Academic Requirements
Required Coursework
All courses must be taken from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Residential is strongly encouraged, but not required. For grades issued during the COVID-19 crisis, LSU Health Shreveport will accept P/F and online courses. If given the option to choose between P/F and a graded system, applicants should not feel pressured to choose the graded option. However, graded courses always carry more weight.
Credits earned at foreign institutions (except study-abroad courses taken while attending a qualified institution) do not satisfy our requirements. It is expected that the required science courses be taken at the senior college level. Applicants whose academic work (especially science coursework) was done predominantly at the junior college level may be at a competitive disadvantage.
You may apply, interview and be offered provisional acceptance without having completed all requirements. However, the following required coursework must be completed before registration:
| Course | Semester Hours | Quarter Hours |
| Biological Science | 12 | 18 |
| Chemistry | 12 | 18 |
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Must include at least 3 hours of Biochemistry lecture |
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| English | 6 | 9 |
| Humanities | 12 | 18 |
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Psychology and Sociology courses can be counted for up to one-third of the Humanities requirement |
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| Minimum Total Hours | 90 | 135 |
Recommended Coursework
While no specific college math courses are required, some college work in calculus is strongly recommended; familiarity with the principles of statistics for analysis of data is also important. The following courses are also recommended, but not required:
| Cell Biology | Histology | Microbiology |
| Developmental Biology | Immunology | Neuroscience |
| Genetics | Molecular Biology | Physiology |
All majors are eligible to apply for admissions to the MD Program as long as the minimum academic requirements are met. Non-science majors are encouraged to take as many science courses as possible.
GPA
While we do not require a minimum undergraduate GPA, the average science and total GPA for successful applicants has ranged from 3.6 to 3.7 in the past few years.
MCAT
MCAT scores no more than 3 years old are required, i.e., scores must be from a test taken no more than 36 months before registration. We do not require a minimum MCAT score; however, the average MCAT score for successful applicants in recent years has been 505.
School of Medicine Admissions
School of Medicine Admissions
School of Medicine Admissions
