Osteopathic MedicineFour Year Pre-requisite Requirements
Osteopathic Medicine Four Year Plan
Requirements for professional schools vary from school to school and can change year by year, students must carefully examine the pre-requisite requirements of the schools they are interested in to be current and accurate when registering for courses at Gustavus.
Consult the American Association of Colleges (AACOM) Choose DO Explorer for requirements and admission statistics to the 40+ Osteopathic programs (Private- 37, Public-7).
Indicated in italic type (MCAT) means the course is also recommended for the Medical College Admission Test.
First Year: Fall
BIO 110 Principles of Biology (MCAT) & BIO 111 Lab
*CHE 110 General Chemistry (MCAT) & CHE 111 General Chemistry Lab OR CHE 105 Foundations of Chemistry I (MCAT) & CHE 106 Foundations of Chemistry I Lab
*Before you can register for CHE110, you are required to take the Chemistry placement exam. (CHE 105/106 offered Fall only and CHE 107/108 offered Spring only) taking both are equivalent to CHE 110. Find out more about the CHE placement exam, click here.
FTS 100 First Term Seminar (Writing Intensive course- WRIT)
PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology (MCAT) (offered both Fall and Spring)
First Year: Spring
BIO 120 Organismal Biology (MCAT) & BIO 121 Lab
CHE 120 Organic Chemistry I (MCAT) & CHE 121 Organic Chemistry I Lab (offered Fall and Spring)
*CHE 107 Foundations of Chemistry II (MCAT) & CHE 108 Foundations of Chemistry II Lab *(CHE 105/106 offered Fall only and CHE 107/108 offered Spring only) taking both are equivalent to CHE 110)
S/A 112 Introduction to Sociology (MCAT) (offered both Spring and Fall)
Second Year: Fall
CHE 220 Organic Chemistry II (MCAT) & CHE 221 Organic Chemistry II Lab (offered Fall only)
Second Year: Spring
CHE 230 Inorganic Chemistry I (MCAT recommended) & CHE 231 Inorganic Chemistry I Lab (offered Spring only)
MCS 121 Calculus I
Third Year: Fall
PHY 120 General Physics I (MCAT) & PSY 121 General Physics I Lab (offered Fall only)
CHE 270 Biochemistry (MCAT) & CHE 271 Biochemistry Lab (offered Fall or Spring)
Third Year: Spring
PHY 170 General Physics II (some content on MCAT) & PHY 171 General Physics II Lab (offered Spring only)
*English course
*Depending on what DO programs you are applying to the Two English course requirement may vary (composition or literature). FTS 100 typically will count as one composition course for the ENG requirement. Check with your specific DO programs to see if additional courses designated as “writing intensive” can count towards this requirement.
Fourth Year:
*Add additional pre-requisite course that may be required at programs you plan to apply to.
Regional DO Programs Pre-requisite Requirements:
Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Touro (Nevada, California, New York)
Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine- English two course requirement.
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, Virginia) Additional Biomedical Science requirement, see website for details
A.T. Stills University- Locations: Kirsville, MO and Glendale, AZ English – two courses. Gustavus designated writing requirement will count for the English requirement.
Des Moines University Required CASPer exam. English two courses composition, speech, or literature. Gustavus designated writing requirement will count for the English requirement.
Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University English two courses. Gustavus designated writing requirement will count for the English requirement.
Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences Biological Science course three course requirement.
Rocky Vista University College of Ostepathic Medicine Biological Science course three course requirement. English two course requirement. Gustavus designated writing requirement will count for the English requirment.
Western University of Health Science- Locations: Pomona, CA and Lebanon, OR (2 English courses. Gustavus designated writing requirement will mostly likely count for the English requirment. You’ll need to provide the course description for at least two of your courses so that they can see you have the 6 semester hours (writing/English focused). Send course descriptions to Luke Rauch, lrauch@westernu.edu
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine of Midwestern University English two courses. Gustavus designated writing requirement will count for the English requirement.
Marian University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Consult the American Association of Colleges (AACOM) Choose DO Explorer for requirements and admission statistics to the 40+ Osteopathic programs (Private- 37, Public-7).
Updated 3/23/2022 HB