BIOLOGY MAJOR—Pre-Medical Option (Physician) 2021-22 - Biology and pre-med course requirements

Oct 3, 2026

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The Biology major Pre-Medical (Physician) option is structured to help students pursuing physician, pharmacy, physician assistant, and related professional pathways meet Biology major goals while completing medical school prerequisites. It specifies required coursework, including core classes, writing intensive and medicine/health/society electives, plus two physiology tracks. A 3.0 GPA is required. Course requirements also count toward multiple Biology major program components, and all listings are subject to change.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages2

Reading Time5 min

AccessFree to download

Core Coursework

Writing Intensive Course

Medicine, Health and Society

Physiology Tracks

Experiential Learning or Biological Science/Psychology Electives

BIOLOGY MAJOR—Pre-Medical Option (Physician) 2021-22 | The Biology major Pre-Medicine option is designed to allow students interested in medicine, pharmacy, physician assistant and some other professional programs to optimally meet the requirement for their professional goal in the context of their Biology major. This document outlines the requirements for students interested in becoming a physician (see the other option documents for optometry, pharmacy, physician assistant and dentistry) . The listed courses will meet the prerequisites for most AAMC and AACOM accredited medical schools in the U. S. and abroad. Students should always consult the requirements of all schools to which they plan to apply, and many medical schools will not accept online prerequisite courses (particularly those with online labs) or prerequisite courses taken during study abroad.
A 3.0 GPA is required to complete the Pre-Medical option. Courses used to satisfy option requirements also satisfy the Biology and Society, Organismal Biology, Physiology, Writing Intensive Course (WIC), Physics or Computer Science and Quantitative Applications and Experiential Learning or Integrative Biology Elective requirements in the Biology major. The option includes two physiology tracks: a comparative physiology track which provides a deeper physiology background for pre-medical students who take anatomy and physiology in medical school, and a human anatomy and physiology track which is generally for pre-pharmacy, pre-physician assistant and other students that need this series as a prerequisite for professional school. Previous versions of this option are different and are tracked in MyDegrees. All courses and prerequisites are subject to change, and the listing of terms offered is based on projected Corvallis campus offerings. | | | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Core Coursework: | | | | | Course | Pre(Co)requisites | Term | Credits | | BI 109 Pre-Medical Orientation | | SP | 1 | | PHAR 210 Terminology of the Health Sciences | | F, SP | 2 | | PSY 201 AND PSY 202 General Psychology | | F, W, SP, SU | 4,4 | | SOC 204 Introduction to Sociology | | F, W, SP, SU | 3 | | PHL 205 Ethics OR PHL/REL 444 Biomedical Ethics | Sophomore standing for PHL/REL 444 | F, W, SP, SU | 4 | | PH 201, PH 202, PH 203 General Physics | MTH 112 (C-) | F, W, SP, SU (in order) | 5,5,5 | | Writing Intensive Course (Select one course from the following): | | | | | BI 319 Theory, Practice and Discourse in the Life Sciences | BI 221, 222, 223 (C-); ST 351 | F, W, SP | 3 | | MB 385 Emerging Infectious Diseases & Epidemics | BI 221, 222, 223 | W | 3 | | Medicine, Health and Society (Select one course from the following): | | | | | ANTH 352 Anthropology, Health, and the Environment | | F, W, SP (Ecampus only) | 3 | | ANTH 383 Introduction to Medical Anthropology | | F, W, SP (Ecampus only) | 3 | | BB 220 Cancer: Society’s Malignant Shadow | | W, SP | | | BB 332 Molecular Medicine | BI 221 | F | 3 | | BI 420 Viruses in Modern Society | BI 311 or BB 314 | Alternate W | 3 | | H 210 Introduction to the Health Care System | | F, W, SP | 3 | | H 225 Social and Individual Health Determinants | | F, W, SP | 4 | | H 312 HIV/AIDS and STI's in Modern Society | | F, W, SP | 3 | | H 333 Global Public Health | | F, W, SP (Ecampus only) | 3 | | HSTS 417 History of Medicine | Junior standing | F, SP | 4 | | MB 330 Disease and Society | | SP, SU (Ecampus only) | 3 | | Physiology (select one of two tracks below) | | | | | Physiology Track I: Comparative Vertebrate Track (14 credits total) | | | | | Z 422 Comparative/Functional Vertebrate Anatomy OR
Z 425 Embryology and Development | BI 221, 222, 223 (C-), CH 332
BI 311, BB 314, junior standing | F
F | 5 5 | | Z 431 Vertebrate Physiology I | BI 221, 222, 223 (C-), CH 332 | W | 4 | | Z 432 Vertebrate Physiology II AND Z 442: Lab | Z 431 (C-) | SP | (3 + 2) | | Physiology Track II: Human Track (15 credits total) | | | | |

FAQs

What is the GPA requirement to complete the Pre-Medical option?

A 3.0 GPA is required to complete the Pre-Medical option.

How do the two physiology tracks differ in the Pre-Medical option?

Track I is a comparative vertebrate physiology track for deeper physiology background, while Track II is a human anatomy and physiology track generally suited for pre-pharmacy, pre-physician assistant, and students needing that prerequisite sequence.

Do the option courses also satisfy Biology major requirements?

Yes. Courses used to satisfy option requirements also satisfy multiple Biology major requirements, including Biology and Society, Organismal Biology, Physiology, the Writing Intensive Course requirement, Physics or Computer Science and Quantitative Applications, and the Integrative Biology elective requirement.

Oct 3, 2026

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