The Course Work
Medical schools require certain courses mostly because the material will be covered
on the MCAT, but also becuase its good preparation for medical school courses. They
require 1 year of introductory biology, 1 year of introductory physics, 1 year of
introductory chemistry, and 1 year of organic chemistry. All of them should have the
lab with them and you need these courses whether you are a biology major or not. In
addition, almost all medical schools require a semester of biochemistry, though you
don't need a lab with it. So, here at KSU the courses you will need to take are:
1. Biol 2101, Biol 2107, Biol 2108
2. Phys 1111, Phys 1112 (or 2211 and 2212)
3. Chem 1211, Chem 1211L, Chem 1212, Chem 1212L, Chem 3361, Chem 3361L, Chem 3362,
Chem 3362L, Chem 3500
These courses are required whether you are a biology major or not. If you are not a biology major, you need to also look at prerequisites for these courses and make sure you meet them before trying to register. The nice thing about being a biology major is that all of these courses (and their prerequisites) are also required for the degree; even biochemistry (3500) can be counted as your related studies course.
I know everyone is in a hurry to graduate, but I have to emphasize something about the course work and your scheduling of classes. You should never attempt more than 3 hard courses a semester!!! Hard courses, as defined by me, are those courses in the college of science and mathematics. As pre-meds you need great grades and an extremely small minority of students can handle the time commitment that more than 3 hard courses will entail. Stick to 3 hard courses and fill your time load with general education classes, that's what they are there for. Three is a maximum. If you find yourself struggling with that many, then slow down and only take 2-hard classes for awhile; it will lengthen your graduation time, but it won't hurt your GPA and as long as you don't take longer that 5 years to attain a degree medical schools won't be too concerned.
Now, if you are a biology major, what courses should you take? Well, there are many
required courses and you can look at your degree requirements on the departmental
hompage, but when there is a choice (A&P requirement, Cell & molecular requirement, Electives)
here is the list you need to work from:
1. Comparative vertebrate anatomy (3350)-4 credits
2. Human physiology (4431)-4 credits
3. Histology (3338)-4 credits
4. Microbiology (3340)-4 credits
5. Cell & Molecular Biology (4410)-3 credits
6. Immunology (4465)-3 credits
This list of courses will satisfy each of the required sections and the biology electives
section. The related studies section is covered by the biochemistry and that leaves
only the 12 free electives to cover. You'll have plenty of opportunity, don't forget,
you need to do some research (Biol 4400-Directed studies, 4 credits or Biol 3398-Interships,
3 credits) and you can take any other courses you want (including biology courses).
Now, I recommend these courses, not because other biology courses are bad, but because
these are the courses that will be most helpful to you when you get to medical school.
That said, below is a list of courses that you can include if you have time (free
electives) or if you just can't seem to get into some of the above classes (there
are a lot of people trying to get in the same classes). These courses are relevant,
but may or may not be included as part of a medical school curriculum. They will,
however, include material you will find interesting and useful as a practicing physician.
1. Plant physiology (4420)-4 credits (its not human, but physiological principles
are surprisingly similar across all taxa)
2. Medical genetics (3327)-3 credits
3. Developmental biology (3390)-4 credits
4. Medical microbiology (4460)-3 credits
5. Virology (4475)-3 credits
6. Bioethics (4486)-3 credits
If you need to see the tenative schedule of classes being taught in the department and when they are being taught, please see the 2-year schedule on the department's homepage. Keep in mind, that not all of these courses are taught all of the time. Some of them are only taught once every couple of years and it depends on whether faculty are available to teach it. I strongly discourage students from taking summer classes. The classes are not easier, it is the same amount of material, just crammed into half the time. That said, if you are determined to take summer classes, remember to do it early. Most lower division courses are offered in the summer (though its variable and depends on faculty availability) and most upper division courses are not.
