University of the Incarnate Word School 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

No hours minimum. UIWSOM lists "Significant employment opportunities" and healthcare employment among the factors it weighs, and treats paid clinical work as an equal path to exposure to the profession alongside shadowing.

50+ hours

No hours are published. Under "Other Factors" UIWSOM says it gives careful consideration to "Exposure to the DO profession, either through healthcare employment or a shadow program". Note that employment in healthcare counts as exposure here, so shadowing is not the only route. One of the three required letters must come from "a physician (preferably DO)."

150+ hours

"Substantial volunteer and community service" is named among the factors UIWSOM considers, with no hours figure. The word doing the work is "substantial": depth over a scattering of short commitments.

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

"One from a pre-med advisor or health professions admissions committee (HPAC)." Unusually, this is a third required letter rather than an alternative to the faculty letter: read it alongside the science faculty line, not instead of it.

No published minimum

"One from a science faculty member", required alongside (not instead of) the HPAC or pre-med advisor letter.

No published minimum

"Three letters of recommendation: one from a physician (preferably DO), one from a pre-med advisor or health professions admissions committee (HPAC), and one from a science faculty member." All three are required. UIWSOM does not offer the committee-letter substitution most DO schools do. Letters must be on the official letterhead of the university or business the recommender is affiliated with.

No published minimum

"Preferably DO" qualifies the required physician letter, so an MD's letter still satisfies it. UIWSOM also weighs "exposure to the DO profession, either through healthcare employment or a shadow program". Employment counts, so shadowing is not the only route to the relationship.

No published minimum

"Non-traditional students can substitute one faculty or HPAC letter with a more recent reference (employer, volunteer/community service supervisor, etc.)": a route open only to non-traditional applicants, and it swaps out one academic letter, not the physician letter.