MD · Miami, Florida · private

University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine prerequisites

What Miami asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 4 lines differ from the standard medical school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

Biology with labrequired
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.
General chemistry with labrequired
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.
Organic chemistry with labrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
Most medical schools ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
One semester with lab, not the usual two. Check the second semester against the rest of your list before dropping it.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester required. The biochemistry lab is recommended but not required.
Physics with labrequired
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.
English or writing-intensiverequired
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.
Statisticsnot required here
Miami's prerequisite table lists English, chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, physics, biology, and behavioural science. Mathematics and statistics do not appear on it.
Calculusrecommended
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.
Psychologyrecommended
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.
Sociologyrecommended
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester. Same reasoning as psychology: required by fewer schools, tested directly on the MCAT.
Geneticsrecommended
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.
Advanced biologyrecommendedextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Miami encourages accepted students to add cell and molecular biology, developmental biology, genetics, immunology, microbiology, neuroscience, physiology, or computer science beyond the required biology year.
Social sciences and humanitiesrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 6 credits
Two semesters of behavioural science, required. Miami accepts anthropology, economics, family studies, psychology, and sociology, and AP credit counts here.

Experience hours

Clinical experiencerecommended
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.
Physician shadowingrecommended
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.
Non-clinical volunteeringrecommended
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.
Researchrecommended
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.

Also on the school’s page

Miami's list is mostly standard with two departures. Organic chemistry is one semester with lab, not two. And behavioural science is a required two-semester block: Miami counts anthropology, economics, family studies, psychology, and sociology toward it, so it is easy to fill but easy to forget. Biochemistry is required; its lab is only recommended. No mathematics or statistics requirement appears anywhere on the list. Two rules about where the work is done: all science coursework must be completed at a four-year, bachelor's-degree-granting institution, and AP credit is accepted for the English or literature, behavioural science, biology, physics, and inorganic chemistry requirements. A conferred bachelor's degree is required before you matriculate, and Miami recommends having at least 90 credit hours by the time you apply.

School

med.miami.edu

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