How to Apply to Life Sciences and Pre-Medicine Undergraduate Programs at the University of Connecticut: Five Biology Majors in Liberal Arts and Sciences, a Separate School of Nursing, a Competitive Internal Application for Allied Health Sciences and Special Programs Leading to Medical and Dental School, for Domestic and International (Including Chinese) Applicants and Transfer Students

At the University of Connecticut (UConn), life-science and medicine-related undergraduate programs are spread across several schools: the biology majors in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing, Allied Health Sciences and Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, and the Special Programs that lead to UConn’s School of Medicine and School of Dental Medicine. There is no pre-med major in the United States, and UConn’s biology advising site says plainly that it “does not offer a specific pre-medical or pre-dental major.” This guide follows UConn’s website and is organised for U.S. domestic applicants, international applicants, applicants from China and transfer students. Biomedical Engineering is in the College of Engineering and is not covered here.

1. Degrees and programs

• Scale: the admissions office says UConn has 10 schools and colleges and more than 125 majors; the biology offerings in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) are five majors and six minors, housed in three departments — Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology, and Physiology and Neurobiology.
• Biological Sciences: BA or BS, for students with broad interests in biology; at least 36 credits at the 2000 level or higher in EEB, MCB or PNB courses (six at the 3000 level or higher) with a 2.0 major GPA.
• Ecology and Evolutionary Biology: BA or BS; Molecular and Cell Biology: BS; Physiology and Neurobiology: BS; Structural Biology and Biophysics: BS. Minors include Neuroscience and Bioinformatics.
• BA versus BS: the biology advising page says the BS is generally recommended for students planning a scientific career and requires additional science and math sequences, while the BA allows a flexible liberal arts experience and requires five courses from Content Area One: Arts and Humanities. The Biological Sciences BA does not require chemistry, physics or calculus. Both prepare students for pre-medical and pre-dental programs.
• Nursing (BS): Elisabeth DeLuca School of Nursing, Storrs campus, about four years of full-time study; graduates are eligible for the NCLEX; the traditional program admits only for the fall semester.
• Allied Health Sciences: College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, BS, with concentrations such as Health Sciences, Healthcare Administration, Public Health and Health Promotion, Digital Health and Technology, and Genetic and Genomic Sciences (the profile says seven concentrations but names six). The major requires a competitive internal application (Section 2).
• Other listings: the major profiles also list Nutritional Sciences, Dietetics, Diagnostic Genetic Sciences, Pathobiology, Animal Science, Pharmacy and Health Care Management, which this guide does not describe in detail. The admissions site describes a STEM Scholars program for first-years applying to a STEM major but gives no list of STEM majors.
• Honors and research: biology students in the Honors Program take honors courses, do independent research and write a thesis; to graduate as an Honors Scholar a student needs at least a 3.4 GPA and a senior thesis. Lab capacity is not described on the pages we read.

2. Admission: the school you apply to, plus conditions for the major

• Application: first-year applications are reviewed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The admissions office says nearly a quarter of first-year students are accepted to the Academic Center for Exploratory Students (ACES), where they complete Common Curriculum courses before entering a major. The Early Decision page refers to an applicant’s “first choice campus” and “first choice major,” and says applicants admitted to a second-choice major or campus are no longer bound; the pages we read do not list the majors you can select or say whether changing after admission is restricted. Nursing applicants answer an extra question about their motivation for nursing.
• Changing majors within CLAS: the biology advising FAQ says CLAS students change majors online and “do not need permission,” though it recommends talking with advisors in both majors; moving to a different school requires applying to that program, and some programs accept applications only in set windows. The Biological Sciences profile points to the CLAS online declare system. The pages for Biological Sciences, Molecular and Cell Biology and Physiology and Neurobiology state no GPA threshold or enrollment cap for entering the major.
• Nursing: the School of Nursing says the traditional program admits only for fall, admission is competitive, and applicants “should have credentials placing them in the upper range of their high school graduation class”; first-year applicants must have completed high school or college coursework in both biology and chemistry. First-year applicants are reviewed by Undergraduate Admissions; letters of recommendation “are not required and will not be reviewed.” Transfer applicants and internal change-of-major applicants must meet the same application requirements: for external transfers a 3.5 cumulative GPA, in-progress or completed college biology and chemistry (hybrid or online lab sciences are not accepted), a motivational statement of 350 words or less and a February 1 deadline; for internal changes a 3.0 cumulative GPA, college biology (BIOL 1107) and chemistry (CHEM 1122, or 1124 and 1125, or 1127) and the same February 1 deadline. Capacity is limited, and meeting the minimums does not guarantee admission.
• Allied Health Sciences (internal competitive application): the department says current UConn students (any campus) who were not admitted to the university as an Allied Health Sciences major can apply through a competitive internal process by the 10th day of each semester; enrollment is limited. Criteria: good academic standing with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0; completed (not in progress) 1000-level chemistry with lab, BIOL 1107 (preferred) or 1108, and STAT 1000Q or 1100Q or MATH 1060Q or higher (math varies by concentration). Applicants upload their UConn transcript and a personal statement of up to 500 words; prior healthcare experience is not required. Published internal data: Fall 2026, 141 applications, 58% accepted, accepted students’ average cumulative GPA 3.49; Fall 2025, 138, 63%, 3.36; Spring 2026, 120, 80%, 3.37; Spring 2025, 94, 68%, 3.42. The admissions pages we read do not say how a first-year applicant is admitted directly into this major.
• Special Programs: see the next section.

3. Pre-med at UConn, and the programs that lead to medical and dental school

• No pre-med major: the biology advising site says UConn does not offer a specific pre-medical or pre-dental major, because each professional school sets prerequisites such as courses and patient-care hours, and “in many cases, medical schools appreciate applicants who have a broad undergraduate education.” Students in every major can meet with the Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Advising Office.
• Courses the office recommends (general requirements for medical and dental school): Biology BIOL 1107 + 1108 (pre-med students may skip 1108 if they take at least one additional upper-level BIOL course with a lab; pre-dental students must take 1108); Chemistry CHEM 1124 + 1125 + 1126 or 1127 + 1128; Organic Chemistry CHEM 2443 + 2444 + 2445; Biochemistry MCB 2000 (varies for dental schools); Physics PHYS 1201 + 1202 (algebra), 1401 + 1402 (calculus) or 1501 + 1502; one year of English; math and statistics vary by school. Strongly suggested science courses include anatomy and physiology, genetics, cell biology and microbiology. The office stresses that these are general recommendations and individual schools differ.
• AP credit advice: students entering with a full year of AP Chemistry credit should still take organic chemistry and biochemistry and add at least one upper-division chemistry course with a lab; students with one semester of calculus credit should consider another calculus or a statistics course; students with AP Physics credit should confirm a full year with a lab, and even a full year of credit still needs at least one upper-division physics course; students with AP English credit need at least one college English course.
• Summer and retakes: the office recommends taking prerequisites during the regular semester at a four-year institution, while understanding that many students choose summer or community college courses for cost and timing reasons; grades of B-minus or lower are worth considering for retakes, and both grades count when application services calculate GPA.
• Special Program in Medicine: an eight-year program ending in a UConn BA/BS and an MD. Applicants must enter as first-years, have a secondary school GPA of 3.5 (4.0 scale), submit the complete application by November 1, a supplemental application (in the applicant portal, not the Common App) and two letters of recommendation by November 8, and, if invited, interview; every admitted student must be in the Honors Program. “There are no state residency requirements, although Connecticut residents will receive special consideration,” and “International students are eligible to apply.” To matriculate into the School of Medicine, students must keep a 3.6 cumulative GPA, reach an MCAT total in the 80th percentile with no subtest below the 55th, complete general biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, physics and biochemistry, log more than 100 hours each in clinical service, community service and clinical or benchtop research, and have favorable interviews in the senior year.
• Special Program in Dental Medicine: eight years, ending in a BA/BS and a DMD; the dates and materials are similar (3.5 GPA, November 1, November 8 supplemental application, two letters, Honors Program required). To matriculate: a 3.5 cumulative science GPA, a minimum score of 20 on the DAT Academic Average and Total Science sections, the same five science courses, and clinical, research and community service activities. The dental page we read does not say whether international students may apply.
• Shared arrangements: applicants may apply to only one Special Program; decisions come in early March; you do not need to apply Early Decision to be considered.

4. Prerequisites and credit

• High school courses: the admissions office requires 16 units at graduation, 15 of them college preparatory: English 4, math 3, social science or history 2, two units of a single foreign language (3 strongly recommended), laboratory science 2 and electives 3. Nursing applicants must have high school chemistry and biology; engineering applicants need chemistry or physics.
• Biological Sciences: BIOL 1107 and 1108 (or 1110); one cells-and-molecules core course (MCB 2000, 2210, 2215 or 2610); EEB 2244 Ecology; EEB 2245 Evolution; MCB 2400 or 2410 Genetics; PNB 2250 or PNB 2774 and 2775 Physiology; and a writing-in-the-major course. For the BS, calculus I and II (MATH 1131 and 1132) are the only math requirements and are usually started in sophomore year; physics, normally taken in junior year, is required; organic chemistry (CHEM 2443, 2444) is not required, but many pre-med and pre-dental students take it.
• Molecular and Cell Biology (catalog year Fall 2025 and later): at least 27 MCB credits (nine at the 3000 level or higher); BIOL 1107; a core of cell biology, genetics, microbiology and biochemistry; Organic Chemistry CHEM 2443 and 2444; at least one lab course; a writing course; and 12 credits of related courses outside MCB.
• Physiology and Neurobiology: at least 26 PNB credits; BIOL 1107; physics (PHYS 1201Q, 1202Q and 1230, or 1401Q and 1402Q, or 1601Q and 1602Q); a core of Enhanced Human Physiology & Anatomy I, II and lab (PNB 2774, 2775, 2776) and Biology of the Brain (PNB 3251); and at least one course each from the physiology and neurobiology groups.
• AP and credit conversion: the biology and admissions pages we read do not give an AP credit table; contact UConn admissions. The pre-med office’s AP advice is in Section 3.

5. Deadlines, materials and fees (fall 2027 entry)

• Deadlines: November 1 — Early Decision (binding) and the medicine, dental medicine and law Special Programs; December 1 — priority date for merit and Honors consideration; January 15 — Storrs regular deadline; February 15 — FAFSA; May 1 — regional campuses. Early Decision notifications begin in mid-December (applicants admitted to their first-choice campus and major must accept and pay the enrollment fee by January 15; an Early Decision applicant who also applies to a Special Program is bound by the agreement whatever the Special Program decision), and others come in early March. Spring entry: October 1 for all campuses, with rolling decisions.
• Platform and fee: the Common Application or the Coalition Application, one only; the application fee is $80 (non-refundable). UConn issues no fee-waiver codes, but applicants who qualify under their platform’s terms can select a waiver; the fee is waived for Connecticut residents or Connecticut high school students who submit a fall 2027 application between October 15 and November 2, 2026.
• Materials: a personal essay of 250–650 words; two letters of recommendation are optional but preferred; applicants at U.S. high schools self-report their transcript through STARS (or send an official transcript); official transcripts from the secondary school and every college attended; non-English documents need an official certified translation.
• Testing: SAT or ACT is optional; to be considered, official scores must come from the testing agency (UConn codes: SAT 3915, ACT 0604); the writing and science sections are not used; UConn superscores. For fall 2026 admitted students who submitted scores, the middle 50% at Storrs was SAT 1320–1460 and ACT 29–34.
• Interview: the admissions office says that because of the number of applications, interviews are not part of the admissions process; interviews for the medicine and dental Special Programs are by invitation only.
• Honors and scholarships: all first-year applicants are automatically considered for Honors and most merit scholarships at initial review, with no separate application.

6. U.S. domestic applicants

• Cost (2026–27, full-time Storrs undergraduate): tuition $17,010 in-state, $39,678 out-of-state, $26,028 New England Regional; university and student fees $4,564; on-campus housing (standard double) $8,288; meal plan (Value) $6,896. Direct-cost subtotal: $36,758 in-state and $59,426 out-of-state; with the waivable health insurance ($3,214, the 2025–26 rate) and Husky Book Bundle ($570) it is $40,542 in-state and $63,210 out-of-state. Program-specific fees for labs or nursing are not described on the pages we read.
• Scholarships: first-year applicants are automatically considered for most merit awards; the Stamps, Nutmeg and Day of Pride scholarships need a supplemental application due November 8. The website groups them in three sets. Available to all applicants: the Stamps Scholarship (Storrs only; full cost of attendance for four years plus a one-time $12,000 enrichment award; interview required). Available to in-state and out-of-state applicants: four-year renewable awards of yearly-set value — Academic Excellence, Husky Achievement, Leadership and UConn Award (priority date December 1) — and the STEM Scholarship for Storrs students who choose a STEM major, which places recipients in the Honors Program and STEM Scholars community. For Connecticut residents: the Nutmeg and Day of Pride full scholarships and the Presidential Scholars Award (for valedictorians and salutatorians). International applicants’ awards are in Section 7.
• Need-based aid: a FAFSA by February 15 establishes eligibility, with offers starting in early March; Early Decision applicants file by November 1 and receive offers from mid-December.

7. International applicants

• Who counts: non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents who have completed secondary school (equivalent to U.S. grades 9–12). International students who completed all four years of secondary school in the U.S. must meet the domestic first-year requirements. Those with 12 or more transferable college credits apply as international transfers.
• Application and dates: the same applications (Common App or Coalition) and the same dates as domestic applicants — Early Decision and Special Programs November 1, priority December 1, Storrs January 15, regional campuses May 1, spring October 1. The $80 fee can be paid by check or money order.
• High school courses: international applicants should have college-preparatory coursework in English (if offered), math, physical science and social science; engineering applicants must have taken secondary-school physics and chemistry. The international page does not repeat the nursing biology-and-chemistry requirement, which the School of Nursing states for first-year applicants.
• Testing: SAT/ACT is optional and its absence does not disadvantage an applicant; scores must be sent by the testing agency to be considered.
• English: required if your primary language is not English. Minimums: TOEFL iBT 4.5 (the page prints “4.5 (79 out of 120)”), IELTS 6.5, Duolingo 110, LanguageCert Academic 70, Pearson PTE Academic 60; meeting the minimum does not guarantee admission. Waivers: English as the primary language; two years and graduation at a U.S. secondary school (excluding ESL); SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing of 510 or higher; ACT English, Reading and Composite all at least 24; IB Higher Level English of 5 or higher; one year or more of full-time U.S. college work with a 3.0 or higher (excluding ESL); a degree from a foreign institution taught in English; or completion of UConn’s American English Language Institute (UCAELI). Otherwise-admissible applicants who cannot meet the requirement may receive conditional admission with UCAELI.
• Records and proof of funds: official transcripts must be sent directly to UConn, with certified English translations; requirements by country are on the credentials page. After admission and receipt of the enrollment fee, the Form I-20 is issued once you submit a passport copy, a signed Financial Declaration Form and a financial support document showing you can meet the estimated first-year costs; the funding-guidelines page it links to was not read, so the amount is not stated here.
• International scholarships: three merit awards are open to international applicants on all campuses — Global Excellence, Global Distinction and Global Leader — each renewable for four years with a yearly fixed amount and a December 1 priority date; the amounts are not stated.
• Nursing and limited programs: the School of Nursing and admissions pages do not describe places or clinical limits for international students; contact nursingadmissions@uconn.edu.

8. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the admissions pages we read do not mention the Gaokao; it is not published.
• Transcripts and diploma: the credentials page has a row for “China (National Curriculum)”: current students submit an official transcript from senior middle school (grades 10 and 11) showing grade 12 courses in progress; graduates submit official final transcripts for senior years 1, 2 and 3 along with official copies of the original Chinese Graduation Certificate. The page does not name an evaluation agency or mention the huikao exams; email onestop@uconn.edu with questions.
• International curricula: for IGCSE/GCSE with IBDP, current students send IGCSE or GCSE results with grade 11 and predicted IB scores, and graduates send IGCSE or GCSE and IBDP; A-level applicants must be enrolled in at least three Advanced or International Advanced Level courses, and graduates send at least three A-levels.
• English and testing: see Section 7; SAT/ACT is optional.

9. Transfer students

• Eligibility: a student who has completed 12 or more credits after high school at an accredited institution is a transfer student. Successful applicants typically have coursework comparable to UConn’s General Education Requirements and a 2.7 cumulative GPA (4.0 scale), with 3.0 or higher for limited-enrollment programs, in good standing at the last institution.
• Fall deadlines: February 1 — Nursing and, in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, Diagnostic Genetic Sciences, Dietetics, Exercise Science and Medical Laboratory Sciences; April 1 — Allied Health Sciences, other College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources majors such as Nutritional Sciences, Pathobiology and Animal Science, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and others (applications after the deadline are reviewed on a space-available basis); Pharmacy has a January 5 PharmCAS supplemental application. Regional campuses: May 1. Spring entry: October 1, but Nursing, Diagnostic Genetic Sciences, Dietetics, Exercise Science and Medical Laboratory Sciences do not accept spring transfer applications, and the university accepts no spring applications from international students.
• Restricted-program criteria: Nursing — 3.5 cumulative GPA and completed biology, chemistry and mathematics prerequisites, with limited seats. Diagnostic Genetic Sciences, Dietetics and Medical Laboratory Sciences — 3.0 cumulative GPA, junior standing and completed math and science prerequisites; Exercise Science — 3.0 and completed program prerequisites. For the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources in general the minimum is 24 credits earned, and the deadlines table lists Allied Health Sciences at April 1; the pages we read give no further transfer criteria for the major beyond the internal-application criteria in Section 2.
• International transfer: the same requirements as domestic transfers; fall deadlines follow the transfer deadlines page; no spring applications; $80 fee; official transcripts must come directly from each institution, with certified translations for non-English documents; UConn does not require but strongly recommends a transcript evaluation, with a discount through its partner TEC (formerly SpanTran).
• Transferring into biology majors: the pages we read do not describe the transfer-credit process for biology majors; the pre-med office recommends taking prerequisites during regular semesters at a four-year institution where possible, while acknowledging that summer or community college courses make sense for many students for cost and timing reasons, provided there is a clear reason for the choice.

Checklist

U.S. domestic applicants:

• Apply by November 1 (Early Decision or Special Programs), December 1 (priority) or January 15 (Storrs); SAT/ACT optional; nursing applicants need high school chemistry and biology
• For the medicine or dental Special Program: a 3.5 GPA, the November 8 supplemental application and two letters of recommendation
• Biology majors are declared after enrolling; the pre-med office recommends taking prerequisites in regular semesters

International applicants (including China):

• Same dates as domestic applicants; applicants from China send senior-year 1–3 final transcripts and a copy of the graduation certificate; certified translations for non-English documents
• Non-native speakers send TOEFL iBT 4.5 (79 of 120), IELTS 6.5 or another accepted test, or qualify for a waiver; after admission, the Financial Declaration Form and proof of funds
• The medicine Special Program accepts international applicants; check the dental program and nursing with UConn

Transfer students:

• 12 or more credits and a 2.7 GPA (3.0–3.5 for restricted programs); nursing February 1, Allied Health Sciences and others April 1; check each program’s prerequisites first

Sources: University of Connecticut, First-year admission requirements; First-year dates and deadlines; Early Decision; First-year application instructions; Special programs; Special Program in Medicine; Special Program in Dental Medicine; Academic Center for Exploratory Students; STEM Scholars; Schools and colleges; International first-year applicants; International credentials by country; Financial and visa information; International transfer; Transfer requirements; Transfer deadlines; Restricted transfer programs; Merit scholarships; 2026-27 costs; Biology Advising: Biological Sciences; Biology Advising: Molecular and Cell Biology; Biology Advising: Physiology and Neurobiology; Biology degree options; Biology Advising: jobs and careers; Biology Advising: FAQ; School of Nursing: Bachelor of Science; Allied Health Sciences major admission; Major profiles; Pre-med: course requirements; Pre-med: AP credit policies. The first-year dates page is labeled fall 2027; the nursing page’s February 1 deadline shows no year, so check UConn’s website to confirm it is for fall 2027 entry.