PA · Buffalo, New York · private
Canisius University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Canisius asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 8 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"General Chemistry I & II - Min 8 credit hours (lab is required*)." A virtual lab will be considered for this course.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry - Min 4 credit hours (lab is required*)," one semester rather than a sequence. The asterisk means a virtual lab will be considered for this course.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry - Min 3 credit hours (lab preferred)." Required in addition to organic chemistry here, not as an alternative to it.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or writing course appears on Canisius's prerequisite list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics - Min 3 credit hours."
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Any Psychology or Sociology course - Min 3 credit hours." Either discipline satisfies this line.
- Geneticsrecommendedextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Listed with pathophysiology and pharmacology as "encouraged but not required. Applicants will not be viewed unfavorably if they do not have these courses."
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
7 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Split into two lines with different lab rules: "Anatomy, Minimum 4 credit hours (in-person lab is required)" and "Physiology, Minimum 3 credit hours (lab is preferred, but not required)." The anatomy lab is the one lab on the list that cannot be virtual. Seven year recency window applies.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology - Min 4 credit hours (lab is required*)." A virtual lab will be considered for this course.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
"Medical Terminology, Minimum 1 credit hour (certificates not accepted)." A graded college course is the only thing that satisfies this line; a certificate or documented work experience does not.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"A minimum of 500 hours of direct patient contact," defined as "having some decision-making responsibility for the patient." Roles with more decision making score higher: the program names international medical doctor, RN, paramedic, respiratory therapist, PT and OT as examples, and says medical assistant, patient care technician and PT assistant experience "will be scored lower on a sliding scale for quality." "Applicants who have fewer than 500 direct patient contact hours will not be considered for admission in the current cycle," and more than 1,000 hours earns additional points.
- 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
No number and no score. "Due to ongoing challenges with prospective student findings quality shadowing hours, we have elected to remove this requirement for the foreseeable future. While we strongly encourage applicants to seek these opportunities, we do not consider this as part of the application score." The program also says it values virtual shadowing.
- Non-clinical volunteeringrequiredextra here
100+ hours
"A minimum of 100 hours of community service," described as "an area of high importance" that reflects the program's mission and is scored on a sliding scale for quality. The 100 hour figure is the scoring threshold rather than an absolute bar: "applicants with fewer than 100 hours will receive zero points but may still be considered," while "applicants with no evidence of community service will not be considered."
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.
Not named. A PA letter satisfies the required health care professional letter, but so does a physician, nurse or other clinician.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
Canisius asks for a clinician rather than a supervisor specifically: "Three (3) letters of recommendation on professional letterhead are required. At least one letter of recommendation must be from a health care professional." Recorded here because any health care professional who has seen your patient care work answers it; the writer does not have to be a PA.
Also on the school’s page
Canisius publishes a nine line prerequisite list in minimum credit hours under a "Bachelor's degree with a preferred 3.0 overall GPA." Every prerequisite needs at least a C ("C minus not accepted"), must be completed by the application deadline, must come from an accredited institution in the United States or Canada, and "must have been taken within seven (7) years of the application deadline." Applicants below a 3.0 "may be considered based on a holistic review," and GPA above 3.0 earns sliding scale points (12 points at 3.8 to 4.0, 2 points at 3.0 to 3.29). No admissions test: the program describes itself as "removing standardized testing" from the process, so neither the GRE nor the PA-CAT is used. Virtual labs "will be considered" for the general chemistry, organic chemistry and microbiology lines, but the anatomy lab must be in person. Pathophysiology, genetics and pharmacology are "encouraged but not required," and "applicants will not be viewed unfavorably if they do not have these courses." Three letters on professional letterhead are required, at least one from a health care professional. CASPA only, fully verified by September 1, 2026, at midnight EST; the cycle opens April 30, 2026.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Canisius still needs from you.
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