Admission Information

The UC Riverside School of Medicine seeks applicants with broad academic backgrounds, including the sciences, humanities, foreign language, social sciences and the arts.

We seek to build an applicant pool made up of diverse experiences and backgrounds, thereby helping the School of Medicine fulfill its mission to train future health care professionals who are prepared to serve the unique patient populations in our region.

The vast majority of questions we receive are addressed in these pages. We encourage you to thoroughly read through the admissions pages before submitting your application through AMCAS.

Notes for Applicants

We accept bachelor's degrees from all undergraduate majors.
The degree must have been completed at a regionally-accredited institution in the U.S.
Online bachelor's degrees are not accepted.
Applicants must complete pre-medical coursework before entering our program.

More details and other frequently asked questions can be found here.

Premedical Education Requirements and Recommendations

Science Core Courses • Required

Candidates should demonstrate their ability to succeed in medical school by demonstrating experience in the basic sciences.

Minimum course requirements are listed below. Lab course hours do not count toward total semester hours.

Mathematics — Eight (8) semester hours in calculus and/or statistics.
Physics — Eight (8) semester hours, labs optional.
General chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry — 16 semester hours, labs optional.
Biology — Eight (8) semester hours, labs optional.

Humanities Core Courses • Recommended

In order to prepare applicants to meet the needs of underserved communities, it is recommended that a candidate's academic history include courses that emphasize culture, ethics, public health, spiritual practices and other aspects of diversity. Recommended course requirements are listed below.

English, writing, composition, logic, or critical thinking — Eight (8) semester hours in any English, writing, composition, logic, or critical thinking courses.
Humanities/social sciences — Eight (8) semester hours.
Spanish — Three (3) semester hours. Learn more about why we recommend Spanish.

Converting from Quarter to Semester Hours

Applicants who have created coursework in the quarter system should use the AMCAS Conversions Chart to convert them into semester hours.

When you submit your official transcripts to AMCAS, your coursework will be converted to semester hours when your transcripts and primary application are evaluated.

AP Credits/International Baccalaureate Scores

AP credit with a score of 3, 4, or 5 or International Baccalaureate score of 5, 6, or 7 may be used to fulfill program prerequisites in all subjects.

Pass/Fail Grades During COVID-19 Pandemic

We are aware that some undergraduate schools are providing an option for students to take courses either for grades or on a Pass/Fail basis.

We will accept pass/fail grades, without prejudice, for courses taken during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has always been our practice to consider grades in the context of numerous other aspects of the application, and an international crisis certainly provides a unique and compelling context.

Applicants should not feel pressured to choose the graded option.

About the MCAT

Your MCAT score will be considered as one part of the holistic review of your application.

How long is my MCAT score valid?

We accept MCAT scores dating back three years from your application submission date.

You will be required to retake the MCAT if your score expires before your secondary is submitted to us.

MCAT Exams During COVID-19

For applicants applying during the 2021-2022 admissions cycle who are experiencing delays completing their first MCAT exam, we can accept an MCAT score from you as late as January 31st, 2022. This means that your application could be screened without the MCAT score.

Once your secondary application is submitted and the November 1, 2021 primary deadline has passed, the admissions committee will review the contents of the application as-is.
If the committee decides to offer you an interview without a score, they will revisit your file and make a final admissions decision once the score is received.
For applicants who plan to retake the MCAT exam, we suggest that you submit your new score no later than November 1, 2021.
If you cannot submit your score before the primary deadline, you application will be reviewed with your current MCAT score.

School of Medicine Student Affairs