PA · St. Paul, Minnesota · private

Concordia University, St. Paul Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Concordia St. Paul asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 6 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 a prerequisite here. Biochemistry is the program's only chemistry ask, and organic chemistry is not required either.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry, One semester, associated lab course optional." Required outright, and it is the program's only chemistry prerequisite. Must be 200-level or greater.
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
"Statistics, One semester (any course level that fulfills the requirement for a STEM-related degree)." The one prerequisite exempt from the 200-level rule.
Psychologynot required here
Psychology is not on Concordia's five-course prerequisite list.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"Human or Animal Anatomy, One semester, associated lab encouraged" and "Human or Animal Physiology, One semester, associated lab encouraged." Two separate courses, lab encouraged but not required, and animal anatomy or physiology is accepted, which is rare. Both must be 200-level or greater. The program publishes no credit-hour minimum, so none is recorded here.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology, One semester, associated lab course optional." Must be 200-level or greater. No credit-hour minimum published.
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
"Applicants must record a minimum of 500 hours of direct patient contact experience, at the time of application." Paid or volunteer both count and must be verifiable, but "Shadowing hours do not count toward direct patient contact experience hours." Named qualifying roles: "nursing roles, EMT-P, EMT-B, sonography, radiology tech, emergency department tech, personal care assistant, phlebotomist, laboratory tech, dietitian, physical therapy roles, chiropractor, dental roles (dentist, dental hygienist, dental assistant), and medical scribes," with others considered case by case. 500 is the floor, not the target: the committee favors applicants who "Documented patient care experience of 1000 hours or greater, in a role with a high level of responsibility, at the time of CASPA submission."
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 letternot required here
Two letters are required but the writer is left open: "Letters of recommendation can be professional, academic, or personal." A PA letter counts, but the program does not ask for one.
Supervisor letternot required here
Same open rule. The only restriction the program states is that letters "cannot be submitted from an immediate family member."

Also on the school’s page

A short, unusual prerequisite list: anatomy, physiology, microbiology, biochemistry and statistics, one semester each, and no general chemistry, no psychology and no medical terminology. The distinguishing rule is level, not credits: "All prerequisite courses must be of the upper divisional offering (200-level or greater), except for statistics, at the college or university where they are completed." The program publishes no credit-hour minimums and no recency window, so this file carries none. Anatomy and physiology may be human or animal and must be two separate courses: "Cannot use a single semester of a combined Anatomy and Physiology course to fulfill both prerequisites," though a sequenced A&P I and II series counts as both. Applicants may apply with no more than two prerequisites outstanding and receive a conditional acceptance, but all must be finished before matriculation. PSEO and advanced placement courses cannot be used toward any prerequisite. Minimum cumulative GPA is 3.0 as calculated by CASPA, with the committee favoring 3.25 or greater. Testing: "The CSP PA Program does NOT require graduate standardized admissions test scores for admission to the program, including but not limited to, the GRE, GMAT, MCAT, PA-CAT, or CASPER assessment." Two letters of recommendation through CASPA, which "can be professional, academic, or personal" and "cannot be submitted from an immediate family member." Personal Statement and Life Experience Statement both required in CASPA; no supplemental application and no supplemental fee. Admission runs in two phases, application review then an in-person team-format interview in St. Paul, on a rolling model. One cohort a year, matriculating in January. The page also states the program "is currently seeking Provisional Accreditation status from the ARC-PA."

School

csp.edu/program/physician-assistant

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