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2023-2024

Pre-Medicine (advising track)

VCU

Community college:
Associate of Science in Science (Virginia Community College System)
Virginia Community College System
Associate degree

Associate of Science in Science

Program description

Students interested in the pre-medicine advising track must obtain a bachelor’s degree and complete the necessary prerequisites for medical school. All prerequisites should be completed or on track to be complete prior to medical school matriculation. Best results occur when all prerequisite courses have been taken and grades are available at the time of application. Students interested in medical school should consult with a Pre-Professional Health (PPH) and STEM Career Advisor to learn about requirements that are specific to the schools of medicine to which they hope to apply.


Declaration of a pre-medicine advising track through the PPH & STEM Career Advising Team does not constitute admission to the VCU School of Medicine. Students must apply separately to the medical school(s) of their choice at the appropriate time.


Students with an interest in preparing for medical school must declare an academic major and should declare and maintain their pre-medical advising track. Students do not earn a pre-medical degree. Students unsure of their academic majors initially should clarify their academic interests through regular conversations with their primary/major academic adviser. Pre-medical students are encouraged to major in fields of greatest interest to them. To declare a pre-medicine advising track, please see the Canvas Pre-Professional Health (PPH) Hub.

Career opportunities

Physicians may earn a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) to practice allopathic medicine or a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) to practice osteopathic medicine. Both types of physicians must select a speciality in which they will practice patient care such as pediatrics, cardiology, dermatology, or surgery. Additional career opportunities for physicians include research, teaching, healthcare administration, public health, or advocacy, to name a few.

Graduate and professional level job titles
  • Health-Based Researcher
  • Medical Doctor
  • Physician Assistant
  • Professor
Contact information

 

VCU Transfer Center

Telephone: (804) 827-1349

Email: transferinfo@vcu.edu

Transfer Advising Request

VCCS Transfer Planning Checklist


Office of Admissions

Telephone: (804) 828-1222 or (800) 841-3638

Email: ugrad@vcu.edu
Apply Here.

Degree requirements in Bulletin
Plan of study in Bulletin

    n/a

Requirements
Highest level of math required
  • MATH 151
  • STAT 210
Science required
  • 5+ additional science courses
Foreign language requirements
  • No
Additional tuition/fees
  • No
GPA requirements (to progress/graduate in the major)
  • A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.7+ is required to apply to become a pre-professional health student and to stay on the pre-professional health advising track.
VCU Major Maps

View VCU Major Map for Pre-Medicine (advising track)

Transfer major map
Visit majormaps.vcu.edu for the online version with links.
Sponsored by the Office of the Provost
Major map compass icon
2023-2024

Pre-Medicine (advising track)

Virginia Community College System (Associate of Science in Science)

MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
Explore Year 1
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.
Experience Year 2
  • Practice using flashcards and continuously assessing your knowledge of subjects that will be tested on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).
  • Submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
  • Maintain a high GPA. Use tutoring to get ahead. Be prepared to earn good grades at VCU.
  • Meet with your community college advisor to finalize plans to complete your associate degree.
  • Submit a transfer advising request to the VCU Transfer Center.
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • Select a VCU major.
  • Review the resources on the VCU Healthcare Pathways website.
  • Participate in the VCU STEM Transitions: Transfer Success Program after you’re admitted to VCU.
  • Consider applying to the Summer Academic Enrichment Program (SAEP).
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or department-related events.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Review resources of the AAMC and begin to develop your own plan for applying and taking the MCAT.

Explore
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Identify a mentor in a diversity organization.
  • Attend diversity-focused events on your community college campus and in your community (e.g., international festival).
  • Make friends with people with diverse perspectives and join a cultural or identity-related student organization.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Create a weekly and monthly budget.
  • Prepare for a career after college by creating a brand for yourself.
  • Develop personal and career goals and create SMART steps for 2-3 "dream jobs."
  • Practice independent living skills such as money and time management, self-care, and personal responsibility.

Experience
MAXIMIZE COURSE AND DEGREE PLANNING
  • Practice using flashcards and continuously assessing your knowledge of subjects that will be tested on the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT).
  • Submit the FAFSA on time.
  • Research scholarship opportunities and explore your eligibility for the Two-Year College Transfer Grant.
  • Maintain a high GPA. Use tutoring to get ahead. Be prepared to earn good grades at VCU.
  • Meet with your community college advisor to finalize plans to complete your associate degree.
  • Submit a transfer advising request to the VCU Transfer Center.
GET CONNECTED WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
  • Apply to VCU.
  • Visit the VCU campus and attend a transfer admission session.
  • Research housing options for next year.
  • Select a VCU major.
  • Review the resources on the VCU Healthcare Pathways website.
  • Participate in the VCU STEM Transitions: Transfer Success Program after you’re admitted to VCU.
  • Consider applying to the Summer Academic Enrichment Program (SAEP).
DEVELOP CULTURAL AGILITY
  • Consider learning a foreign language to open doors to international organizations and future study.
  • Learn about short-term, semester and year-long study abroad options.
  • Attend VCU cultural events, including the monthly Global Café, VCU Diversity Scholars in Research week, or department-related events.
  • Check out the VCU Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) and follow @vcuomsa.
EXPLORE CAREERS AND DEVELOP ESSENTIAL SKILLS
PREPARING FOR LIFE AFTER COLLEGE
  • Using LinkedIn, connect to at least 10 people. Check out the VCU alumni page in My Network.
  • Conduct informational interviews or shadow someone in a field of career interest.
  • Use the cost calculator to estimate your tuition/fees as an upperclassman at VCU.
  • Explore the types of aid available at VCU.
  • Consider who you would like to have serve as professional and academic references for future letters of recommendation.
  • Review resources of the AAMC and begin to develop your own plan for applying and taking the MCAT.
Recommended courses
Major map compass icon
2023-2024

Pre-Medicine (advising track)

Virginia Community College System (Associate of Science in Science)

Virginia Community College System courses
Course Title Equivalent course Credits Requirements
Students who earn this associate degree before enrolling at VCU will be eligible for a waiver of VCU's general education requirements.
SDV 100 or 101 College Success Skills UNIV 101 1 Elective
ENG 111 College Composition I Note: students with credit for AP English Language and Composition will only receive credit for UNIV 111 at VCU and should take ENG 112 to fulfill the VCU composition requirement. UNIV 111-112 3 General education (Pre-Medicine requirement)
ENG 112 College Composition II UNIV 200 3 General education (Pre-Medicine requirement)
MTH 167 Precalculus with Trigonometry (or MTH 161-162) MATH 151 5 General education (Pre-Medicine requirement)
MTH 245 Statistics I STAT 210 3 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
BIO 101 General Biology I BIOL/Z 151 4 General education (Pre-Medicine requirement)
BIO 102 General Biology II BIOL/Z 152 4 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
CHM 111 General Chemistry I CHEM/Z 101 4 General education (Pre-Medicine requirement)
CHM 112 General Chemistry II CHEM/Z 102 4 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
PHY 201 or PHY 241 General College Physics I or University Physics I PHYS 201 or PHYS 207 4 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
PHY 202 or PHY 242 General College Physics II or University Physics II PHYS 202 or PHYS 242 4 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
PHI 220 Ethics PHIL 201 3 General education (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
PSY 200 Principles of Psychology PSYC 101 3 General education (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
SOC 200 Principles of Sociology SOCY 101 3 General education (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
Complete general education and elective requirements for associate degree VCU equivalents 15 Elective
Community college credits transferred to VCU 60
Beyond curricular requirements, students must obtain additional experiences to be a competitive applicant for the VCU School of Medicine. Successful applicants have an average of 200 hours of clinical exposure, interacting with both physicians (>60 hours) and patients. Non-clinical community service that demonstrates their passion for serving others over an extended amount of time is required; 200 hours is the average. Students should be knowledgeable about how their clinical exposure and community service has impacted their motivation to study medicine and be successful in the classroom. It is also helpful to the applicant but not mandatory to have research and leadership experience.
VCU courses
Course Title Credits Requirements
Your GPA Doesn't Transfer With You Although you worked hard to earn your grades at your current institution, they will only be considered by VCU for an admission decision. Once you enroll at VCU, your GPA will reset to 0.0, and your new GPA will be determined by your level of success in your classes at VCU.
The courses listed below are required or recommended for pre-medicine students. Students must also select a VCU major and complete the major requirements. The minimum number of credits required for a bachelor's degree at VCU is 120 credits.
CHEM/Z 301 Organic Chemistry I and Laboratory 5 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
CHEM/Z 302 or CHEM 403 Organic Chemistry II and Laboratory or Biochemistry I 3 to 5 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
BIOL Upper-level biology elective (300- or 400-level) 3 Elective (Pre-Medicine requirement)
Medical schools across the U.S. have different prerequisites for admission. The list below shows courses required by various schools beyond the courses listed above for the VCU School of Medicine. Students should discuss career plans with their pre-professional health career adviser for additional guidance.
BIOL 300 Cellular and Molecular Biology 3 Elective (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
BIOL 303 Microbiology 3 Elective (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
BIOL/Z 310 Genetics and Laboratory 5 Elective (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
MATH 200 or BUSN 212 Calculus with Analytic Geometry I or Differential Calculus and Optimization for Business 3 to 4 Elective (Pre-Medicine recommendation)
Courses required for VCU major and electives 32 to 35 Major
REAL The REAL requirement may be satisfied by successfully completing a 300-level (or higher) course that has received a REAL attribute of Level 2, 3 or 4 or through an approved “REAL” co-curricular experience that has received a REAL attribute of Level 3 or 4. See VCU advisor for options. 0 Major
Minimum number of credits completed at VCU 60
Minimum number of credits required for a bachelor's degree 120