Tufts University School of 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.

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

Tufts asks for two years of chemistry in total, of which at least one semester must be general chemistry and at least one organic. This line is that one required general chemistry semester; the two-year total is the number to plan against.

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

At least one semester of organic inside the two-year chemistry block: Tufts does not demand the full organic year on its own.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most medical schools ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

Recommended rather than required, and it counts toward the two-year chemistry total. Given the MCAT and the rest of your list, take it regardless.

1 semester · 4 credits

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

One semester, not the usual year, from a course the physics department offers for science majors. AP physics credit does not count. The lab side is covered by Tufts' separate two-years-of-lab competency rather than by this course specifically.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as required.

Tufts asks for competency in spoken and written English rather than a course, and says a degree from an English-speaking institution demonstrates it.

1 semester · 3 credits

Competency in the basic concepts of statistics is required, but Tufts lets you show it through an introductory statistics course, statistics embedded in a science or social science course, or research experience.

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.

1 semester · 3 credits

Tufts strongly encourages coursework in ethics, philosophy, sociology, psychology, history, and the arts beyond the science prerequisites.

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

Aim for 40-50 across more than one specialty, including primary care. DO programs weigh shadowing more heavily and several ask for hours with a DO specifically. If DO schools are on your list, get those hours and the letter early.

150+ hours

Service with no medical angle. Committees are reading for a habit, not a total, so one commitment held for two years beats five one-off events.

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.