High-School Subjects You Need for Medicine
Chemistry and biology, at 155 of the 212 programs that publish exact requirements. Physics appears at 68 and mathematics at 70.
Quick Answer
Chemistry and biology, almost everywhere. Of the 212 programs that publish exact admission requirements on this site, 163 name chemistry and 157 name biology, and 155 name both — so roughly three quarters of the published requirements assume you have taken the two of them. Physics appears at 68 programs and mathematics at 70, usually as an alternative to one of the first two rather than an addition. 47 programs name neither chemistry nor biology in their published requirements, which is a real route in but a smaller one than it sounds. If you are still choosing school subjects, chemistry is the one that closes the most doors by its absence: it is the single most frequently named requirement in the catalog.
Source Status
Subject requirements are read from the exact published admission requirements recorded for 212 of the 271 programs. The remaining 59 do not publish a subject list in a form we could verify.
Quick Take
- 155 of 212 programs with published requirements name both chemistry and biology.
- Physics appears at 68 and mathematics at 70, usually as alternatives rather than extras.
- 47 name neither — a real route in, but the smaller one.
What the published requirements actually say
Across the 212 programs whose exact requirements we could verify:
| Subject | Programs naming it |
|---|---|
| Chemistry | 163 |
| Biology | 157 |
| Chemistry and biology together | 155 |
| Physics | 68 |
| Mathematics | 70 |
| Chemistry, biology and physics | 68 |
| Neither chemistry nor biology | 47 |
The near-identical chemistry and biology numbers are not a coincidence. Programs overwhelmingly ask for the pair, not one or the other — 155 of the 163 that want chemistry also want biology. Physics never appears on its own: every one of the 68 programs that names it also names chemistry and biology. Whether it is a third subject or an alternative to one of them comes down to the wording — and as the next section shows, it is often an "or".
That makes chemistry the highest-stakes subject choice you will make at school. Dropping it does not halve your options; it removes most of them.
Physics and mathematics are usually an 'or', not an 'and'
This is the detail that causes unnecessary panic. When physics or mathematics appears, it is most often offered as an alternative:
University of Debrecen (dentistry) asks for a secondary-school diploma with biology and chemistry or physics.
University of Pécs (dentistry) examines biology and chemistry/physics plus an English interview.
Palacký University Olomouc (dentistry) sets a written assessment in chemistry, biology and physics or mathematics at school-leaving standard.
So a student with chemistry and biology but no physics is not shut out of those. Read the conjunction carefully — "chemistry, biology and physics or mathematics" is a different requirement from "chemistry, biology, physics and mathematics", and universities rarely spell out which grouping they mean.
The exception worth knowing is University of Zagreb (dentistry), whose selection includes a three-hour biology, physics and chemistry entrance test — all three, plus psychomotor-ability testing, which is unique in this catalog.
The 47 that name neither
47 of the 212 do not name chemistry or biology in their published requirements. Before treating that as an open door, understand what it usually means.
Some are pharmacy programs, where the published requirement is a general secondary qualification and the science screening happens through an entrance assessment instead. Some are UK courses whose requirement is expressed as A-level or IB grades in named subjects on the university's own course page rather than in the admissions summary. And some simply publish less detail than their neighbours.
In other words, "does not name chemistry" is not the same as "does not require chemistry". It means the published summary we verified did not name it. For any program in that group, the course page is the thing to read before concluding you qualify.
If you are genuinely without science subjects, the more reliable route is the group of programs that admit on documents and file review — covered separately — rather than hoping a silent requirement is an absent one.
If you are still choosing subjects
Take chemistry. It is named by more programs than anything else in the catalog and it is the requirement most often treated as non-negotiable.
Take biology. 155 programs want it alongside chemistry, and the pair together is what most published requirements assume.
Take physics or mathematics if you can, but do not panic if you cannot. They appear at roughly a third of programs and usually as an alternative.
Do not assume your grades transfer as you expect. A qualification that satisfies a requirement at home may still need formal recognition in the destination country before it counts — which is its own process, and one applicants routinely discover too late.
And if you have already finished school without chemistry, that is not the end of it. Several countries run a preparatory or foundation year specifically to fill this gap; ask the university directly rather than assuming you are excluded.
FAQs
What subjects do I need to study medicine in Europe?
Chemistry and biology in most cases. Of the 212 programs publishing exact requirements, 163 name chemistry, 157 name biology and 155 name both. Physics and mathematics appear at 68 and 70 respectively, usually as alternatives rather than additions.
Do I need physics?
Usually not as a separate requirement. Where it appears it is most often an alternative — Debrecen asks for biology and chemistry or physics, Palacký for chemistry, biology and physics or mathematics. The University of Zagreb's dentistry entrance test is the notable exception, covering all three.
Can I study medicine in Europe without chemistry?
It closes most doors. Chemistry is the single most frequently named requirement in the catalog. 49 programs do not name it in their published requirements, but that often means the requirement sits on the course page rather than that it is absent — check before assuming.
What if I did not take science subjects at all?
Look at the programs that admit on documents and file review, and ask universities about preparatory or foundation years, which several countries run specifically to fill this gap. Do not rely on a requirement being absent just because a summary page did not list it.
Do my school subjects transfer automatically?
Not always. A qualification that meets a requirement at home may still need formal recognition or equivalency in the destination country before it counts toward admission. That is a separate process with its own timeline.
Does this apply to dentistry and pharmacy too?
The chemistry and biology pattern holds across all three, but pharmacy programs more often publish a general secondary requirement and screen for science through an entrance assessment instead.