PA · Buffalo, New York · private
D'Youville University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What D'Youville asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 7 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"General Inorganic Chemistry (I & II) including laboratory - 8 semester hours."
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry including laboratory - 3 semester hours," one semester, B- or better.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry - 3 credits," listed among the upper-level science courses that "need to be taken within 18 months," a far tighter clock than the six year rule on the rest of the science list. Required alongside organic chemistry, not instead of it.
- English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
"English (including 3 semester hours of English Composition) - 6 semester hours." Composition must be half of it.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics - 3 semester hours."
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"General or Developmental Psychology - 3 semester hours."
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy & Physiology (I & II) including laboratory - 8 semester hours." The program adds that "applicants who take the combination class of Human Anatomy & Physiology I (A&P I), then must complete the sequence by taking Human Anatomy & Physiology II (A&P II)." Separate from the 6 credit graduate-level Human Gross Anatomy line, which has an 18 month window and is otherwise completed at D'Youville before the didactic phase.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology including laboratory - 3 semester hours."
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not among the required subjects D'Youville lists.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No floor. Direct patient interaction hours are listed under "Not Required (but utilized in a holistic review for admission if provided; may make an applicant more competitive)": "Documentation of direct patient interaction (DPI), either through volunteer activities or employment activities, is strongly encouraged. While there are no current minimum requirements, candidates who have completed higher numbers of DPI hours will be considered more competitive." The program does not separate patient care from healthcare experience; it counts direct patient interaction, paid or volunteer.
- 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 letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not named. The page asks only for "three letters of recommendation" with no writer type specified.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not named. Three letters are required and the page does not say who should write them.
Also on the school’s page
This overlay records D'Youville's graduate admission criteria, the track for applicants holding a bachelor's degree who enter the accredited professional phase; the same page also lists first-time-in-college and undergraduate transfer criteria for the BS/MS route, which are different. Graduate applicants need "a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale and a minimum science GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale as calculated by CASPA," and "a grade of B- or better in each of the following required subjects." Science courses transfer for credit only "if they are less than six years old at the time of matriculation," and "introductory and survey courses are not accepted to fulfill the required science prerequisites." Three upper-level courses carry a much shorter window, "need to be taken within 18 months": Human Gross Anatomy (6 credits), Pathophysiology (3 credits) and Biochemistry (3 credits). Gross anatomy and pathophysiology have no key in this vocabulary and are recorded here only: "Students who have not completed pathophysiology and/or graduate-level gross anatomy will be required to complete those courses at D'Youville prior to starting the didactic phase of the program." The page does not mention the GRE, the PA-CAT or shadowing, so no exam policy is recorded and the baseline shadowing line is left as is. Three letters of recommendation with no writer type specified, an admissions essay on why the applicant wants to be a PA, and compliance with technical standards. CASPA applications must be submitted and verified by October 1; verification can take up to four weeks. No advanced placement into the professional phase. A demonstrated commitment to social justice and community engagement makes an applicant more competitive.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what D'Youville still needs from you.
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