University of South Florida Health Morsani College 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.

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.

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

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

At least one semester with lab. If you take Organic Chemistry II, USF will accept it in place of the biochemistry requirement.

1 semester · 3 credits

At least one semester, unless you take Organic Chemistry II, which USF accepts in its place.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two semesters of the basic principles of physics, with at least one of the two at college or university level.

2 semesters · 6 credits

Two semesters of English, or one English course plus one course built on substantial expository writing. Both semesters must be at college or university level.

1 semester · 3 credits

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

Statistics is recommended as one of the two required mathematics semesters rather than being required in its own right. See the college mathematics line above.

2 semesters · 6 credits

At least two semesters of mathematics, with at least one at college or university level. USF recommends statistics and calculus as the courses to use, but does not restrict it to those.

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.

5 semesters · 15 credits

USF asks for evidence that you have mastered general principles in psychology, sociology, the arts and humanities, and ethics, and recommends no fewer than fifteen semester hours across those areas. That is five courses, the largest recommendation of its kind you are likely to meet.

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.