PA · Mesa, Arizona · private

Arizona School of Health Sciences Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What ATSU Arizona asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
One semester, lab optional: "General chemistry (with or without lab; recommended that course be completed within 5 years of application date), minimum 4 semester credits/6 quarter credits." ATSU does not ask for the second semester of the sequence.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry (with or without lab; recommended that course be completed within 5 years of application date), minimum 3 semester credits/4 quarter credits." Organic chemistry is not a prerequisite at ATSU; biochemistry is the named course.
English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
Required here, not merely recommended: "English composition minimum 6 semester credits/8 quarter credits OR English composition minimum 3 semester credits/4 quarter credits AND English elective, minimum 3 semester credits/4 quarter credits." English is the one prerequisite where ATSU accepts AP credit.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Broad on which statistics course counts: "College Statistics (i.e. intro course, business stats, psych stats), minimum 3 semester credits/4 quarter credits."
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Psychology, minimum 3 semester credits/4 quarter credits." Unlike the science prerequisites, no recency window is attached.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
ATSU splits the sequence: "Human Anatomy with lab ... minimum 4 semester credits/6 quarter credits" and "Human Physiology with lab ... minimum 4 semester credits/6 quarter credits." A combined course is accepted only as a full sequence: "If you have taken a combined Anatomy & Physiology course, you must have two or more semesters (each with lab) totaling 8 semester credits/12 quarter credits." Both carry the recommended five year recency window, and a course in exercise physiology does not substitute.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
Lighter than the baseline on both counts: "Microbiology (with or without lab; recommended that course be completed within 5 years of application date) minimum 3 credits/4 quarter credits." The lab is genuinely optional here.
Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required, not recommended: "Medical Terminology, minimum 1 semester/1 quarter credits (certificate does not count must be on transcript from college/university)." A free online certificate will not answer this line.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
The published minimum is half the baseline planning floor: "Applicants must obtain a minimum of 500 hours of patient care experience, sufficient to recognize the physical and psychological demands of dealing with patients." Treat that as the floor and not the target, because the program separately states "1000 hours or more of patient care experience is recommended," and the scored initial review weighs Number of Healthcare Hours alongside GPA and science hours.
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
"Shadowing with a physician assistant is strongly recommended." ATSU publishes no hour figure, but shadowing hours are one of the counted inputs in the weighted initial review, so the number is not ignored.
Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here
100+ hours
"A minimum of 100 community service hours is strongly recommended." The program is specific about what counts: "We are looking for applicants that are spending time helping people in a community of need or underserved," not a paid position and not shadowing, and animal work does not count.

Letters

Science faculty letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
ATSU's faculty letter is discipline neutral, asking only for a "Faculty member from whom the applicant has taken a course." A science professor satisfies it but is not required to.
Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
1 letter
The third required letter is from a "Faculty member from whom the applicant has taken a course." ATSU does not name a discipline, so any professor who taught you answers it.
Physician letterrequiredextra here
1 letter
One of the three required letters must come from a "Health Care Practitioner (Physician, Physician Assistant (Strongly recommended) or Nurse Practitioner)." This line and the PA letter line are the same letter, not two: "The required letter of recommendation from a healthcare provider must be from a physician (M.D. or D.O.), a physician assistant, or a nurse practitioner. A letter from a PA is preferred."
PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not strictly required. The required practitioner letter may come from a physician, PA, or nurse practitioner, with the PA "(Strongly recommended)" and "A letter from a PA is preferred." Three letters total are required and this is one of them, not an extra.
Supervisor letterrecommended
No published minimum
A letter from a work supervisor is required by about a quarter of programs. Many name no writer category at all and simply ask for three letters.

Also on the school’s page

ATSU publishes the residential MS in Physician Assistant Studies prerequisites on the program page itself. Every prerequisite needs a grade of C or higher and must be finished before the program begins in July, though they need not be done at the time of application: "It is common for many of our candidates to be finishing one or two pre-requisite courses at the time of application." Recency is a recommendation, not a bar: human anatomy, human physiology, microbiology, biochemistry and general chemistry each carry "recommended that course be completed within 5 years of application date." On tests, "GRE scores are NOT required for admissions consideration" and the page names no PA-CAT. GPA floors are real minimums: "a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average overall and a minimum 3.0 cumulative science grade point average on a 4.00 scale"; for context the Class of 2025 averaged 3.60 overall and 3.55 science, which is an average and not a cutoff. Community college coursework is accepted, though the program strongly recommends most prerequisites come from a four-year institution, and AP credit is not accepted for prerequisites with the exception of English. Exercise physiology does not satisfy the anatomy and physiology prerequisite. Apply through CASPA by the Sept. 1 deadline with the secondary application due Oct. 1; admissions are rolling and interviews use a multiple mini-interview format plus a one on one file review.

School

atsu.edu/physician-assistant-degree

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