PA · Houston, Texas · private

Baylor College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Baylor College of Medicine 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.

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Coursework

General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Both semesters, each with its laboratory: "General Chemistry I with lab, 4 semester" and "General Chemistry II with lab, 4 semester." One published escape route exists for applicants who went further: "Upper-level coursework may be considered as substitution for general chemistry," which must be approved in writing by the program rather than assumed.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry with lab, 4 semester / 5 quarter." One semester, on top of both semesters of general chemistry, and the laboratory must be completed in person.
Biochemistrynot required here
Biochemistry appears nowhere on Baylor's prerequisite table, which lists anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, both semesters of general chemistry, organic chemistry, psychology or sociology, expository writing and statistics. Only organic chemistry is required from the upper chemistry sequence.
English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
Required here rather than recommended as in the baseline, and only one course rather than the baseline's six credits: "Expository Writing/English Composition, 3 semester / 4 quarter." A non-science prerequisite, so the ten year window applies.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Three credits, but with a content condition most programs do not impose: "Statistics (must include Analysis of Variance/ANOVA), 3 semester / 4 quarter." Check the syllabus before enrolling, because a statistics course that stops short of ANOVA will not satisfy this line. Baylor names PSYC 2317 as the accepted Texas community college equivalent.
Psychologyrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
Psychology is one of two interchangeable ways to fill a single three credit non-science requirement, not a course named on its own: "Psychology or Sociology." Baylor lists PSYC 2301, 2307, 2308, 2315, 2316, 2319, 2320 and 2330 alongside SOCI 1301 as accepted Texas community college equivalents.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics, 3 semester / 4 quarter," listed under Biological Science. A hard prerequisite here where most PA programs treat genetics as an optional upper-level science. Like every science on this list it must be a course designated for science majors, and the Texas community college table names BIOL 2416 as an accepted equivalent.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Eight credits with lab, by either route: "Anatomy with lab, 4 semester / 5 quarter" plus "Physiology with lab, 4 semester / 5 quarter," OR "Anatomy & Physiology I/II with labs, 8 semester / 10 quarter." The catch is the designation, not the credits: a nursing, allied health, kinesiology or exercise science section of A&P will not count, and the sequence cannot be more than seven years old as of the August 1 deadline.
Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
Named by nearly every program, usually 3 or 4 credits. A minority accept it without the lab, so read the school's own line before dropping one.
Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
Encouraged with a reason rather than required: "Though not required, applicants seeking entry to the Baylor PA Program are strongly encouraged to complete a medical terminology course prior to matriculation as the technical language of medicine can initially alter one's reading speed and rate of comprehension." No credit count is attached because it is not a prerequisite.
Social sciences and humanitiesrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Psychology or Sociology, 3 semester / 4 quarter," filed under the program's Non-Science block. Either discipline answers the same single course. As a non-science prerequisite it falls under the ten year window rather than the seven year one.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No minimum and no published average: "Healthcare experience, patient care experience, and shadowing hours are encouraged but NOT required for application. These hours will be considered in the holistic application review process but are not required for admission consideration or enrollment." The screening stage does score "experiences (including life, work or extra-curricular) described in the application," so hours still count, they just cannot disqualify.
Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
Baylor names healthcare experience and patient care experience as separate categories but attaches no number or definition to either, and treats both the same way: "encouraged but NOT required for application."
PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
Grouped with the experience hours and given the same status: "Healthcare experience, patient care experience, and shadowing hours are encouraged but NOT required for application." No number and no requirement that the shadowing be of a PA.

Letters

Science faculty letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not named. Three letters are required and no faculty, science or otherwise, is specified among them.
PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
No writer is specified. Baylor requires "three letters of recommendation" submitted directly to CASPA by the August 1 deadline and names no profession or relationship for any of them. Letters do carry weight at the screening stage, where faculty draw scoring evidence from "the applications, letters of recommendation, and experiences."
Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not named. The requirement is three letters through CASPA with the writers left entirely to the applicant, so a patient care supervisor is a sensible choice rather than a stated one.

Also on the school’s page

Baylor's prerequisite page is one of the strictest on this path, and almost all of the strictness is about where and how the credit was earned rather than how much of it there is. GPA is a hard prescreen: "Applicants must have a minimum 3.2 overall science and 3.2 overall GPA," calculated by CASPA and never adjusted afterward, and an application below it is disqualified at the administrative review stage before any faculty see it. Every prerequisite needs a "C" or higher, and the page adds "C- is not accepted." Science courses must be "designated for science majors (we do NOT accept nursing, allied health, kinesiology, or exercise science designated courses)" with "No exceptions," and "AP credit for prerequisite coursework will NOT be accepted. No exceptions," softened only where "the credit resulted in a letter grade on your official transcript." Online lecture is fine but "All laboratory prerequisites must be done in person, not through distance learning," the spring 2020 through fall 2021 terms excepted. There are two recency windows, not one: "Prerequisite science coursework cannot be more than 7 years-old and non-science coursework cannot be more than 10 years-old as of the application deadline of Aug. 1." Prerequisites must be finished by May of the enrollment year, and "Failure to complete all prerequisite requirements by May of the year of enrollment will result in forfeit of your seat." Only the program can approve a substitution: "Coursework can only be approved in writing by the BCM PA Program, not CASPA or any other entity." Neither the prerequisites page, the admissions page nor the application process page names the GRE or the PA-CAT anywhere, so no admissions test is stated as required. Three letters of recommendation are required through CASPA with no writer specified. Applicants must hold United States citizenship or lawful permanent residency "at time of (and throughout) enrollment" and a bachelor's degree or higher from a regionally accredited United States institution. Everything, including the BCM supplemental fee, is due by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 1, and a missing piece disqualifies. A maximum of 150 applicants are interviewed, virtually, in November, and the top 40 are offered admission by phone within two weeks. BLS certification at the healthcare provider level is required if accepted, not at application, and online courses without practical experience are not accepted. Baylor also publishes a table of Texas community college courses it accepts for each prerequisite, so community college credit is explicitly welcome here.

School

bcm.edu/pap

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