Premedical Education for Biomedical Engineers
In Fall 1998, the Department of Biomedical Engineering
introduced a new curriculum that includes one science elective
and two open electives. Students are free to use these electives
to take courses desirable for medical school.
Please also refer to the Advice
for Premedical Students from the Office
of Undergraduate Studies Pre-Medical Information Page.
It should be understood that this document is prepared for
students who are not biomedical engineers. For example, BIOL
220, Organismal Biology, is replaced by EBME
201 and EBME
202 in the BME curriculum. (BME students often report that EBME
201 and EBME
202 are the most important courses preparing them for the
MCAT.) Below is a typical list of courses required by BME students
to prepare for the MCAT and medical school admission. They
are to be taken in addition to a normal BME curriculum. Although
BIOL
205 and BIOL
210 are labeled optional, at least BIOL
210 is strongly recommended. The order of taking courses might
be different than expected, and students should plan their
schedule with their advisor. For instance, one can easily take
organic chemistry lab senior year because it is not required
for the MCAT. On the other hand, organic chemistry lecture
courses should be taken quite early. One possibility is to
take organic in the fall and spring semesters of the sophomore
year using a science and open elective, respectively. If one
does not have AP credit, it is probably desirable to take organic
chemistry in the summer between the freshman and sophomore
years.
Always ask your advisor for the latest information.
As an on-line example of the value of advice, please review A
Discussion Between Profs. Kourennyi and Marchant regarding Premedical
Education.
| Minimal Premedical Curriculum |
| BIOL
215 (Biology) |
Freshman year (fall or summer) or proficiency |
CHEM
223/224
(Organic Chemistry) |
Sophomore year (fall or spring) or
summer between sophomore and junior years |
EBME 201 & EBME
202
(Physiology and Biophysics) |
Sophomore year |
| CHEM
113 (Chemistry lab) |
Freshman fall semester or Junior fall semester |
| Optional Courses for Premedical
Curriculum |
| CHEM
234* (Organic Lab) |
Spring Semester |
| BIOL
205 (Chemical Biology) |
Spring Semester |
| or BIOC
307 (Biochemistry) |
Fall Semester |
| BIOL
210 (Molecular Cell Biology |
Fall Semester |
| EBME 303 (Structure of Biologic Materials) |
Spring Semester |
* Some schools require organic chemistry lab. It is not required
for the MCAT, and can be taken senior year.
