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Health Professions Prerequisites

Required Courses for BMP Areas of Concentration

Please note that many programs and degrees also require additional courses not listed above. The applicant is responsible for ensuring they meet all criteria for programs they apply to after the BMP.

Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) Medicine

  • Biology with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Physics with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Chemistry (general/inorganic) with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Organic Chemistry with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Biochemistry (half year or one semester)
  • English (full year or 2 semesters, generally including a writing intensive course)
  • Psychology (minimum half year or one semester)

Dental Medicine (DMD, DDS)

  • Biology with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Physics with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Chemistry (general/inorganic) with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Organic Chemistry with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Biochemistry (half year or one semester)
  • English (full year or 2 semesters, generally including a writing intensive course)

Physician Assistant

  • Biology with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Chemistry (general/inorganic) with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Organic Chemistry with labs (full year or 2 semesters)
  • Biochemistry (half year or one semester)
  • Microbiology with lab (half year or one semester)
  • English (full year or 2 semesters, generally including a writing intensive course)
  • Psychology (one introductory course and one upper-level course)'
  • Medical Terminology (minimum of one credit)

PhD program and Terminal Master's Degree

A completed undergraduate degree in biological or physical science, Mathematics, computer science, or engineering, including a full selection of appropriate science courses.

PhD program prerequisites vary widely and applicants to the BMP should ensure they have reviewed programs they are interested in to ensure they will meet the criteria for those programs.

The BMP evaluates applicants who are interested in a PhD based on their ability to qualify for programs within the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine Graduate Program eligibility. The same criteria is used to evaluate applicants interested in obtaining the master's degree for industry work.