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Course Requirements

Pre-Podiatry Pathway

Course Requirements Overview

This is a guide to common pre-podiatry course requirements.

Professional schools have a variety of prerequisites required for admission to their programs. On this page, we include information about timelines for pre-podiatry requirements and the options available.

  • Many programs prefer in person coursework, and some programs may not allow online coursework. See individual schools for policies.
  • Individual schools may require or recommend additional courses.
  • All prerequisites must be completed with a letter grade of C or higher.
  • Schools vary on Credit-by-Exam (AP/IB/CLEP) policies and preferences for prerequisites. Please see "Can I Claim AP/IB Credit?"

School requirements can change. See individual school websites and admissions guides under “Research Podiatric Medical Schools Before You Apply.” We always recommend checking for any updates.

 

Most Podiatric medical schools require:

  • Biology:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs 
  • General Chemistry:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs
  • Organic Chemistry:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs
  • General Physics:  Lecture – 6 hrs;  Lab – 2 hrs
  • Math:  Statistics – 3 hrs
  • English:  Rhetoric (Composition), Literature, and Communication – 6-8 hrs

*Psychology recommended for MCAT

*Biochemistry recommended for MCAT


 

UT Austin Courses Typically Taken to Fulfill Requirements

Science Requirements

Subject Lecture Lab
Biology
       
(In addition: BIO 325 is needed for any upper-division Biology courses such as Anatomy and Physiology.)
  • BIO 311C + BIO 311D
  • [BIO 315H + BIO 325H] (honors) 

    For upper-division biology electives, choose from Anatomy, Physiology, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Parasitology, Ecology.
  • BIO 206L OR
  • 2 hrs of upper-division BIO/INB/MBS lab OR

  • BCH 369L (for majors)
     

    Must be formal lab course work.  

    Research lab credit, such as INB/MBS 377, does not fulfill this requirement.
General Chemistry
  • CH 301 + CH 302 OR
  • CH 301H + CH 302H (honors)
  • CH 301C + CH 302C (for Chemistry majors)
  • CH 204 OR
  • CH 104M + CH 104N
Organic Chemistry
  • CH 320M + CH 320N OR
  • CH 328M + CH 328N (for Chemistry majors)
  • CH 220C OR
  • CH 128K + CH 128L (for Chemistry majors)

General Physics

       

(If you take courses that do not thoroughly cover all the potential MCAT topics, be sure to cover those in your MCAT prep. 

Yes, the MCAT does include Physics 2 topics.)

UT Austin offers 4 accepted lecture/lab sequences. 

  • PHY 317K + PHY 117M and PHY 317L + PHY 117N OR
  • PHY 302K + PHY 102M and PHY 302L + PHY 102N OR
  • PHY 303K + PHY 103M and PHY 303L + PHY 103N (for Engineering majors) OR

  • PHY 301 + PHY 101L and PHY 316 + PHY 116L (for some Science and Engineering majors)
     

     

 

  • PHY 317K + PHY 105M and PHY 317L + PHY 105N OR
  • PHY 302K + PHY 105M and PHY 302L + PHY 105N OR
  • PHY 303K + 105M and PHY 303L + 105N (for Engineering majors) OR
  • PHY 301 + PHY 101L and PHY 316 + 116L (for some Science and Engineering majors)

Some schools may require additional science courses.  Examples of courses that may be required or recommended are:

Subject Lecture Lab/Notes
Biochemistry

BCH 369 OR

BCH 399F (for majors)

 * Will be on MCAT. 
Anatomy BIO / INB 446L  
Physiology BIO / INB 365S BIO / INB 165U

 

Other remaining prerequisites:

Subject Courses
Math

 

 
Rhetoric (Composition):
  • RHE 306 OR
  • RHE 309K OR
  • Any Writing Flag course in RHE Dept.
Literature
  • E 316L OR
  • E 316M OR
  • E 316N OR  
  • E 316P OR
  • Any Literature course in English Dept.
     

Remedial, developmental and "English As a Second Language" courses are not accepted.

Strong reading and writing skills are essential to success on MCAT and in podiatric medical school.
Psychology & Sociology 
       
*Will be on MCAT. May not be required for all schools.

 Psychology

  • PSY 301 OR
  • Any behavioral PSY course: Choose from developmental, abnormal, health-related and social psychology. 
 

Sociology

  • SOC 302 OR
  • Any relevant SOC course: Choose from cultural and health-related sociology. 

TMDSAS

Specific School Requirements  

Some schools have additional prerequisite requirements. Find them below.

Prerequisite Course Timelines

Your personal timeline may differ from these samples.

Work with your academic advisor to incorporate these courses into your degree plan.

Important Note: 

Timelines do not include all course options and details. To be sure that you are fulfilling all requirements, see individual school websites.  Find school links under "Research Podiatric Medical Schools Before You Apply."

 

Additional Course Information