Pre-Podiatry Advising

While USD does not have a podiatry school or specific major, students are encouraged to choose a major that offers the following courses:

Typical* required courses

• General Biology – Bio 240, 240L, 242, 242L
• General Chemistry – Chem 151, 151L, 152, 152L
• Organic Chemistry – Chem 301, 301L, 302, 302L
• General Physics – Phys 136, 136L, 137, 137L or Phys 270, 270L, 271, 271L
• English – FYW 150 and upper division writing "W" course

*These courses will satisfy the requirements for most podiatry schools. Make sure that you check for additional requirements at your selected schools. Most schools want you to have completed the required courses prior to the time of application. Take all required classes for a grade; pass/fail is not acceptable. Grades below a "C" are not considered passing for most medical schools. Also, note that some schools will not accept AP credit in lieu of the required courses (even if accepted by USD). You must then substitute advanced science courses for the traditional requirements satisfied with AP credits.

Some schools recommend

• Biochemistry – Chem 331
• Psychology – Psych 101
• Sociology – Soci 101
• Human Anatomy and Physiology – Bio 212, 213
• Microbiology – Bio 342

Other application information

• MCAT: Taken upon completion of prerequisites and before application to medical school.
• Clinical: Experiences in podiatric settings are important ways for you to learn about the field and demonstrate a sincere interest.
• Community Service/Leadership: There are many opportunities on and off campus to become involved. It's always best to find something that you're very interested in and become involved.

A podiatrist is a doctor of podiatric medicine (DPM), also known as a podiatric physician or surgeon, qualified by his or her education and training to diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle and related structures of the leg. Podiatrists are uniquely qualified among medical professionals to treat the foot and ankle based on their education, training and experience.

Podiatrists are defined as physicians by the federal government and in most states. DPMs receive medical education and training comparable to medical doctors, including four years of undergraduate education, four years of graduate education at one of eight accredited podiatric medical colleges and two or three years of hospital residency training. Within the field of podiatry, practitioners can focus on many different specialty areas, including surgery, sports medicine, biomechanics, geriatrics, pediatrics orthopedics or primary care.

A majority of podiatrists are board certified. Certification is considered to be an earned credential for those podiatric physicians who have achieved certain levels of skill and ability based upon completion of specific advanced training and clinical experience and examination. The American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM) is the certifying board for the specialty areas of podiatric orthopedics and primary podiatric medicine. The American Board of Podiatric Surgery (ABPS) is the certifying board for the specialty area of foot and ankle surgery.

According to the American Podiatric Medical Association the average annual net income for podiatrists is $150,000.