Application Requirements

M.D. Admissions

Residency Requirement

Applications are accepted from U.S. citizens who meet one of the following residency requirements:

  • Have lived in Nevada for a minimum of 12 months immediately prior to Nov. 1 of the application year.
  • Attended any 4-year Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) institution and were previously classified as an in-state student by that institution for the purposes of tuition.
  • Have a parent that has resided in Nevada for a minimum of 12 months immediately prior to November 1 of the application year.
  • Graduated from a Nevada high school.
  • Matriculated as a first-time freshman, completed all undergraduate coursework at, and graduated with their Bachelor's degree, from a NSHE 4-year institutions.
  • Has a parent that gradauted from UNR School of Medicine. 
  • Are legal residents of Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington or Wyoming.
  • Are legal residents of California counties that border Nevada on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada range: Alpine, El Dorado, Inyo, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, and Sierra.

If you do not meet these residency requirements, but you have significant connections or ties to Nevada, you may submit a Residency Exemption Request prior to submitting your Secondary Application. If approved, the residency requirement will be waived.

UNR Med also accepts applications from non-US citizens who are either permanent residents or DACA recipients who have resided in Nevada for 12 months as of Nov 1 of their application year.

Please note: Priority is given to residents of Nevada. In general, 85-90% of UNR Med students are Nevada residents.

Please note: All applicants seeking to pay in-state tuition must submit a Residency Form for review and approval by the University of Reno Office of Admissions & Records in order to be eligible to pay in-state tuition. This form will be provided during the Secondary application process.

MCAT Requirement

All applicants must take the MCAT exam and achieve a required minimum score. The minimum MCAT score to apply to UNR Med is 497 for Nevada residents. Applicants who are not residents of Nevada are required to have a score of 500 or above.

  • The MCAT must be taken no later than September of the application year and within three years of the anticipated year of matriculation.
  • On average, students admitted to UNR Med score in the 73rd percentile on the MCAT.

Undergraduate GPA Requirement

  • Applicants must have a minimum UGPA of 2.80. 
  • If an applicant has a 3.5 GPA in graduate courses, we will consider their application as long as they meet the minimum MCAT score listed above. 

Please note: Beginning for the 2021 application cycle, non-Nevada residents must have a minimum UGPA of 3.3 to be eligible for consideration. 

Academic Preparation & Course Requirements

  • A minimum of three years of college work (90 semester hours) is required to apply to UNR Med. 
  • Students are expected to satisfy the English composition requirements of their undergraduate institution and demonstrated competency in English composition and expression.
  • Students who have completed their baccalaureate degree prior to applying must have recent (within three years of matriculation) science courses, including a minimum of six semester credit hours of upper division science courses.

Prerequisite Coursework

Accepted students are responsible for completing the following prerequisite course work prior to matriculation and candidates for admission are strongly encouraged to complete prerequisites prior to applying.  

  • Biology with labs (Must include 6 credits of upper division and a minimum of 2 credits of lab): 15 credits
  • Chemistry (must include a minimum of 2 credits of lab): 8 credits
  • Organic Chemistry (must include a minimum of 2 credits of lab): 8 credits
  • Physics (must include a minimum of 2 credits of lab): 8 credits
  • General Psychology or Abnormal Psychology: 3 credits
  • Biochemistry: 3 credits

Please note:

  • All credit requirements are in semester hours.
  • All courses must have a letter grade of "C-" or above. 
  • Labs for biology can be taken as a lower division or upper division coursework.
  • Graduate-level coursework will be reviewed/considered on a case-by-case basis.
  • The following do not meet prerequisite requirements:
    • Correspondence or CLEP (college-level exam programs-test out).
    • Pass/fail or audit in lieu of a letter grade.
    • Special Topics, Research, Advanced Mentored Research, Peer Leadership, Survey Courses, or Dissection Team.
    • Upper division online courses (a maximum of 6 lower division online credit hours will be accepted)
    • Professional school courses  

Letters of Recommendation

Applicants to UNR Med must arrange for three letters of recommendation to be submitted as part of their application. These letters must include:

  • One academic letter from a faculty member who is familiar with your academic preparation such as previous research experience, your work ethic, your aptitude for graduate/professional level coursework, etc. 
  • One letter from a physician (M.D. or D.O.) or a clinical provider (Nurse Practitioner or Physician Assistant) that is familiar with the candidate's clinical experience and readiness for medical school; and
  • One letter from someone who can attest to a candidate's personal attributes and professional competencies in relationship to medical school and the practice of medicine. 

Please Note:

  • All letters of recommendation must be submitted directly to AMCAS or via VirtualEvals.
  • Letters must be current (dated within the year you are applying) and  should be signed and written on letterhead.
  • UNR Med accepts Pre-Professional Committee Letters prepared by the candidate's university. However, a physician/clinical provider letter is still required.
  • If you submit more than three letters, admission committee members may only read three.
  • Students are encouraged to waive their access to read letters of recommendation. 
  • Letters that are two-years or older will not be accepted.

Please Note:  If you are reapplying to UNR Med, two letters from the immediate past application cycle may be submitted. The third letter must be new and dated for the current admission cycle year.

CASPer Situational Judgment Test

All UNR Med applicants must complete the CASPer assessment by October 1 of their application year.

Please ​go to ​www.takeCASPer.com​, and select ​2019-2020 Admissions Cycle to sign up for the ​American Professional Health Sciences ​test (CSP10101​) and reserve a test using yo​ur AMCAS ID ​and ​a piece of government-issued photo ID. ​You will be provided with a limited number of testing dates and times. ​Please note that these are the only testing dates available for your CASPer test. Please use an email address that you check regularly; there may be updates to the test schedule.


Please direct any inquiries on the test to ​support@takecasper.com​. Alternatively, you may use the chat bubble in the bottom right hand corner of your screen on the www.takeCASPer.com website.