D'Youville University College of Osteopathic Medicine prerequisites

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters with lab. The single most universal prerequisite: essentially every MD and DO program asks for it, and it is the foundation the MCAT assumes.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters with lab. Take it early: organic chemistry, biochemistry, and most upper-division biology all sit behind it, so a late start pushes the whole sequence past your MCAT date.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters with lab at most schools. A meaningful and growing minority accept one semester of organic plus one of biochemistry. Do not drop the second semester on that assumption until you have checked the schools you actually want.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester, lab rarely required. Roughly two thirds of schools require it outright and the MCAT tests it heavily, so treat it as required even where it technically is not, and take it before you sit the exam.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters with lab. Algebra-based is accepted almost everywhere; take the calculus-based sequence only if your major needs it or a target school names it.

2 semesters · 6 credits

Two semesters of English or writing-intensive coursework. Many schools accept writing-intensive courses from any department, but a few name English specifically. If your writing credits come from elsewhere, confirm before you count them.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Most schools with a math requirement accept statistics or calculus; statistics is the more widely accepted of the two and the more useful for reading clinical research, so the baseline tracks it here. If a target school names calculus, its own requirements will say so.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Required outright at a minority of schools (several of them highly selective) and accepted in place of statistics at most of the rest. Take it if calculus is already in your major's path.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. A minority of schools require it, but a quarter of the MCAT is psychological and social foundations: this is the cheapest points on the exam.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Same reasoning as psychology: required by fewer schools, tested directly on the MCAT.

1 semester · 3 credits

One semester. Required by a small number of schools and a common way to fill the upper-division science coursework that strengthens a science GPA.

150+ hours

Almost no school publishes a number, but admitted applicants typically report a few hundred hours. 150 is the point where you can speak about patient care from experience rather than in the abstract; sustained hours over years read better than a summer sprint.

50+ hours

No hours published. D'Youville requires either a pre-health committee letter or three individual letters, and marks 'a letter from a DO or MD (non-family member)' as strongly recommended. Review is holistic and weighs 'motivation for osteopathic medicine'.

150+ hours

D'Youville asks for 'evidence of service or leadership' as part of the application. It is an expectation rather than a number: nothing on the page sets an hours minimum.

100+ hours

Effectively expected at research-heavy MD programs and genuinely optional at many DO and community-focused schools. If research is not your path, put those hours into clinical work and say so clearly rather than padding a semester in a lab.

No published minimum

"A Pre-health committee letter is preferred, but not required. Applicants without a pre-health committee letter can submit three individual recommendations." Three letters are required either way.

2 letters

In the three-letter route: "two from faculty members (at least one in a science discipline)." Only one of the two must be in the sciences.

No published minimum

"Strongly recommended: a letter from a DO or MD (non-family member)." Either degree; D'Youville states no preference for an osteopathic physician, though its review weighs "motivation for osteopathic medicine".

No published minimum

In the three-letter route: "one from a supervisor of a long-term work, service, research, or clinical experience." Read "long-term" carefully: a scattering of short stints will not produce it. "If not available, an additional faculty letter may be substituted," so there is a way out, but the supervisor letter is what D'Youville asks for first.