Required and Recommended Coursework

Required Preparatory Coursework

• Courses must be 3-credit (semester) or 4.5-credit (quarter) hours in length. Preference will be given for courses completed at a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States within the last 7 years (from the date of submission of the CASPA application).
• We do not accept Advanced Placement (AP), College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or audited coursework.
• Online courses from regionally accredited institutions are accepted. 
• Courses from any of the ACE credit providers do not meet our prerequisite requirements.
• Courses offered online during COVID-19 (Spring 2020 through Spring 2021) will be accepted.
• Courses only offered pass-fail by the college or university due to COVID-19 (Spring 2020 through Spring 2021) will be accepted and will not contribute to the calculated GPA or Pre-Requisite GPA. Pass-fail courses will not be accepted if there is an option to choose pass-fail or graded. If it is not clearly stated on the transcript, a letter will be required from the college or university to confirm that pass-fail was the only option. We will consider a grade of “P” to be equivalent to the minimum grade of “C”. That must be supported by documentation from the college or university.
• We do not accept courses as part of dual enrollment while in high school.
• All prerequisite courses must have a grade of C or higher.
• All prerequisite coursework must be for Science Majors.
• Prerequisites will not replace any component of the curriculum. 
• Applicants cannot have any outstanding courses.

• Human Anatomy: As a single course or part of a two-semester combined Anatomy and Physiology Course including lab
• Physiology: As a single course or part of a two-semester combined Anatomy and Physiology Course including lab
•  Biology I with lab
•  Microbiology with lab
•  General Chemistry I with lab
•  Organic Chemistry I or Biochemistry with lab
•  General Psychology or Abnormal Psychology
•  Statistics or Biostatistics
•  Medical Terminology (may be completed as an online or certificate course)

Highly Recommended Courses

The physician assistant program curriculum is extremely rigorous. As applicants prepare for the academic pathway, we highly recommend additional upper -level science courses. These courses are NOT required but are recommended to supplement the knowledge base for the student.

• Biochemistry
• Genetics
• Cell biology
• Molecular biology
• Abnormal psychology
• Embryology
• Histology or immunology