Yes, medical schools accept online degrees, but acceptance comes with real conditions. Your path to medical school depends heavily on your specific program and how well it prepares you for admission requirements.
One of the biggest challenges is whether the medical school you plan to attend will accept your prerequisite courses and lab work. Admissions committees look closely at where and how you completed foundational science courses, so choosing a program built with these requirements in mind matters.
Some ways to tell if an online program will prepare you for medical school is:
- The school’s program is accredited
- The science courses are rigorous
- The lab requirements give you first-hand knowledge using equipment and materials
- There is a history of alumni getting accepted to medical schools
- Faculty provide mentorship
Another historical hurdle has been getting strong letters of recommendation from professors. Online students sometimes struggle to build the kind of relationships with faculty that lead to detailed, personal recommendations.
That has been changing. Many online programs now give students more opportunities to work closely with faculty and gain hands-on experience, and online students are increasingly able to secure letters that speak to the expertise they built in their courses.
So, if you’re considering pursuing an online degree prior to applying to medical school, you’ll want to keep these factors in mind and pursue programs that give you opportunities to show medical schools that you are a capable and valuable applicant.
Do medical schools accept online prerequisite courses?
Historically, many medical programs have been skeptical of applicants with online prerequisite courses on their transcripts. That skepticism centered on concerns about the quality of online instruction and whether it could teach the skills students need to succeed in medical school.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, this attitude has been shifting. When campuses around the world closed and shifted to online learning, many programs had no choice but to move their coursework online, and that period proved that students could complete rigorous prerequisites in a virtual format.
At the same time, more parts of higher education, whether delivered online or in person, have moved toward digital learning. The technology available for teaching pre-med subjects has improved substantially, making medical schools more open to applicants with an online academic background.
As an example, the Arizona State University John Shufeldt School of Medicine and Medical Engineering does accept students with online degrees, so long as the online coursework was taken at a regionally accredited institution within the U.S. for Canada.
Why do medical schools require in-person labs?
Many science prerequisites and other required courses call for lab work to be completed in person. Medical schools have wanted assurance that students gained genuine hands-on experience working with lab materials and the complex equipment used in these classes.
Because of that, some online programs require students to complete lab assignments in person while finishing all other coursework online. This hybrid approach lets students keep the flexibility of an online degree without losing the physical skills labs are designed to teach.
How ASU Online is different: real, in-person lab experience, accreditation and more
When you attend an online pre-med program at ASU, your science courses come from the same accredited curriculum every ASU student completes. Programs delivered online at ASU are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, so the biology, chemistry and physics courses that make up your pre-med foundation carry the same rigor and standards you'd find on campus.
ASU also holds R1 status, the top classification for research activity among U.S. universities. That means a large volume of active research is happening across the institution at any given time, and students studying online at ASU can tap into those same opportunities, from research assistantships to lab collaborations, rather than settling for a purely theoretical education.
The faculty teaching these courses are often the ones doing that research firsthand. Many bring findings from their own labs directly into their teaching, so the mentorship you get is grounded in current science, not just a textbook from a few years back.
ASU is also one institution where its pre-med programs build in-person lab requirements directly into the online degree. To earn our degrees that prepare you for medical school, you will need to complete your lab work in person.
Students earning a degree online at ASU can travel to an ASU campus to complete their lab requirements — often in the summer. Or, you can complete labs at a nearby partner institution. ASU works with its students to identify the path that works best for them to complete the in-person lab requirements.
This structure makes an online pre-med degree at ASU a strong option for students seeking both flexibility and hands-on preparation.
ASU created this option to support all students. Because when you earn your degree online at ASU, your transcript and diploma will not say online. The diploma will simply say “Arizona State University.” That is because you complete the same accredited curriculum as on-campus students. Your coursework, your instructors and your degree requirements are the same, so your credential reflects that shared standard when you attend a pre-med online program at ASU.
Have ASU Online students actually gotten into medical school?
Yes. Students who earned their degrees online at ASU have been accepted into medical school. The first two students to do so began their medical school programs in 2021. These students leaned into the flexibility an online degree offers for their courses while still gaining the in-person experience medical schools expect through required in-person labs, proving that the online path and the medical school path are not mutually exclusive.
Which ASU Online degrees prepare you for medical school?
ASU offers a few programs with online options that prepare you for medical school and other advanced health science paths. A few options include:
- Bachelor of Science in medical studies —This pre-med bachelor's degree builds core medical knowledge, so you can gain the experience, skill sets and resources needed to create positive patient outcomes. While building a strong pre-health foundation, you’ll also have the option to tailor your coursework on your chosen medical school’s requirements, creating a seamless pathway from your undergraduate degree to medical school.
- Bachelor of Science in biological sciences — This program has you build a strong foundation in biology, chemistry, math and physics while developing skills in data analysis, critical thinking and scientific communication. Coursework aligns with Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) competencies and common admission requirements for medical, dental, veterinary and physician assistant programs.
- Bachelor of Science in biological sciences – biomedical sciences — This program is built for aspiring physicians, researchers and scientists by preparing you for the MCAT and beyond. You’ll gain experience with in-person labs and virtual reality experiences that connect scientific principles to medical applications.
Five ways online students can prepare for med school
Just because you’re learning online doesn’t mean you don’t get the same education and experience as an in-person student.
To help you stay proactive as you consider programs, here are some steps ASU recommends you follow to prepare for medical school as an online student:
- Research your target schools' timelines early so you know when to apply and when prerequisites need to be completed.
- Build relationships with faculty throughout your program. Strong letters of recommendation come from professors who know your work well.
- Keep your science GPA strong. Admission committees weigh performance in your core science courses heavily.
- Get clinical experience outside the classroom, whether through shadowing, volunteering or hands-on health care roles.
- Plan around the MCAT, which is typically offered starting in April, so you have enough time to prepare and retake it if needed.
