As health care becomes more specialized, the future demands physicians and caregivers who see the big picture.

The USC Dornsife Pre-Med Academy is a selective program where a small cohort of students from any Dornsife major develop a deep understanding of medicine as both art and science. Over four years, you’ll be part of a close-knit community of peers and mentors who support you, while specialized labs, research, and professional connections give your preparation real depth. By graduation, you’ll be ready for a future in healthcare — and to make the difference that only you can.

Student facing camera working as a volunteer. Wearing a medical USC shirt and purple gloves.

Program Highlights

    Challenging Science Curriculum

    Your classroom experiences in the sciences should prepare you for a future in healthcare. The Dornsife Pre-Med Academy features advanced lab sections in pre-medical preparatory courses, specialized research opportunities, and deeper engagement with faculty and leaders in the field. You’ll start your academic journey in your freshman year in advanced general biology and advanced general chemistry courses before taking on specialized labs in organic chemistry and physics in subsequent years. Beyond checking off requirements, you’ll gain expanded perspective that matters not just to medical schools but to the future of medicine.

    A Community of Support

    Through the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy, you’ll join a small, ambitious cohort of sixty students who always have your back. With shared passion, you’ll build lasting relationships and skills that will carry you through your undergraduate years. Peer and faculty mentorship and personalized advising are built into the program, while collective momentum grows from a supportive culture that strengthens your confidence and resilience as a future professional working in the advancement of health.

    A Broader Perspective on Medicine

    As the field of medicine evolves, tomorrow’s healthcare professionals will have to grapple with a wide range of questions and issues that are not solely confined to the human body and disease. What role will artificial intelligence play in the delivery of healthcare? How does health insurance impact an individual’s access to medicine? How can tools like narrative medicine improve a patient’s experience on a personal, more human level? Through the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy, you’ll enroll in a special one-unit class in each semester of your four years at USC which will allow you to consider questions like these and explore how to become a better future physician.

    abstract circles in red and yellow
    abstract circles in red and yellow
    abstract circles in red and yellow

    Is the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy the same as the Dornsife Freshman Science Honors program?

    At the end of Spring 2026, the Dornsife Freshman Science Honors (FSH) program will be discontinued. Beginning with the Fall 2026 entering class, incoming Dornsife first-year students will instead be given the opportunity to apply to our new Dornsife Pre-Med Academy. Although the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy includes the same advanced general biology and advanced general chemistry course sequence that FSH students enrolled in, the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy will encompass expanded course offerings focused on preparation for medical school and careers focused on healthcare over the course of four years. Through the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy, we hope to help pre-med students become more well-rounded future physicians.

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    three students walking down a hallway one with a longboard and one with a scooter
    Professor showing globes in front of classroom with a blurred students sitting in front of the camera sitting in lecture hall

    USC Dornsife Pre-Med Academy

    • Fall-admitted first-year (freshman) students
    • Priority application deadline in mid-April
    • All Dornsife majors are eligible to apply as long as they have a pre-med pre-professional emphasis and are considering a career in medicine
    • Cohort of 60 students
    • Focused on medicine and healthcare
    • Four year program, including advanced general biology and advanced general chemistry and unique labs for organic chemistry and physics
    • A one-unit class taken each semester focused on special topics in medicine and healthcare
    • Special research lab opportunities and field trips

    Freshman Science Honors Program

    • Fall-admitted first-year (freshman) students
    • Priority application deadline in mid-April
    • Only Dornsife natural science/mathematics and Health and Human Sciences majors are eligible to apply
    • Cohort of 60 students
    • Focused on science research
    • One year program, including advanced general biology and advanced general chemistry
    • Special research lab opportunities and field trips