Frequently Asked Questions

To be eligible to apply to the Dornsife Pre-Medical Academy, you must be a first-year student planning to enter USC in the fall semester with a Dornsife major and a pre-medical pre-professional emphasis. Because this is a program that begins in the fall of freshman year, spring admit freshmen and transfer students are unfortunately not eligible to apply.

No, there are no particular previous research, internship, or volunteer experiences required for admission to the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy.

Yes, completion of a physics course in high school at any level (regular, Honors, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, etc.) is required for admission to the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy. Our faculty in the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy believe that previous experience in a physics course will ensure that you are prepared for the academic coursework in the program.

Each year, we will admit a cohort of sixty incoming fall first-year students to the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy. Notifications will be sent via email by April 30. If students withdraw from the program before the fall semester begins, we will admit additional students to the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy from the waitlist for the program.

No, in order to build community within each cohort of students in the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy, we will only accept students into the program as freshmen. If you are not accepted into the program, please rest assured that there are many other opportunities at USC to engage in challenging science coursework and explore your interest in medicine via academic research, internships, community service, and student organizations.

Although the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy includes academic coursework, it is not considered a major or a minor. It is simply a program that students must be part of in order to gain access to special courses and lab sections contained within the program. Students must have a declared major to graduate from USC, but students participating in the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy can have any Dornsife major as long as they have a pre-med pre-professional emphasis. Students in the program also have the option of combining their Dornsife major with a minor at USC if desired.  The minor may be from a school outside of Dornsife.

The Dornsife Pre-Med Academy is a four-year program. In their first year, students will enroll in Advanced General Biology I: Organismal Biology and Evolution (BISC 121) and Advanced General Chemistry A (CHEM 115a) in the fall semester, and Advanced General Biology II: Cell Biology and Physiology (BISC 221) and Advanced General Chemistry B (CHEM 115b) in the spring semester. They will also enroll in a one-unit course each semester that will provide additional exposure to pre-medical resources and research opportunities at USC.

In subsequent years, students will enroll in specialized lab sections of organic chemistry and physics for the life sciences to prepare students for the academic rigor of medical school. Students will also continue to enroll in a one-unit course each semester that will introduce students to special topics in medicine and healthcare, including narrative medicine and artificial intelligence.

Dornsife Pre-Med Academy students obtain hands-on research experience through the BISC 121 and 221 labs. Students have the opportunity to choose from lab subjects like Phage Hunters, Characterization of Marine Bacterioplankton, and Creating Macroalgal Collections for Sustainability. Students will also be exposed to the broader world of research through required reading from scientific journals, lectures on faculty research projects, conversations with upperclassmen serving as mentors, and roundtables with both professors and students engaged in research. After their freshman year, students will be encouraged to seek out research assistant positions with USC faculty members.

No, there is no special designation on a student’s diploma to indicate completion of Dornsife Pre-Med Academy coursework, and students do not receive extra credit or a boost to their college GPAs for enrolling in the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy courses. However, by participating in the program, students will become more well-rounded and more knowledgeable about medicine, healthcare, and patient care.

No, students participating in the Dornsife Pre-Med Academy will not receive a guarantee of admission to medical school. While the program is not a direct path to medical school, it features advanced lab sections, specialized research opportunities, and deeper engagement with faculty and leaders in the field, which will provide an expanded perspective that matters not just to medical schools but to the future of medicine.