I Laboratory [TCCN: CHEM 1111] | |
| CHEM 1312 | General Chemistry II [TCCN: CHEM 1312] | |
| CHEM 1112 | General Chemistry II Laboratory [TCCN: CHEM 1112] | |
Organic Chemistry: 8 sem. hours (Including Lab)
Biochemistry: 3 hours
(Biochemistry I lab is not required, but strongly recommended)
Physics: 8 sem. hrs. – Choose one of the appropriate sequences
Sequence for premedical students majoring in engineering
| PHYS 2325 | University Physics I [TCCN: PHYS 2325] | |
| PHYS 2125 | University Physics I Laboratory [TCCN: PHYS 2125] | |
| and | |
| PHYS 2326 | University Physics II [TCCN: PHYS 2326] | |
| PHYS 2126 | University Physics II Laboratory [TCCN: PHYS 2126] | |
Sequence for premedical students not majoring in engineering
| PHYS 1301 | College Physics I [TCCN: PHYS 1301] | |
| PHYS 1101 | College Physics I Laboratory [TCCN: PHYS 1101] | |
| and | |
| PHYS 1302 | College Physics II [TCCN: PHYS 1302] | |
| PHYS 1102 | College Physics II Laboratory [TCCN: PHYS 1102] | |
Mathematics: 7 sem. hrs. – Calculus and Statistics
Required Courses
(The statistics course must be offered in a Department of Mathematics. Though Calculus II is not required, it is strongly recommended for the MCAT or if the student plans to apply for medical school outside of Texas)
English: 6 sem. hrs.
Required Courses
| ENGL 1301 | College Composition I [TCCN: ENGL 1301] | |
| ENGL 1302 | College Composition II [TCCN: ENGL 1302] | |