Pre-Physician's Assistant

What is “pre-physician assistant”?

“Pre-Physician Assistant” is a term used to describe students who plan to enter physician assistant school after graduating from college. You should know there is rarely if ever a “pre-physician assistant” major at any college. When a student is “pre-physician assistant”, he or she is not only taking the classes required for admission to dental school, but also has a major in a specific subject matter area. A student can choose any major and still go to physician assistant school so long as he or she has 1) successfully completed the courses required for admission to physician assistant school, 2) has both a strong science and overall college GPA, and 3) has demonstrated a dedicated interest in health care delivery.

What courses are required for admission to physician assistant school?

Admission requirements vary by school. Please check each school’s admission requirements carefully. Typically, admissions committees require the following courses to be taken in college:

• Anatomy and physiology (one year)
• Abnormal psychology
• Algebra/Calculus/Statistics
• English composition
• General biochemistry (recommended)
• General biology (one year)
• General chemistry (one year)
• General physics (one year recommended)
• General psychology
• General sociology (recommended)
• Genetics
• Life span psychology
• Medical terminology
• Microbiology (one semester)
• Organic chemistry (one year)