PA · Owensboro, Kentucky · private

Brescia University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Brescia asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 11 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two separate lines, "General Chemistry I with lab, minimum 4 semester credit hours" and "General Chemistry II with lab, minimum 4 semester credit hours." The full sequence with both laboratories, and both count toward the 3.0 BCP GPA floor.
Organic chemistry with labrecommendedextra here
3 credits
"Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, minimum 3 semester credit hours." The block is required but organic chemistry specifically is not, and Brescia does not attach a laboratory to this line, unlike its two general chemistry lines.
Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
One of two ways to answer "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, minimum 3 semester credit hours." Either satisfies the requirement and neither needs a laboratory.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing course appears on Brescia's prerequisite list.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics, minimum 3 semester credit hours." Within ten years of admission like the rest of the list.
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Psychology (Introductory or Developmental), minimum 3 semester credit hours." Brescia names the two acceptable courses, so an abnormal or social psychology course may need a description review before it is approved.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics, minimum 3 semester credit hours." No subfield is named and no laboratory is required, but it falls inside the ten year window like every other Brescia prerequisite.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab, minimum 6 semester credit hours." Brescia asks for the combined subject rather than separate anatomy and physiology courses, and 6 credits is lighter than the 8 most programs want. Must fall within ten years of admission and carry at least a C.
Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with lab, minimum 4 semester credit hours," within the ten year window, grade of C or better.
Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than suggested: "Medical Terminology, minimum 1 semester credit hour." A single credit answers it, but it must be graded coursework from a regionally accredited university, so a free online course will not do.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
Required with no bar to clear: "Direct patient contact hours required, no minimum; hours must be completed after turning 18 years old (Due by 6/1/2027)." Brescia publishes no list of qualifying roles and no recency window on these hours, unlike its volunteer requirement. With no minimum published, the applicant score sheet rather than an hour count is what the hours feed.
Healthcare experiencenot required here
Brescia carries no healthcare experience requirement. It asks separately for direct patient contact hours and for volunteer hours, and does not define a bucket between them.
PA shadowingnot required here
Shadowing is not mentioned anywhere in Brescia's admission requirements or preferential acceptance criteria.
Non-clinical volunteeringrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Volunteer hours required, no minimum; hours must be completed within the past 5 years (Due by 6/1/2027)." Required with no number, and unlike the patient contact hours these carry a five year recency window, so older service does not count.

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 letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
"Submission of 3 letters of recommendation" is the whole of what Brescia says about letters. No writer category is named or required, so a PA letter is a choice rather than an obligation.
Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Three letters are required but none is assigned to a category, so no supervisor letter is specifically asked for.

Also on the school’s page

Brescia publishes its whole admission list on the program page and it is unusually crisp. Prerequisites need a "Minimum letter grade of C in all prerequisite courses within 10 years prior to program admission by 6/1/2027," so a single ten year window covers everything. GPA floors are a "Minimum overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale" and a "Minimum Biology-Chemistry-Physics (BCP) GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale," both as CASPA calculates them, and the program warns that "every course taken at any college-level institution will be included in the overall GPA and BCP GPA, including repeated coursework." No GRE and no PA-CAT requirement appears anywhere on the page. "All prerequisite courses must be completed from a regionally accredited university," and "Upon prerequisite review, please note that a course description will be reviewed by the admissions committee prior to approval." Three letters of recommendation are required with no writer category specified. Both the patient contact and volunteer requirements are stated as required with no number, which is rare: the program asks for the experience without setting a bar. A bachelor's degree must be finished by June 1, 2027, and the CASPA deadline is April 1, 2027 for a cycle opening October 1, 2026. Preferential points, which are not requirements, go first to Brescia graduates, then to applicants with Brescia credit or an address in one of sixteen named western Kentucky counties, then to Kentucky Wesleyan College graduates or applicants with credit from five named regional community colleges; "Students cannot receive combined preferential points." The cohort is capped at 30 and ties after interview are broken on the highest BCP GPA. "Brescia University Physician Assistant Program is not permitted to admit or enroll international students," and it "will not award or grant advanced placement." This is a new program on ARC-PA Accreditation-Provisional status.

School

brescia.edu/program/physician-assistant-program

Check your transcript against this list

Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Brescia still needs from you.

See it for PA school

Also in Kentucky

All PA programmes, compared