Admission Requirements

To be considered for admission into the UCI School of Medicine, applicants must meet the following requirements:

• All applicants must complete the American Medical Colleges Application Service (AMCAS) application between June 1-Nov. 1, of the application year for the following year’s entering class.

• A minimum of three years (90 semester units) of undergraduate coursework, including a minimum of one full-time year at an accredited U.S. college or university. Applicants must receive an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university by the time of matriculation.

• Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) must have been taken within the three years preceding June 1 of the application year and no later than Sept. 30 of the application year.

• For purposes of evaluation, letter or numerical grades are preferred for course work, particularly for the required subjects listed below.

• All prerequisite courses listed as "in progress" on the AMCAS application and UCI School of Medicine Secondary Application must be successfully completed by matriculation.

• Three to six current letters are suggested. Applicants are advised to obtain letters of recommendation from individuals (e.g., attending MD, PI, Director, etc.) involved with their major activities.

• All entering students in the UCI School of Medicine must meet all of the technical standards, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, and each student will be expected to certify that he/she meets these standards.

The table below contains information regarding course prerequisites. These courses must be completed by July 15th of the matriculation year. If you are unsure if a course satisfies a prerequisite, please email the course name, number, description, and institution to medadmit@uci.edu.

Prerequisites

Subject	Requirement
Biology	1.5 years, which includes one upper-division biology** course. **Please note this course must be upper-division at your undergraduate institution. We do not consider psychobiology or behavioral-based science courses to meet the upper-division biology requirement. Applicants are encouraged to gain lab experience either through laboratory courses or research.
Chemistry	2 years, to include general/inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry.
Physics	1 Year
Humanities	1 semester or 1 quarter.

Advanced Placement credit will be accepted for chemistry and physics requirements. The AP credit must be reflected on the applicant’s undergraduate transcript. Alternatively we will accept AP exam scores of >3 and will require an official transcript from the College Board (https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/home).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to have completed their basic science requirements by the time they submit their application.

No specific major is required. However, demonstrated ability in the sciences is of great importance. In addition, applicants are advised to take advantage of the intellectual maturation afforded by a well-rounded liberal arts education. English, the humanities and the social and behavioral sciences are considered particularly important.

The following courses are recommended, but not required: 

• Anatomy
• Biostatistics
• Biology/Chemistry Laboratory experience
• Cell Biology
• Calculus
• English Composition
• Immunology
• Microbiology
• Neuroscience
• Psychology (introduction, abnormal and developmental)
• Spanish