Minimum requirements for admission to most medical and allied health professional schools include basic science courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. Basic science courses in the program are a semester long and consist of both a lecture and laboratory section. The course list below provides a baseline of “Typical Minimum Requirements for Health Professional Schools.”

To ensure that students take the appropriate courses beyond the baseline recommended courses below, they are advised to contact schools of interest prior to enrolling in the Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health program for additional course requirements. Admission requirements vary among health professional schools and specific programs. The health professional schools themselves provide the most accurate and up-to-date source of information.

Students are encouraged to review the Health Professions page for more information and important online resources in the “Tools” box for each respective area of interest such as medicine, dentistry, physician assistant, etc.

Science course requirements vary for medical and allied health professional schools. Students are encouraged to meet with a pre-health advisor to discuss which courses should supplement the minimum requirements.

Careful planning and development of a strong application before applying to health professional schools, regardless of time to complete courses, is strongly recommended.

Typical Minimum Requirements for Health Professional Schools*

Area	Subject/Course	Loyola Course Number
Biology	Biology I	BIOL 101/111
	Biology II	BIOL 102/112
Chemistry	General Chemistry I*	CHEM 101/111**
	General Chemistry II	CHEM 102/112***
	Organic Chemistry I	CHEM 223/225
	Organic Chemistry II	CHEM 224/226
Physics	Physics I *	PHYS 111 & 111L (+) or PHYS 125 & 125L (++)
	Physics II	PHYS 112 & 112L or PHYS 126 & 126L

* Post-Baccalaureate students who need to take chemistry or physics courses must demonstrate proficiency in Precalculus I (Math 117) or a higher Math-level with a grade of B or better within the past five years prior to enrollment or, upon acceptance to the program, take the Math Placement Assessment and receive a score of 60 or higher.

**Enrollment in CHEM 101/111 requires students to have satisfactorily completed the Math 117 requirement prior to enrollment.

*** Enrollment in CHEM 102/112 requires students to have satisfactorily completed the Math 118 requirement prior to enrollment. As such, we recommend students who have not completed Math 118 or equivalent enroll in this class concurrently with Chem 101/111.

(+) Enrollment in PHYS 111/111L requires students to have completed Math 118 or a higher Math level demonstrating proficiency prior to enrollment.

(++) Enrollment in PHYS 125/125L requires students to have completed Math 118 and concurrently enroll in Math 161 (Calculus I) unless they have demonstrated proficiency in Math 161 or a higher Math level prior to enrollment.

For description of:

• Biology courses see the Biology Department Course Catalog 
• Chemistry courses see the Chemistry & Biochemistry Course Catalog 
• Math courses see the Mathematics Course Catalog 
• Physics courses see the Physics Department Course Catalog 

The Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health Program is designed for part-time students. Most students enrolled in the program take 4 - 11 credit hours per semester. Due to the sequencing structure of the science courses, it may take up to two or more years to complete the courses needed to apply to health professional schools. Enrolled students are typically working part-time, engaged in volunteer opportunities in order to complete their clinical experiences, and/or conducting research (optional) among an array of other experiences involving personal interests.

Sample Academic Plans

The Sample Academic Plans will vary depending on many factors such as Math placement, number of credit hours taken per semester, and other areas of interest. Meeting with the Post-baccalaureate advisor will help ensure a more personalized academic plan.

• These plans are intended as a sample to help Post-bacc students envision their academic path in preparation to a health professional school but is not comprehensive.
• Course sequencing may be impacted by math placement, course offerings, and repeating of classes, among other factors not listed.
• Health Professional schools typically require a grade of “C” or better among required courses for admission.

The Sample Academic Plans for those students enrolled for a Fall or Summer start can be accessed here: Post-Baccalaureate Sample Academic Plans.

Potential Electives

Loyola offers elective courses which are not required for the Post-Baccalaureate program but that may be required for particular medical or health professional schools. In addition, these classes may be of interest to students who want to further their own educational interests or meet specific health professional school admissions requirements.

Additional classes are suggested for the following health professions:

• Physician Assistant: Human Structure and Function I and II; Microbiology
• Medicine: Cell Biology; Genetics; Biochemistry
• Dentistry: Cell Biology; Genetics; Biochemistry
• For Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Optometry, Veterinary, Podiatry – Please refer to the recommended courses listed on our Health Professions page.

In addition to above course recommendations, it is important to review further pre-requisites for specific schools of interest.

Courses outside of the “Typical Minimum Requirements” will require advisor approval for students completing the "preparatory coursework" form.

Area	Subject/Course	Loyola Course Number
Biology	Human Structure and Function I & II	BIOL 242/243
	Cell Biology	BIOL 251
	Genetics	BIOL 282
	General Microbiology	BIOL 302
	Lab in Psychobiology	BIOL 313
	Introductory Immunology	BIOL 315
	General Virology	BIOL 318
	Comparative Anatomy	BIOL 323
	Human Anatomy	BIOL 342
	Vertebrate Physiology	BIOL 350
	Neurobiology	BIOL 362
	Molecular Genetics	BIOL 382
	Introduction to Pharmacology	BIOL 389
	Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry	*BIOL 366
Chemistry	Principles of Biochemistry	*CHEM 361
Mathematics	Applied Calculus I/II	MATH 131/132
Philosophy	Action & Value: Medicine	PHIL 284
Sociology	Sociology of Health Care	SOCL 225
Theology	Moral Problems: Medical Issues	THEO 192

Please note that all the above, Potential Elective courses, have specific course requirements and may or may not be offered each semester. Please review department websites for details and plan accordingly.

*Biochemistry is included on the MCAT. Completing this course prior to taking the MCAT is strongly encouraged.