Premedicine and the Liberal Arts Tradition

Studies in the Sciences and Humanities

Increasingly, medical schools recommend that the undergraduate education of medical students be as academically diverse as possible. With its strong tradition in the liberal arts, Davidson College not only applauds this recommendation but also supports it in three ways. First, all Davidson students are required to take classes in diverse academic disciplines. Second, students interested in medical careers may major in the department of their choice. Third, whether they major in the sciences or humanities, students with medical interests are encouraged to take as many courses outside their major as possible. Diversity of background is a key ingredient in a successful undergraduate program. Most medical schools require students to take several introductory sciences classes with laboratories including two courses in biology, four in chemistry and two in physics. At Davidson, Biology 111 and 112, Chemistry 115, 121, 201 and 202 and Physics 120 and 220 fulfill this requirement. Selected advanced biology and neuroscience courses enable premedical students to develop vocabulary and concepts which are important to the first year or so of medical school education. Laboratory research, which is available in all science departments

(Biology, Chemistry, Physics & Psychology),

prepare students to think critically about problem solving. Students who plan to study abroad should begin laboratory science courses as early as possible, ideally in the first-year. Beyond science, many medical schools have additional requirements such as English, mathematics, and behavioral and social sciences. The requirements of specific medical schools can found in the Medical School Admission Requirements (MSAR) which is published by the Association of American Medical Colleges

(AAMC).

Requirements for osteopathic and podiatric medical schools may be found at the websites of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine

(AACOM)

and American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine

(AACPM).

The American Association of Dental Schools

(AADS) .

publishes requirements in the Admission Requirements of United States and Canadian Dental Schools.