Postbaccalaureate Premedical Studies

Last updated: November 4, 2010 at 3:22 p.m.

Objectives

The postbaccalaureate premedical studies program at Brandeis is designed for people who have received a bachelor's degree from an accredited university and are interested in taking science courses that they did not take while undergraduates. This small, intensive program allows accepted students to enter Brandeis's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as nondegree-seeking students and to enroll in those biology, chemistry, physics, and math courses necessary for admission to a health professional school. The program is not remedial. It is intended for those who still need to take the majority of courses required for admission to medical and other health professional schools.

The program director is Judith C. Hudson, Ed.D., Office of Academic Services.

How to Be Admitted to the Postbaccalaureate Program

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis starting January 15 until the program is filled. The general requirements for admission to the Graduate School, given in an earlier section of this Bulletin, apply to candidates for admission to this program. It is recommended that applicants have some background in math and some volunteer experience in the medical field.

Requirements for the Program

Once accepted into the program, students consult individually with the program director to determine course placements and timing for completion of coursework.  Students may attend on a full- or part-time basis during the summer and/or academic year.

To be eligible for a postbaccalaureate certificate in premedical studies, students must complete a total of 28 credits in the premedical sciences at Brandeis, with a grade of B- or above. Though 28 credits is the minimum for the certificate, most students will need to take more credits to be a viable candidate for admission to medical profession schools.

To complete the postbaccalaureate program in sixteen months, it is suggested that students take CHEM 11a and 11b, 18a and 18b during the first summer; BIOL 18b, 22b, CHEM 25a and 29a in the fall semester; BIOL 18a, BIOL 22a, CHEM 25b and 29b in the spring semester; and PHYS 10a, 10b, 18a, and 18b in the second summer.>

Lecture courses are 4 credits, while lab courses are 2 credits with the exception of BIOL 18a, which is a four-credit lab.

If a student does not already have a year of college mathematics, we recommend one semester of calculus (MATH 10a or 10b) and one semester of statistics (BIOL 51a, PSYC 51a, or MATH 8a).Mathematics and statistics courses are not counted in the 28 credit minimum.

One hundred-level courses are open to postbaccalaureate students who want to take advantage of additional Brandeis course offerings. These courses may not be counted toward the 28 credit hours required for the certificate.

 

Academic standing: If a student receives a grade below B-, course credit will not be earned and therefore not applied to the 28 credit requirement. A student may retake the course or take an additional science course with a lab to meet the requirement of 28 credits in the premedical sciences with a grade of B- or above.

Receiving a certificate does not guarantee that all requirements for medical profession schools have been met.  Requirements for admission vary by school and by field of study. Veterinary schools, dental schools, medical schools and other health careers have somewhat different requirements though the four lecture and lab sequences in chemistry, biology, organic chemistry and physics are foundational for each medical professional track.

It is important to complete all four science sequences before taking the Medical College Admissions Tests (MCAT) or the Dental Admission Test (DAT). Many veterinary schools will accept the Graduate Record Examination. Each student’s program is individualized and designed to build on a student’s prior course work and future career goals.

Courses of Instruction

Courses of Instruction

BIOL 18a General Biology Laboratory
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This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisites: CHEM 18a or 19a, and BIOL 18b, or permission of the instructor. BIOL 22a must be taken before or concurrently with this course. Yields full-course credit. Laboratory fee: $150 per semester. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come in to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section
choice will be honored if possible
Provides firsthand experience with a wide array of organisms and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in genetics and genomics. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kosinski-Collins

BIOL 18b General Biology Laboratory
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisites: CHEM 18a or 19a. BIOL 22b must be taken before or concurrently with this course. Yields half-course credit. Laboratory fee: $150 per semester. This lab is time-intensive and students will be expected to come to lab between regular scheduled lab sessions. In order to accommodate students with time conflicts it may be necessary to re-assign students without conflicts to another section of the course. Students' section choice will be honored if possible.
Provides firsthand experience with modern molecular biology techniques and illustrates basic approaches to experimental design and problem solving in molecular and cellular biology including applications of biochemical techniques. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Kosinski-Collins

BIOL 22a Genetics and Molecular Biology
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Prerequisite: CHEM 10a or 11a or 15a.
An introduction to our current understanding of hereditary mechanisms and the molecular basis of gene transmission and expression. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Haber and Mr. Marr

BIOL 22b Cell Structure and Function
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Prerequisite: CHEM 10a or 11a or 15a.
An introduction to the architecture and function of cells, organelles, and their macromolecular components. Topics include fundamental processes that are common to all cells, and the functions of specialized cells. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Nicastro

CHEM 11a General Chemistry I
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This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 15a in previous years. Three class hours and one ninety-minute recitation per week. The corresponding lab is CHEM 18a.
A basic course in chemical principles, with examples drawn from the chemistry of living systems as well as from environmental chemistry and materials science. Topics covered include stoichiometry, gases, thermochemistry, solutions, states of matter, atomic structure and periodicity, chemical bonding and molecular structure. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Pochapsky

CHEM 11b General Chemistry II
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Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 11a or the equivalent. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 15b in previous years. Three class hours and one ninety-minute recitation per week. The corresponding lab is CHEM 18b.
A basic course in chemical principles, with examples drawn from the chemistry of living systems as well as from environmental chemistry and materials science. Topics covered include chemical equilibrium, acid-base chemistry, kinetics, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, radioactivity and nuclear chemistry, and coordination chemistry. Usually offered every year.
Ms. Novack

CHEM 18a General Chemistry Laboratory I
This is an experiential learning course. Corequisite: CHEM 11a. Dropping CHEM 11a necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. Two semester-hour credits; yields half-course credit. Laboratory fee: $100 per semester. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 19a in previous years.
Introduction to basic laboratory methods and methods of qualitative and quantitative analyses. Included in the analytical methods are gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and infrared measurements. A synthesis project that includes analyzing the product by titration. Calorimetric experiment using probes interfaced with computers. Identification of unknowns based on physical and chemical properties. Analysis of the metal content of substances by atomic absorption. One laboratory lecture per week. One afternoon of laboratory per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Dolnik

CHEM 18b General Chemistry Laboratory II
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisites: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 18a and CHEM 11a. Corequisite: CHEM 11b. Dropping CHEM 11b necessitates written permission from the lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $100 per semester. This course may not be taken for credit by students who have passed CHEM 19b in previous years.
The second semester of the general chemistry laboratory program. Continued use of probes interfaced with computers to monitor pH and electrical conductivity changes in titrating weak monoprotic and polyprotic amino acids, to monitor pressure changes as part of a kinetics study, and to monitor voltage changes of electrochemical cells with temperature so as to establish thermodynamic parameters for redox reactions. Also included is identification of unknowns based on selective precipitation and chromatography. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Pontrello

CHEM 25a Organic Chemistry, Lectures
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Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 11b or 15b or the equivalent.
Structure, reactions, preparations, and uses of the compounds of carbon. Three class hours and one ninety-minute recitation per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Pontrello

CHEM 25b Organic Chemistry, Lectures
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Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 25a or its equivalent.
A continuation of CHEM 25a. Three class hours and one ninety-minute recitation per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Krauss

CHEM 29a Organic Chemistry Laboratory I
This is an experiential learning course. Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 18b or 19b or the equivalent. Corequisite: CHEM 25a. Dropping CHEM 25a necessitates written permission from lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $125 per semester.
Gives experience in the important techniques of organic chemical laboratory practice of isolation and purification of organic compounds by crystallization, distillation, and chromatography, and their characterization using analytical and instrumental methods. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One ninety-minute laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Pontrello

CHEM 29b Organic Chemistry Laboratory II
Prerequisite: A satisfactory grade (C- or better) in CHEM 29a or the equivalent. Corequisite: CHEM 25b. Dropping CHEM 25b necessitates written permission from lab instructor to continue with this course. May yield half-course credit toward rate of work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits. Laboratory fee: $125 per semester.
A continuation of CHEM 29a with an emphasis on the synthesis of typical organic compounds. One afternoon of laboratory per week. One ninety-minute laboratory lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Snider

PHYS 10a Introduction to Physical Laws and Phenomena I
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Corequisite: MATH 10a or equivalent. Usually taken with PHYS 18a.
An introduction to Newtonian mechanics, kinetic theory, and thermodynamics. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Svacha

PHYS 10b Introduction to Physical Laws and Phenomena II
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Prerequisite: PHYS 10a. Usually taken with PHYS 18b.
An introduction to electricity and magnetism, optics, special theory of relativity, and the structure of the atom. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Svacha

PHYS 18a Introductory Laboratory I
Corequisite: PHYS 10a. May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.
Laboratory course consisting of basic physics experiments designed to accompany PHYS 10a. One two-and-a-half-hour laboratory per week. One one-hour lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Wellenstein

PHYS 18b Introductory Laboratory II
Corequisite: PHYS 10b. May yield half-course credit toward rate-of-work and graduation. Two semester-hour credits.
Laboratory course consisting of basic physics experiments designed to accompany PHYS 10b. One two-and-a-half-hour laboratory per week. One one-hour lecture per week. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Wellenstein