PA · New York, New York · public
CUNY School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What CUNY SOM asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 10 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Biology I & II with lab - 8 credits," a core science requirement separate from the advanced science block.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Chemistry I & II with lab - 8 credits." Starting this cycle organic chemistry no longer substitutes for it.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
lab
"Organic Chemistry I with lab - will be required for the 2026-2027 cycle." One semester only, and it must be no more than seven years old at application. The page publishes no credit figure for this line.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry - will be required for the 2026-2027 cycle," moving from the choose-two block to the core list, and subject to the seven year recency rule. The page publishes no credit figure for it.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or writing course appears on the prerequisite list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics - 3 credits (Calculus not accepted)," within seven years of application.
- Psychologynot required here
No psychology course appears on CUNY's prerequisite list.
- Geneticsrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
One of the three options for the two required advanced science courses, alongside the A&P sequence and cell and molecular biology.
- Advanced biologyrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Advanced Science Courses (Choose 2 of the following): Anatomy & Physiology I & II with lab (counts as one course), Cell & Molecular Biology, Genetics." Biochemistry used to be an option in this block and "will no longer be an option for the 2026-2027 cycle" because it is now required outright. Both choices must be within the seven year recency window. No credit figures are published for this block.
- Anatomy and physiologyrecommendeddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab and list it as required.
Unusually, not a standalone requirement. "Anatomy & Physiology I & II with lab (counts as one course)" is one of three options for the two advanced science courses, with cell and molecular biology and genetics as the others, so an applicant with those two could skip A&P. Most applicants will still take it; the whole sequence counts as a single course toward the block and must be within seven years.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology with lab - 3 credits," within seven years of application.
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not on the prerequisite list.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
1000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No stated minimum. "Hands-on Patient Care: At least 1,000 hours highly recommended," with EMT, paramedic, CNA, medical assistant, phlebotomist and nurse as examples, and "experience must include direct interaction with patients." Treat 1,000 as the planning floor the program itself names rather than an eligibility cutoff.
- 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
"Shadowing: Strongly encouraged, especially with practicing PAs." No hour figure is given.
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
CUNY publishes a core science list plus a choose-two block of advanced science, and flags changes for this cycle: "Organic Chemistry I with lab and Biochemistry will be required for 2026-2027 Admissions Cycle. Organic Chem I & II with labs will no longer substitute for General Chemistry I & II with labs." Minimums are a 3.0 cumulative CASPA GPA, a 3.0 prerequisite GPA, and "C or higher for all prerequisite courses." A seven year recency window ("7 years old at time of application" or less) applies to biochemistry, microbiology with lab, statistics, organic chemistry I with lab, and the two advanced science courses; biology I and II and chemistry I and II are not on the recency list. Up to two prerequisites may be pending, completed by December 31. AP credit counts only with a score of 4 or 5 with the score report uploaded to CASPA; no CLEP or credit by exam. Lab components from spring 2023 onward must be in person. "No GRE required" and "No CASPer required"; the PA-CAT is not mentioned. The page says nothing about letters of recommendation, so the baseline letter lines are left untouched here and should be checked against CASPA before applying. CASPA opens July 1 with a December 1 verified deadline, no rolling admissions, in-person interviews late January to mid March, decisions from March 1, and a bachelor's degree that may be in progress if completed by June 15.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what CUNY SOM still needs from you.
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