Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine

Admissions Requirements

Applicants for admission to the first-year class must meet the following requirements prior to matriculation:

  1. A bachelor's degree is preferred and must be from a regionally accredited college or university. A minimum of 90 semester hours of accepted work from a regionally accredited college or university may be considered for admission.
  2. Have successfully completed the following with a grade of 2.0 or higher:
    • 8 semester hours of Biological Science (includes biology, embryology, genetics, microbiology, physiology, etc.)
    • 16 semester hours of Chemistry (must include general chemistry and organic chemistry or biochemistry)
    • 8 semester hours of Physics
    • 6 semester hours of English/Humanities (must include 3 semester hours of English)
    These are minimum academic requirements for admission. Students are encouraged to take additional courses such as biochemistry, physiology, behavioral sciences, and the humanities.
  3. A minimum cumulative and science GPA of 3.0 is required.
  4. All applicants are required to take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and have scores no more than three years old.

    MCAT must have been taken no more than three years prior to the date of matriculation (entering med school).  For example, applicants wanting to matriculate in August 2015, must have taken the MCAT no later than August 2012.  This examination evaluates the applicant's knowledge of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, reading comprehension, and quantitative reasoning. We strongly recommend that the examination be taken in the spring of the junior year, so that, if applicants feel that the test scores are unsatisfactory, they may retake the examination in the fall of the senior year. January scores will not be considered. Only the best set of test scores will be considered. All scores should be forwarded to the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS).

    Applicants may obtain applications for the MCAT online, from your college's pre-professional advisor's office, or by writing directly to:

    Medical College Admission Test
    Program Office
    2255 North Dubuque Road
    P.O. Box 4056
    Iowa City, Iowa 52243-4056
    (319) 337-1357
  5. Letters of recommendation from:
    • A letter from a physician is required with your application.
    • A letter of recommendation from the pre-professional committee, or if such a committee does not exist then three letters of recommendation are needed (two from a science professors and one from a non-science professor).

Any variations of the admissions requirements must be approved by the dean.

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