Academic Preparation | PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program

Choose a Major

Academic course requirements for health professional programs may be integrated into any major at Northeastern.

Students admitted to U.S. health professional programs come from ALL undergraduate majors. Health professional schools appreciate academic diversity. Choose a major based on your interests. Students should meet with both their Academic Advisor and a PreMed/PreHealth Advisor to determine the best way to successfully complete their required coursework.

Common Courses

The courses listed below meet the course requirements of many health professional programs.

These are intended to provide a foundation in subject areas relevant to the student’s intended health professional program and its corresponding entrance exam. It is the student’s responsibility to research the academic requirements for specific schools of interest, and work with their advisors to determine an appropriate course of study.

Most health professional programs will consider a grade of C or higher in required coursework as passing (for some PA programs, the lowest passing grade may be higher than a C, and applicants are encouraged to confirm this information with individual program websites). If your final grade in any required course is below a C, you may be required to retake the course. More information on coursework standards and expectations can be found on our FAQ webpage.

A typical course of study may include the following:

2 semesters of Biology with labs
2 semesters of Inorganic Chemistry with labs (or a 1-semester General Chemistry course – e.g. CHEM 1161 or CHEM 1151)
2 semesters of Organic Chemistry with labs
2 semesters of Physics with labs
1 semester of Biochemistry with lab (prerequisites: Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab and Organic Chemistry II with lab)
2 semesters of Math (1 semester of Calculus and 1 semester of Statistics)
2 semesters of Social Science or Humanities coursework
- Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.
2 semesters of Behavioral Science coursework are recommended for MCAT PREP (1 semester of Psychology and 1 semester of Sociology)
Additional coursework across disciplines may be required

Prerequisites to medical school are school specific. Please refer to the relevant website below for detailed course requirements.

2 semesters of Biology with labs
2 semesters of Inorganic Chemistry with labs (or a 1-semester General Chemistry course – e.g. CHEM 1161 or CHEM 1151)
2 semesters of Organic Chemistry with labs
2 semesters of Physics with labs
1 semester of Biochemistry with lab (prerequisites: Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab and Organic Chemistry II with lab).
2 semesters of Math (1 semester of Calculus and 1 semester of Statistics)
2 semesters of Social Science or Humanities coursework
- Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.
Additional coursework across disciplines may be required

Prerequisites to dental school are school specific. Please refer to the relevant websites below for detailed course requirements.

2 semesters of Biology with labs
2 semesters of Inorganic Chemistry with labs
2 semesters of Physics with labs
1 semester of Organic Chemistry with Lab
1 semester of Anatomy & Physiology
1 semester of Biochemistry with lab (prerequisites: Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab and Organic Chemistry II with lab)
1 semester of Microbiology with lab
2 semesters of Math (1 semester of Calculus and 1 semester of Statistics)
2 semesters of Social Science or Humanities coursework
- Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.
1 semester of Psychology

Prerequisites to optometry school are school specific. Please refer to the relevant website below for detailed course requirements.

Strongly Recommended Courses

2 Semesters of Biology with labs
2 semesters of General Chemistry with labs (or a 1-semester General Chemistry course – e.g. CHEM 1161 or CHEM 1151)
Organic Chemistry I & II with labs
Biochemistry with lab (Requires Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab, Organic Chemistry II)
Anatomy & Physiology I & II with labs
Microbiology with lab (Requires: Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab)
Statistics
Psychology

Other Recommended Courses

Medical Terminology or Basic Clinical Skills for the Healthcare Professional (HLTH 1203)
Calculus
2 semesters of Social Science or Humanities coursework
- Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.
Spanish (especially if applying to schools in the West or South)

Prerequisite coursework for PA programs is largely school specific. Due to this, we recommend creating a spreadsheet of 10-12 PA programs to help guide your academic plan and needed prerequisites. Get started by using the tracking document below.

PA Requirements Tracking Sheet

Please refer to the relevant websites below for detailed course requirements

2 semesters of Biology with labs
2 semesters of Inorganic Chemistry with labs (or a 1-semester General Chemistry course – e.g. CHEM 1161 or CHEM 1151)
2 semesters of Organic Chemistry with labs
2 semesters of Physics with labs
1 semester of Biochemistry with lab (prerequisites: Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab and Organic Chemistry II with lab)
2 semesters of Math (1 semester of Calculus and 1 semester of Statistics)
2 semesters of Social Science or Humanities coursework
- Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.
2 semesters of Behavioral Science coursework are recommended for MCAT PREP (1 semester of Psychology and 1 semester of Sociology)
Additional coursework across disciplines may be required

Prerequisites to podiatry school are school specific. Please refer to the relevant website below for detailed course requirements.

Podiatric Medical College Information Book (AACPM)

2 semesters of Biology with labs
2 semesters of Inorganic Chemistry with labs
2 semesters of Organic Chemistry with labs
2 semesters of Physics with labs
1 semester of Biochemistry with lab (prerequisites: Genetics & Molecular Biology with lab and Organic Chemistry II with lab)
2 semesters of Math (1 semester of Calculus and 1 semester of Statistics)
2 semesters of Social Science or Humanities coursework
- Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.
Additional coursework across disciplines may be required

Prerequisites to veterinary school are school specific. Please refer to the relevant website below for detailed course requirements.

Supporting Information

Northeastern’s Global Campus Network and suite of study abroad programs offer PreMed and PreHealth students unique opportunities to travel abroad to expand their academic and experiential learning and truly become global citizens.

However, there are several factors to consider if you are a PreMed or PreHealth student looking to study abroad.

Please review our Global Experience webpage to learn more!

Generally, applicants may use AP or IB credit toward prerequisite courses. However, depending on the subject, credit earned may not reduce the required coursework needed at the college level.

Below are the PreMed and PreHealth Advising Program’s coursework recommendations based upon common health professional programs AP/IB credit policies. STUDENTS MAY BE EXPECTED TO COMPLETE ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK BASED ON SCHOOL-SPECIFIC POLICIES. PLEASE REVIEW THE ADMISSIONS CRITERIA AT PARTICULAR SCHOOLS OF INTEREST TO DETERMINE IF ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK IS REQUIRED.

Please note, it is at the student’s discretion to re-take a course and forfeit credit-earned if they do not feel prepared to enroll in the recommended upper-level course.

Credit Earned	Recommendation All courses below should be at least* 3-credit* hours.
Bio I & II	Continue with Genetics & Molecular Biology w/lab and take an additional upper-level Biology elective.
General Chemistry	Continue with Organic Chemistry I.
Physics I	Continue with Physics II.
Physics I & II	Retake Physics II (students with Engineering, Mathemetics, or Physics majors may instead choose to enroll in an upper-level physics elective).
Calculus I and/or II	Take an upper-level or more focused Calculus course.
Statistics	Take a subject-focused statistics course.
First-Year Writing	Continue with Advanced Writing and take an additional social science or humanities* course.

*Branches of the humanities include law, languages, philosophy, religion and mythology, international relations, gender and women’s studies, multicultural and regional studies, popular culture, and art and music, while branches of the social sciences include sociology, anthropology, archeology, geography, political science, psychology, communication studies, criminal justice, demographics, library and information science, and economics.

College-level, dual enrollment courses taken during high school can often be used to satisfy academic requirements for health professional programs.

You must confirm with the host institution that you received academic credit, a grade, and a corresponding college transcript for the course(s). Centralized application services will include the credit hours and grade earned in their GPA calculations, even if the course was not transferred to Northeastern or used toward your undergraduate degree.

Strong grades and experiential preparation are integral to acceptance to a health professional program. Once you begin your medical studies, you will find that this remains equally important.

Northeastern has a number of resources on campus to help you succeed both in and out of the classroom:

Professor Office Hours
Academic Advising
Library Resources
Disability Resource Center
Writing Center
Peer Tutoring Program
International Tutoring Center (Global Student Services)
University Health and Counseling Services
We Care
Career Design

A successful Grade Point Average (GPA) is an essential component of an application to a health profession program.

There are three types of GPAs a health profession program may evaluate: Science GPA, Non-Science GPA, and Cumulative GPA. These GPAs may be evaluated on a year-by-year basis and/or cumulatively.

PreMed Degree Audit

One way to calculate your Northeastern Science, Non-Science, and Cumulative GPAs would be to run a “PreMed” degree audit. Any student at Northeastern can run a “PreMed” Degree Audit. “PreMed” Degree Audits sort your classes into Science, Non-Science, and Overall categories and calculate your corresponding GPAs for you. Follow these instructions for running a “PreMed” Degree Audit:

1. Log-in to your StudentHub

2. Click on the Resources tab

3. Click on Academics, Classes & Registration

4. Click on My Degree Audit

5. Under Audits select “Request New”

6. Click “Select a Different Program”

7. Under “College” select “Special Programs” and “Special Programs Pre-med – PRE-MED” should prepopulate

8. Choose the most current catalog year

9. Click “Run Different Program”

10: Finally, under “Audit Results” you will see “MED-GPACALCULATED GPA for PRE-MED”. Click on the adjacent right facing arrow to view a drop down of your courses into Science, Non-Science, and Overall GPA categories.

Note: The GPA calculations on your Northeastern Degree Audit may vary from the GPA that your Health Professions Program may calculate. For example, transfer credit and original grades from repeated courses are not included in your Northeastern GPA, but will usually be included in the GPAs your Health Professions Program calculates.

GPA calculations by application service

What goes into your Science GPA, Non-Science GPA, and Cumulative GPA varies by application service. Thus, you may wish to manually calculate your Science, Non-Science, and Overall GPAs based on the application service(s) (listed below) that you intend to utilize.

Comparing GPA to national averages

It is important to know how your GPA compares to national averages and be sure you meet the requirements for the individual programs you are interested in. Here are some links to help gauge where your GPA ranks:

Being admitted to a health professions program takes years of preparation and mastery of difficult science coursework. Thus, it is common for people to pursue additional education after completion of an undergraduate degree in order to become a more competitive applicant. The two most common forms of additional education are either a Special Master’s program or a Post-Baccalaureate program. Additional information on Special Master’s and post-Baccalaureate programs can be found on our Gap Year webpage.