Coursework Overview & Common Pre-Requisites by Discipline

The courses listed here represent the subjects most commonly required or recommended for health-professions programs (biology, general/organic chemistry, physics, mathematics/statistics, English), along with the expectation of accompanying labs.

This guide is intended to help students plan their coursework and understand which classes are typically suggested when preparing for applications in medicine, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, nursing, veterinary medicine, and related fields.

These requirements should be viewed as guidelines, not absolutes. Prerequisites vary widely by program and change over time. Some schools set firm requirements, while others list no formal prerequisites but strongly recommend certain coursework.

Applicants must also be aware that many professional schools have specific policies on AP credit, online lab courses, and community-college coursework. Always confirm whether a program will accept these options before relying on them to meet a prerequisite.

The most reliable information comes directly from each profession’s official resources—for example, MSAR (MD programs), ADEA (dental), VMCAS (veterinary), ASCO/OptomCAS (optometry), PTCAS (physical therapy), CASPA (physician assistant), NursingCAS (nursing), and other centralized services.

Generally, physical therapy, nursing, and  physician associate programs will require human anatomy and physiology with labs; pharmacy programs may require human physiology; podiatry generally has the same pre-requisites as medicine. Regarding nursing programs, Wesleyan students will need to apply to accelerated nursing programs which will provide the pre-requisite courses they may be missing in addition to clinical nursing courses.

Bottom line: verify all requirements with each school!