Pre-Medicine Pathways
Earn your Zaytuna Bachelor’s degree while completing the coursework, research, and clinical experience required for medical school.
See the prerequisitesTalk to an advisor
4 or 5 years
to earn your B.A. and apply, with or without a gap year
8
core prerequisite areas for medical school
1 advisor & mentor
to plan your courses, clinical hours, MCAT, and application
How the Pathway Works
The Pre-Medicine Pathway is an advising and coordination track, not a separate curriculum. You complete your B.A. in Liberal Arts & Islamic Studies at Zaytuna while taking the medical school science prerequisites through UC Berkeley Extension or another accredited institution. Writing and calculus are met through the Zaytuna core. Below are two sample plans: one that finishes in four years and one that adds a gap year.
Plan A
Four-year accelerated plan
Take one prerequisite most terms alongside your Zaytuna coursework, prepare for the MCAT the summer after Year 3, and finish your B.A. in four years. This plan is demanding and works best for students who are confident in the sciences.
Plan B
Five-year plan with a gap year
Spread the sciences across four years, graduate with your B.A., then use a gap year for the MCAT and applications while gaining full-time clinical or research experience.
Sample plans only. Chemistry courses must be taken in sequence. Each year begins with the summer before its fall term. Your advisor will choose which prerequisite to take each term and tailor the order to your schedule and target schools.
Pre-med advising
Dr. Asad Tarsin directs the Pre-Medicine Pathway. Your pre-med advisor helps you choose a four- or five-year plan around the Zaytuna core, select external science courses and decide when to take them, find approved clinical and research placements, time your MCAT, and prepare your applications and interviews.
Medical School Prerequisites
These are the medical school requirements: courses required or strongly recommended by most U.S. M.D. and D.O. programs. Each card shows how Zaytuna students meet them. Zaytuna Core courses are part of your B.A.; External courses are taken through UC Berkeley Extension or another accredited institution, planned with your advisor. Requirements vary, so always confirm with each school you plan to apply to.
General Biology
2 semesters with lab
General Biology I & II with Lab (UC Berkeley Extension)
General Chemistry
2 semesters with lab
General Chemistry I & II with Lab (UC Berkeley Extension). Take first, in two separate terms: it is the prerequisite for Organic Chemistry.
Organic Chemistry
2 semesters with lab
Organic Chemistry I & II with Lab (UC Berkeley Extension). Some schools accept one semester plus Biochemistry.
Biochemistry
1 semester
Biochemistry I (UC Berkeley Extension). Required by most medical schools and tested on the MCAT.
Physics
2 semesters with lab
Physics I & II with Lab (UC Berkeley Extension)
English & Writing
2 semesters
Fulfilled by Zaytuna’s writing, rhetoric, and seminar courses
Mathematics
Calculus
Fulfilled by calculus in the Zaytuna core. Some schools also require statistics, which is taken externally (Introduction to Statistics, UC Berkeley Extension).
Psychology & Sociology
2 semesters (required by many schools)
General Psychology; Sociology of Health, Illness and Medicine (UC Berkeley Extension). Covered on the MCAT, and best taken during the school year in Years 1–3.
Recommended electives: Genetics, Cell & Molecular Biology, Human Anatomy & Physiology, Microbiology. Grades: take prerequisites for a letter grade. A C+ or better is required in every prerequisite, and a B or better in each science is strongly advised.
Beyond the Classroom
Clinical hours and research are required before you finish the pathway; shadowing, service, and leadership strengthen your application. Start early and keep a log of your hours.
Clinical Experience
Required: at least 100 logged hours of direct patient contact in a healthcare setting such as a hospital, clinic, hospice, EMT work, or scribing. Hours must be supervised and verified by a licensed provider.
Physician Shadowing
Observe physicians in primary care and at least one specialty to understand the day-to-day work of a doctor.
Research
Required: one semester in a faculty-mentored research project or a formal external lab placement. For research at another institution, the faculty supervisor submits a written evaluation.
Service & Leadership
Sustained non-clinical volunteering and leadership that reflect Zaytuna’s commitment to serving others.
The MCAT
A 7.5-hour exam covering biology, chemistry, physics, psychology/sociology, and critical reasoning. Take it after completing your core sciences.
Preparing Your Application
Alongside your coursework, the pathway helps you get ready for entrance exams and applications.
Testing & Application Workshops
A required series of three to four sessions introducing your entrance exam (MCAT, DAT, OAT, GRE, and others) and covering primary and secondary applications, AMCAS, AACOMAS, and TMDSAS, school selection, the application timeline, personal statements, interviews, professionalism, and managing professional-school debt.
Your Student Portfolio
A curated record of your clinical and service experiences, a personal statement draft, advisor feedback letters, and a reflection on your professional identity, built over the course of the pathway.
Clinical & Research Placements
Your pre-med advisor keeps a list of verified hospitals, clinics, hospices, and research sites that host students and verify hours. Hours completed at a site not on the list need a waiver from your advisor in advance.
Featured alumna
A Real Path: Dr. Nida Ahmed
Dr. Nida Ahmed (Class of 2019) layered her medical school preparation onto her Zaytuna education, taking sciences in summers and selected semesters while remaining a full-time Zaytuna student.
Hear from an alumna
Watch her story
Watch Dr. Ahmed share her journey from Zaytuna College to medical school.
Year 1 · 2015–16
Zaytuna writing + service
Fall & Spring: Zaytuna Freshman Seminar and Rhetoric
Service: Volunteered weekly at a homeless clinic
✓ Checked off: English; service
Year 2 · 2016–17
Summer sciences
Summer: Psychology; Organic Chemistry I & II with lab
Spring: Biochemistry; Cell Biology
✓ Checked off: Organic Chemistry, Biochemistry, Psychology, Biology
Year 3 · 2017–18
Research, MCAT, clinical
Summer: 10-week research internship at a medical institution
Fall–Winter: MCAT preparation and exam
Spring: Emergency department scribe
✓ Checked off: Research; MCAT; clinical experience
Year 4 · 2018–19
Apply & graduate
Summer: Submitted applications; continued scribing
Fall: Medical school interviews
Spring: Chose a medical school; completed Zaytuna’s Experiential Learning requirement
✓ Checked off: Applications; interviews; B.A.
The key lesson is sequencing. Zaytuna coursework remains the academic center, while science courses, research, clinical work, MCAT preparation, and applications are deliberately scheduled around it. Every student’s path will differ; your advisor will help you build yours.
Featured alumnus
Another Path: Ali Chaudhry
Ali Chaudhry (Class of 2024) started his chemistry sequence before enrolling and then spread his science courses across summers and semesters at Berkeley City College and UC Berkeley Extension.
Before Zaytuna
Chemistry & math
Summer before: Introductory General Chemistry
Fall: General Chemistry I; Trigonometry
Spring: General Chemistry II; Pre-Calculus
✓ Checked off: General Chemistry
Year 1
Math & psychology
Summer before: Calculus I
Fall: Introduction to Statistics
Spring: General Psychology
✓ Checked off: Calculus; Statistics; Psychology
Year 2
Biology & organic chemistry
Summer before: General Biology I with lab
Fall: General Biology II with lab
Spring: Organic Chemistry I with lab
✓ Checked off: Biology; Organic Chemistry I
Year 3
Biochemistry & physics
Summer before: Biochemistry
Fall: General Physics I
Spring: General Physics II
✓ Checked off: Biochemistry; Physics
Year 4
MCAT & genetics
Summer before: MCAT
Fall: Genetics
✓ Checked off: MCAT; elective
Helpful Resources
Questions?
Dr. Asad Tarsin, Director of the Pre-Medicine Pathway, and our pre-med advisor, can help you plan your path. Email [email protected].
Connect with an Admissions Counselor
Call the Admissions office directly (510) 369-5920 or fill out a form to connect with one of our Admissions counselors