PA · St. Paul, Minnesota · private

Bethel University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Bethel asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 5 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

General chemistry with labnot required here
General chemistry is not among Bethel's eight prerequisites. The chemistry ask here is organic chemistry plus biochemistry; general chemistry will usually be a campus prerequisite for those, but the PA program does not require it in its own right.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits
One course, 3 semester credit hour minimum, B- or higher. "Labs are not required for science prerequisites." No recency window on this one.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Required outright and alongside organic chemistry, not as an alternative to it. 3 semester credit hour minimum, B- or higher.
English or writing-intensiverecommended
2 semesters · 6 credits
English composition, usually two semesters where it is asked for at all.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
3 semester credit hour minimum, B- or higher. One of the two non-science prerequisites a 4 or 5 on a high school AP exam may waive.
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
3 semester credit hour minimum, B- or higher, discipline not narrowed further. The other prerequisite an AP score of 4 or 5 may waive.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Genetics is a named prerequisite here, which is unusual for a PA program. 3 semester credit hour minimum, B- or higher, no lab and no five year window.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Human anatomy and human physiology are listed as two separate 3 credit prerequisites, 6 together rather than the baseline's 8, and no lab is required. Both carry the five year window, and "If Human Anatomy and Human Physiology are taken in combination through a two-course sequence, both courses must be taken at the same institution."
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
3 semester credit hour minimum, "within last 5 years," no lab. Coursework 10 years old or older will not count at all, even with a waiver.
Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
Required outright by nearly half of programs, which is more than its recommended level here suggests. Several refuse a certificate or a free online course and want transcript credit; a few teach it after acceptance instead.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"500 hours of direct patient care in a medical capacity." That is half the baseline planning floor and one of the lower published minimums. Bethel does not publish the list of qualifying roles: "Please contact our enrollment counselor for clarification regarding eligible activities."
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 letterrecommended
No published minimum
Fewer than a third of programs require a letter from a PA. Most ask for a clinician letter that a PA, physician or nurse practitioner satisfies equally, so a PA letter is usually sufficient and rarely necessary.
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

Bethel states the page "reflective of the 2026 application cycle for matriculation in summer 2027." Eight prerequisites, each a minimum of 3 semester credit hours, each needing "a grade of B- or higher": human anatomy, human physiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, microbiology, genetics, psychology, statistics. "Labs are not required for science prerequisites." Recency: human anatomy, human physiology and microbiology must be "within last 5 years," and the program adds that a "Waiver of the five-year rule may be granted for these three courses for candidates with documented academic excellence and appropriate clinical experience: Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, and Microbiology courses taken 10 years ago or more will not count toward these prerequisites." Timing: "Five of the eight required prerequisites must be completed at time of application," and the rest must be done with transcripts at Bethel by March 1 of the matriculation year. "We cannot waive or alter any admission requirements, including our required minimum grades on prerequisite courses." A 4 or 5 on a high school AP exam is considered only as a waiver of the two non-science prerequisites, psychology and statistics. If anatomy and physiology are taken as a two-course sequence, both must be at the same institution. GPA minimums are 3.25 overall and 3.25 science as calculated by CASPA. Testing: "The GRE or any standardized entrance exam is not required for application or admission to the Bethel PA program." Letters: the program's published application requirements and its list of materials needed before review (verified CASPA application, supplemental questions, application fee) do not name letters of recommendation, so the baseline letter lines are left in place unverified rather than removed; confirm in CASPA. An interview is automatic for applicants meeting all requirements who hold a Bethel degree, are U.S. Military Veterans, or hold a Dordt University bachelor's with a 3.5 overall. Admissions are not rolling; CASPA deadline Aug. 1. Accreditation warning stated on the same page: "At its July 2026 meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) placed the Bethel University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Bethel University-Minnesota on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review in July 2028."

School

bethel.edu/graduate/academics/physician-assistant

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