PA · Orlando, Florida · private

AdventHealth University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What AdventHealth asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 10 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

General chemistry with labnot required here
Not on AdventHealth's prerequisite list. The chemistry requirement starts at organic chemistry.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry I with Lab, 4 credit hours" plus "Organic Chemistry II with Lab or Biochemistry I with Lab, 4 credit hours." Organic I is mandatory; the second course may be Organic II or Biochemistry I, but either way with its laboratory. A heavier organic requirement than most PA programs ask for.
Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers
4 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
Biochemistry is one of two ways to answer the second organic chemistry line: "Organic Chemistry II with Lab or Biochemistry I with Lab, 4 credit hours." It is optional in itself, since Organic Chemistry II satisfies the same slot, and it must be taken with a laboratory.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on AdventHealth's prerequisite list.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"General Statistics or Elementary Statistics or Biostatistics, 3 credit hours."
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"General Psychology or Developmental Psychology or Abnormal Psychology, 3 credit hours." Any one of the three answers it.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics, 3 credit hours." The one science prerequisite here with no laboratory component. Rarely required on the PA path, so check it against your transcript early.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with Lab or Human Anatomy with Lab and Human Physiology with Lab, 8 credit hours." Either the combined sequence or the split courses works, provided both carry labs. C or higher, within 10 years of application verification.
Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"General Microbiology with Lab, 4 credit hours." A general microbiology course, not a survey.
Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended, and cheap to satisfy: "Medical Terminology, 1 credit hour (certification acceptable)." A certification stands in for the course.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
1000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
Not a minimum. The program "does not require patient care or health-related experience, but strongly recommends that applicants submit a minimum of 1000 hours of direct patient care and/or health related experience." Note that AdventHealth pools direct patient care and health related experience into that one 1000 hour recommendation rather than splitting them.
Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
Many programs publish one combined healthcare figure instead of splitting patient care from healthcare exposure; where they do, the number lands here. Median published minimum is 500 hours.
PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
No number published. "Although PA shadowing is not required, competitive applicants will distinguish themselves by having observed a variety of PAs for enough hours to show they have a well-founded understanding of the role of a PA within the healthcare team." Only unpaid shadowing hours are accepted.

Letters

Science faculty letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
The third of the three CASPA letters: the program recommends "one letter come from a college or university professor." No department is specified, so a non-science professor answers it.
PA letternot required here
AdventHealth recommends rather than requires letters from advanced practice providers, and a nurse practitioner satisfies that as readily as a PA.
Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
2 letters
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"Three letters of recommendation are required and must be submitted through CASPA." The program recommends "two letters of recommendation come from practicing advanced practice providers you have worked with," which means PAs and nurse practitioners you have worked alongside rather than merely shadowed.

Also on the school’s page

AdventHealth publishes an exact 30 credit prerequisite block: 23 credits of science and 7 of other coursework. The science half is anatomy and physiology with lab (8), Organic Chemistry I with lab (4), Organic Chemistry II with lab or Biochemistry I with lab (4), General Microbiology with lab (4) and Genetics (3, the only science line without a lab). The rest is psychology (3), statistics (3) and medical terminology (1 credit, certification acceptable). There is no general chemistry, general biology, physics or English line. "All prerequisite courses must have been completed with a C or higher within 10 years of the date of application verification," and the program offers an unusual escape hatch: applicants whose science prerequisites are older than 10 years may instead submit a PA-CAT Student Transcript scoring at or above the mean percentile, while non-science prerequisites older than 10 years must be retaken by March 31, 2027. GPA floor is a "3.00 minimum cumulative GPA and a 3.0 minimum overall science GPA on a 4.00 scale." On testing: "The GRE and PA-CAT are not required in the selection process for AdventHealth University's PA Program," though CASPer is required of all applicants.

School

adu.edu/academics/ms-physician-assistant

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