PA · Los Angeles, California · private
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Charles Drew asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 13 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The full introductory sequence, separate from anatomy and physiology: general biology, 8 semester units or 12 quarter units, lab required.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The two-semester sequence with lab. Around a fifth of programs want only one semester or skip general chemistry entirely and start at organic or biochemistry.
- Biochemistrynot required here
The prerequisite table stops at general chemistry, 8 semester units with lab. Neither biochemistry nor organic chemistry appears on it.
- English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended, and a full year of it: English composition, 6 semester units or 9 quarter units.
- 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.
- College mathematicsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
A second math course beyond statistics: "College Algebra or higher," 3 semester units or 4.5 quarter units, no lab. Statistics does not answer this line because CDU requires that separately.
- Psychologyrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
Psychology is not required by name. CDU's requirement is a 6 unit behavioral sciences block, which introductory psychology counts toward but does not exhaust, and which sociology or anthropology can fill instead.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
CDU lists anatomy and physiology as two separate 4 unit courses, each with lab, 6 quarter units apiece. A combined sequence is accepted on the same terms: combined anatomy and physiology is acceptable if it totals 8 semester units with lab.
- 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 terminologyrequireddiffers
1 semester · 2 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required and larger than the usual one credit ask: medical terminology, 2 semester units or 3 quarter units.
- Social sciences and humanitiesrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 6 credits
CDU asks for behavioral sciences as a block rather than naming psychology or sociology: 6 semester units or 9 quarter units, no lab. Two courses in the behavioral sciences answer it.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
2000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
CDU publishes no minimum. Greater than 2,000 hours of direct patient care is stated as preferred, explicitly not required, and the hours may be paid or volunteer. Read 2,000 as the level of the applicants who get in rather than a line you must clear to apply, and note that it is double the baseline planning floor.
- 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 letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
CDU's academic letter is discipline neutral, from a "professor or academic advisor," so a science professor satisfies it without being specifically required.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
1 letter
The second required letter is an academic evaluation from "professor or academic advisor." No discipline is named, so any professor who taught you answers it, and an academic advisor works even if they never graded you.
- Physician letterrequiredextra here
1 letter
One of the three required letters must come from a clinician who has observed you clinically: a physician (MD or DO), a PA, or a nurse practitioner. This line and the PA letter line are the same letter, not two, and any of the three credentials satisfies it.
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
A PA letter satisfies CDU's clinical letter but is not required over the alternatives: the clinical reference may come from a physician (MD or DO), a PA, or a nurse practitioner. Three letters total.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
The third required letter, and it is about work rather than clinic or classroom: one from a supervisor, based on volunteer or employment observation. Together with the clinician letter and the academic letter this makes three, the number CDU asks for.
Also on the school’s page
CDU publishes a ten row prerequisite table in both semester and quarter units, and the science half of it is heavy: general biology, microbiology, anatomy, physiology and general chemistry all carry required labs. On tests the program is unambiguous, "Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are NOT required for admission," and it names no PA-CAT. Grades are stated as preferences rather than cutoffs: "Science and a Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher" is preferred, and "Completion of all courses within 7 years preceding application" is recommended rather than enforced, so the seven year window is guidance here and not a bar. Two timing rules are firm. No more than "two prerequisites pending" are allowed at the time of application, and a pending prerequisite carries a grade requirement of "B or higher." Everything else must be finished before you start: "All academic prerequisites must be completed prior to May 30th of the matriculation year." The cycle "opens in late April and closes on September 1st every year," with the semester beginning in August. International applicants need a TOEFL total of 100 with a speaking score of 26, internet based form only, waivable for holders of a U.S. post-secondary degree. The program runs 27 months and 110 credit hours in a hybrid format, and it places students itself: "Students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors."
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Charles Drew still needs from you.
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