A friend asked me about this, and when I looked, it appears that Duke SOM no longer requires ANY chemistry…no Gen Chem and no Orgo.
Is that right???
Duke is moving toward “competency-based admissions” as part of AAMC’s initiative of the same name.
See: https://www.aamc.org/download/308462/data/admissionsinitiativesummary.pdf
While Duke no longer specifically requires gen chem or ochem, it still requires a demonstrated mastery of biochemistry. And that would be tough to prove without actually taking a biochem course (and acing the B/B section of the MCAT)–and at every college I know of, gen chem and ochem are pre-reqs for biochem.
You should also note on the Duke page that there are several suggested bio courses, but none are specifically required. The same is true for physics. A knowledge of physics is required, but no particular classes are required.
So not so much a change in requirements, more a different way of stating those requirements.