Choosing a Major

Medical schools do not care what you major in. Yes, it is true. Medical schools do not care what you major in! We have students every year who are accepted medical school with traditional life science and physical science majors (biology, neuroscience, exercise science, physics, chemistry, etc.) and others accepted from finance, psychology, geography, American studies, business, language majors, etc.

However, you need to realize that medical schools do require specific academic preparation (courses) in biological and physical sciences no matter what you major in. These requirements are listed here.

So what major should I choose?

We encourage students to approach choosing a major just like any other student would: Do you enjoy the discipline? Do you have an aptitude for it? Can you do well? Do you like the careers associated with this major? If you decide not to go to medical school, or do not get in, are there opportunities in this area that you would be excited about? We often call this parallel preparation--while preparing for medical school, also prepare for a career outside of medicine in case you change your mind or are not accepted.

If you need help choosing a major, you can seek help from the University Advisement Center (https://universityadvisement.byu.edu/) or the college advisement centers if you already have an area of study in mind (https://advisement.byu.edu/section/cac/). All BYU majors are listed here: BYU Majors

Once you've decided on a major then visit your college advisement center and create a graduation plan within that major. Once you have that in place, we can help you determine how to best fit your Pre-Medical coursework within that major graduation plan.