PA School Prerequisites: Required and Recommended Coursework

Physician Assistant programs share a common core of prerequisite courses, though specifics vary by institution.

Universally Required (Nearly All Programs)

• Biology: General Biology I & II with labs (8 semester hrs)
• Chemistry: General Chemistry I & II with labs (8 hrs)
• Organic Chemistry: I & II with labs (8 hrs) — some accept 1 semester + biochem
• Anatomy & Physiology: A&P I & II with labs (8 hrs) — often separate from biology
• Microbiology: With lab (4 hrs)
• Psychology: General + Developmental or Abnormal (6 hrs)
• Statistics: Biostatistics or general (3 hrs)
• Medical Terminology: 1–3 hrs
• English Composition: 6 hrs

Commonly Required / Strongly Recommended

• Biochemistry: 3–4 hrs (increasingly required)
• Genetics: 3 hrs
• Pathophysiology: 3 hrs
• Pharmacology: 3 hrs
• Physics: General I & II with labs (8 hrs) — required by ~50% of programs

Additional Recommendations

• Immunology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Research Methods, Ethics, Humanities, Spanish/medical Spanish

Non-Academic Requirements

• Healthcare experience (HCE): 500–2000+ hrs (EMT, MA, CNA, scribe, phlebotomist, PT aide)
• Patient care experience (PCE): Direct responsibility (paramedic, RN, RT, corpsman) — valued higher
• Shadowing: 20–40 hrs with PA(s)
• Volunteer/community service
• GRE: Required by ~60% (waived by many post-COVID)
• CASPA application (centralized)

Pro Tip

Check each program’s website for exact prerequisites, grade minimums (usually C or better), recency limits (often 5–7 years for sciences), and whether online labs are accepted.