Education Requirements

Education Requirements By School Type

Accepting that course requirements vary somewhat, the following plan (if taken in its entirety) would meet the admission requirements for all of the TMDSAS participating schools.

To learn more about which courses are counted towards the pre-requisites, please review the Pre-Requisite Coursework Definitions on the right-hand side.

Dental Education Requirements

Please note that due to COVID-19, the dental schools have agreed to accept pre-requisites taken for Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit grades only for Spring 2020 (including Winter 2020 term on a quarter system) and Summer 2020.

Pass/Fail will only be accepted in Fall 2020, if no graded option was available for pre-requisites regardless if the course was taken in person or virtually.

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES	14 semester hours (12 semester hours of lecture & 2 semester hours of formal lab) or 21 quarter hours (18 quarter lecture hours & 3 quarter lab hours) of Biological Science.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of General Chemistry, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab).
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of Organic Chemistry, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab).
BIOCHEMISTRY	3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours of Biochemistry.
PHYSICS	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of Physics, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab)
ENGLISH	6 semester hours or 9 quarter hours of college English.
STATISTICS	3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours of Statistics.

Medical Education Requirements

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES	14 semester hours (12 semester hours of lecture & 2 semester hours of formal lab) or 21 quarter hours (18 quarter lecture hours & 3 quarter lab hours) of Biological Science.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of General Chemistry, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab).
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of Organic Chemistry, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab).
BIOCHEMISTRY	3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours of Biochemistry.
PHYSICS	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of Physics, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab)
ENGLISH	6 semester hours or 9 quarter hours of college English.
STATISTICS	3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours of Statistics.

Veterinary Education Requirements

Please note that these are the general minimum requirements for veterinary school. Veterinary Applicants should review the Texas A&M CVM and Texas Tech University SVM websites for detailed information.

BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES	14 semester hours (12 semester hours of lecture & 2 semester hours of formal lab) or 21 quarter hours (18 quarter lecture hours & 3 quarter lab hours) of Biological Science.
GENERAL CHEMISTRY	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of General Chemistry, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab).
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of Organic Chemistry, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab).
BIOCHEMISTRY	3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours of Biochemistry.
PHYSICS	8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours of Physics, including the corresponding laboratory experience. (8 semester hours = 6 hours of lecture & 2 hours of lab; 12 quarter hours = 9 hours of lecture & 3 hours of lab)
ENGLISH	6 semester hours or 9 quarter hours of college English.
STATISTICS	3 semester hours or 5 quarter hours of Statistics.

Prerequisite Coursework  Requirements

Each required course must be completed with a grade of C or better. Courses taken Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit will not count towards meeting the requirement.
Due to COVID-19, the schools have agreed to accept pre-requisites taken for Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit grades for the Spring 2020 academic term (including Winter 2020 term on a quarter system) through Spring 2021. Starting with the Summer 2021 academic term, the schools prefer graded options for pre-requisites regardless if the course was taken in person or virtually.
- Dental applicants, please see the dental school requirements regarding Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit grades due to COVID-19.
Courses for non-science majors or for health career majors (nursing, pharmacy, allied health sciences, etc.) will not satisfy the required coursework. All required coursework must be applicable towards a traditional science degree.

Education Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must have completed a minimum of 90 semester hours (or 134 quarter hours) at a US or Canadian college or university accredited by one of the agencies recognized by THECB.
All pre-medical requirements must have been completed at a US or Canadian college or university accredited by one of the agencies recognized by THECB.
Foreign coursework will not count towards meeting any of the prerequisites, even if transfer credit has been given for them by a US or Canadian school.

FAQs

Can I be accepted to medical school without an undergraduate degree?

Baccalaureate degrees are highly desirable. However, exceptionally mature students without a degree, who have outstanding academic records, superior performance on the respective admissions test and highly desirable personal qualifications may be considered for admission.

Do I have to take all of the coursework listed to be eligible for admission?

It is possible to meet the course requirements at some of the Texas schools without having taken all of the above courses. However, students are strongly encouraged to take a pre-dental course plan that has a broad appeal.

Do I have to complete all of the prescribed coursework before submitting my application?

No. All required coursework must be completed before OR by the time of enrollment into the medical school.

Will my graduate coursework count towards the education requirements for professional school?

Graduate coursework does not satisfy the 90-hour requirement OR the required coursework.

Will my AP credit count towards the prescribed coursework requirements?

AP credit is only accepted if the school granting the credit lists the specific courses and number of units granted per course on an official transcript.

Please note that some TMDSAS partner schools do not accept AP/IB credit. Please contact each of the schools to which you are applying regarding their specific policies on AP and IB credit.

Have questions about entering coursework into your application? Review the Application Guide and information on the right-hand side of the page.

Application Guide

Coursework Information:

Pre-Requisite Coursework Definitions

Course Listings

Requirements for BCPM Inclusion

What to Do When There's No Course Listing Available

Coursework Articles:

Transcribing Your Transcript: Entering Coursework into Your TMDSAS Application

Putting the "AP" in Your Application

Decoding the TMDSAS Coursework Coding Options

How to Read Your PCR