Psychology Major Undergrad Classes for med school *a lot to read and discuss*

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

I’m starting college late this month and my major will be psychology as I am interested in having the ability to become a psychiatrist in the future (I may change my major all together and lose interest in becoming a doctor as I am interested in filmmaking, law, and technology). I of course have the required classes for psychology majors at the college I will be attending this fall, but I am not so sure on what classes I definitely HAVE TO TAKE for MD/DO schools. For example some med schools require 1 year of calc, stats or just don’t require any math classes (I had good grades in math in high school overall but I hate math). I’ll probably take one semester of calc just in case. I don’t think I’ll be a fan of physics either, but it’s not something I think I’d fail. I’ve also seen different semester and hour requirements for biology, chemistry and physics courses varying per specific school. I want to make sure that I take the requirements so that I’m able to apply to most places. I’d like to do all the courses within 4 years, but with the amount of classes required for the psych majors it seems like a huge workload. What if I choose a different major with less required courses, but take the same courses required for med school? It would be useful to read what anyone else on here has to say before I see an advisor as I am yet to commit to place, but 98% sure I will be attending.

Heres a suggestion I saw on an article for freshmen undergrads looking at premed:

• two semesters of biology with laboratory (up to four semesters at some schools)

• two semesters of inorganic chemistry with laboratory

• two semesters of organic chemistry with laboratory

• two semesters of math, at least one in calculus

• two semesters of physics with laboratory

• two semesters of English and/or writing

Here are the requirements for a B.A. in psychology at the college I will be attending:

Required Courses:

A. Foundation Skills (take all of the following)

PSYCH 101 General Psychology: Social and Clinical Processes OR PSYCH 106 General Psych: Social and Clinical

Processes with Workshop 3-4 credits

PSYCH 102 General Psychology: Physiological and Cognitive Processes OR PSYCH 107 General Psych: Physiological &

Cognitive Processes with Workshop 3-4 credits

PSYCH 223 Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences I 3 credits

PSYCH 332 Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences II 3 credits

PSYCH 426 Experimental Psychology 4 credits

B. Cognitive and Biological (take one of the following)

PSYCH 232 Psychology of Learning 3 credits

PSYCH 237 Motivation and Emotion 3 credits

PSYCH 241 Perception 3 credits

PSYCH 333 Behavioral Neuroscience 3 credits

PSYCH 359 Cognitive Psychology 3 credits

PSYCH 379 Animal Behavior 4 credits

C. Applied and Experiential (take one of the following)

PSYCH 243 Introduction to Health Psychology 3 credits

PSYCH 250 Introduction to Forensic Psychology 3 credits

PSYCH 285 Introduction to Counseling Techniques 3 credits

PSYCH 313 Group Dynamics 3 credits

PSYCH 316 Organizational Behavior 3 credits

PSYCH 330 Tests and Measurements 3 credits

PSYCH 369 Dynamics of Interviewing 3 credits

PSYCH 399 Internship 3 credits

D. Psychodynamic and Interpersonal (take one of the following)

PSYCH 201 Developmental Psychology I: Child Psychology 3 credits

PSYCH 231 Personality Psychology 3 credits

PSYCH 235 Social Psychology 3 credits

PSYCH 363 Abnormal Psychology 3 credits

E. Capstone and Integrative (take one of the following)

PSYCH 411 History and Systems 3 credits

PSYCH 491 Senior Seminar 3 credits

PSYCH 492 Senior Honors Thesis 3 credits

PSYCH 499 Independent Study 3 credits

Also two further Psychology electives 6 credits

Total Credits: 34-35

2

I didn’t read you whole wall o’ text, but I can answer this:

2 semesters intro biology w/labs

2 semesters gen chem w/labs
2 semesters ochem w/labs
1 semester biochem (needed for the MCAT, also many/most schools now require this)

2 semesters physics w/labs

2 semesters “writing intensive” classes

1 semester statistics/biostatistics (needed for MCAT, also required by many med schools)
1 semester “college level” math–some schools specifically require Calc 1.

1 semester intro psych–needed for MCAT
1 semester intro sociology–needed for MCAT

Additionally some schools require additional courses, such as: genetics, anatomy, ethics/medical ethics

NOTE: all science/math classes need to be the ones that a science major would take. Biology for the social sciences, for example, wouldn’t fulfill med school admission requirements


Please remember that med school admission is an evolving process. Admission requirements can and do change over time. Just because these are the current requirements, it does not guarantee that by the time you're ready to apply admission requirements will be the same.

I would suggest you check the admission websites of all your state public med schools (which are everyone's best chance for admission) to see if they have any other specific requirements. And continue to check their requirements periodically to see if they have added classes.
3

This is what your school’s pre-med/health career advising office (or whatever title they use) is for.

4

You got to contact the adcoms of the Med. Schools that you are planning to apply. There is no other way. My D. did just that, she had questions about Math and English and she got answers very quickly. Pre-med advisory may or may not know about specific requirements at different Med. Schools.