Medicine is a branch of the health sciences concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease. The practice of medicine is evolving as the health care system changes. Managed care and health maintenance organizations are creating an increased demand for primary care physicians who provide most health care needs for their patients and refer them to other specialists as needed.

Physicians care for healthy people and for those who are ill or injured. Physicians examine patients, obtain medical histories, and order, perform and interpret diagnostic tests. They counsel patients about illness, injuries, health conditions, and preventive healthcare (i.e. diet and fitness, smoking cessation, etc.). They prescribe and administer medications and treatments, provide immunization services, care for pregnant women and deliver babies, perform surgery, and conduct research to aid in disease control or the development of new treatments. Physicians work in one or more specialties, such as anesthesiology, family and general medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, psychiatry, and surgery.

Pre-Medicine is considered a designation at Texas Tech University; it is not a major. Pre-Medicine students take the required courses in order to apply to medical school. Pre-Medicine students have the option to major in any area they choose as long as they take the prerequisite courses required to enter medical school along with the courses needed to earn a degree at Texas Tech University.

Regardless of which degree-granting major a Pre-Medicine student chooses at Texas Tech, they will always have a PPHC Advisor on their team. If you have any questions whatsoever about being Pre-Medicine, contact your assigned PPHC Advisor today!

Most medical schools require the following courses:

Recommended Advanced Biology Courses:

Some common advanced biological sciences
include, but are not limited to: Microbiology,
Molecular Biology, Genetics, Ecology,
Immunology, Parasitology.

Frequently check with the programs to which you plan to apply, as prerequisites and/or application procedures can change.

Most medical schools require a minimum of three years of study (90 semester hours) completed at an accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university before anticipated date of enrollment. However, the completion of an undergraduate degree is highly desirable before entrance into medical school. Students applying without an undergraduate degree are likely to be accepted only if they have academic records superior to those of students accepted with a baccalaureate degree. They also must exhibit definite evidence of experience and maturity.

All candidates are required to take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)

For application and/or prerequisite information, please contact each professional school and check their websites frequently.

To learn more about medical schools (MD programs) both in Texas and elsewhere, please visit the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) directory here. 

To learn more about medical schools (DO programs) both in Texas and elsewhere, please visit the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) directory here. 

PPHC Advisors have created a year-by-year PDF guide to being Pre-Medicine.

• Medical School Application Info.
• Texas Medical & Dental Schools Application Service (TMDSAS)
• American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS)
• American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Application Service (AACOMAS)
• Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
• Letters of Evaluation Process
• Exam Prep (for MCAT)

• Shadowing Information
• Undergraduate to Medical School Initiative (UMSI)
• Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP)
• Honors College Early Acceptance Program