PA · East Longmeadow, Massachusetts · private

Bay Path University Physician Assistant Studies Program prerequisites

What Bay Path 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 named. Bay Path asks for 15 semester hours of chemical and physical sciences that "must include Organic or Biological Chemistry"; general chemistry counts toward that block, and is in practice the prerequisite for organic, but the program does not require the sequence by name.
Biochemistryrequireddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
The chemical and physical sciences block "must include Organic or Biological Chemistry (labs must be included)." Either course answers it, so biochemistry is not compulsory, but whichever you take must carry its lab.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or writing requirement appears on the admission requirements page.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, not calculus. The exception is regional: several Oklahoma and Texas programs require college algebra instead and do not count statistics, so check those individually.
Psychologynot required here
No psychology requirement appears. The behavioural line here is the public health, social justice or ethnic and gender studies course instead.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II with lab (8 credits)," named inside the 15 semester hour biological sciences block. It must be completed within 10 years of matriculation, like every other prerequisite here.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology (3 credits-lab not required)." Three hours, and Bay Path says outright that the lab is not needed.
Medical terminologynot required here
The admission requirements page carries no medical terminology requirement.
Social sciences and humanitiesrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
An unusual and specific ask: "One college-level Public Health, Social Justice or Ethnic/Gender Studies course (3 credits)." A general psychology or sociology course does not answer it.
Additional science creditsrequiredextra here
10 semesters · 30 credits
The shape of this program's prerequisites: "15 semester hours of biological sciences, which must include Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II with lab (8 credits), and Microbiology (3 credits-lab not required)" plus "15 semester hours of chemical/physical sciences, which must include Organic or Biological Chemistry (labs must be included)." The named courses sit inside these blocks and do not fill them: anatomy, physiology and microbiology account for 11 of the 15 biological hours, and organic or biological chemistry for a fraction of the 15 chemical and physical hours. The remainder is yours to fill with any biological, chemical or physical science credit. The 30 hours here is the sum of the two blocks, not an additional requirement on top of the named courses.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"A minimum of 500 direct patient contact hours are required. Examples of patient contact hours can include but are not limited to EMT, Paramedic, CNA, Nurses Aid, Respiratory Therapist, Medical Assistant, Phlebotomist, Medical Scribe, Pharmacy Technician or other approved clinical experiences." Note that Bay Path counts medical scribing and pharmacy technician work as direct patient contact, which many programs file under healthcare experience instead. Five hundred is the floor for eligibility, not a competitive figure.
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
Under a fifth of programs set a shadowing minimum; among those that do the median is 20 hours and a handful ask for 100 or more. Several count shadowing inside their experience total rather than separately, and a few have dropped it from scoring entirely.

Letters

Science faculty letterrecommended
No published minimum
Only a handful of programs require a science faculty letter by name. An academic letter is welcome nearly everywhere and mandatory almost nowhere.
PA letternot required here
Three letters are required and only the direct supervisor is specified; a PA letter is not required.
Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"Three letters of recommendation are required. One must be from a direct supervisor." The supervisor letter is the only writer Bay Path names.

Also on the school’s page

Bay Path builds its prerequisites as two 15 semester hour science blocks with a few named courses inside each, rather than as a course-by-course list, so plan the total credits, not just the named courses. The recency window is firm and covers everything: "All prerequisite courses listed below must be completed within 10 years of matriculation at a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian institution." A grade of C or better is required in all prerequisite courses. Two GPA floors apply: "Overall GPA 3.0 or higher" and "Overall Science GPA 3.0 or higher." No admissions exam is used: "No GMAT or GRE required," and the page says nothing about the PA-CAT. Three letters are required, one of them from a direct supervisor. The page carries no statement on medical terminology, psychology, English coursework or shadowing. Applications run through CASPA; the cycle opened July 1, 2026 for the class starting June 2027.

School

baypath.edu/academics/graduate-programs/physician-assistant-studies-ms

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