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PA · Atlanta, Georgia · private

Emory University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Emory asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 12 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

  • Biology with labrequiredextra here

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Biology course of choice with lab: 4 semester/4 quarter hours." One course only, and Emory lets you choose which biology it is.

  • General chemistry with labrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Chemistry course with lab: 4 semester/4 quarter hours" plus "Second Chemistry course of choice with lab: 4 semester/4 quarter hours." The second one is your choice of chemistry, so the two need not be the general chemistry I and II sequence, and both need labs.

  • Biochemistryrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry: 3 semester/4 quarter hours." Either course satisfies this line; only one is needed, and it sits on top of the two chemistry with lab courses.

  • English or writing-intensivenot required here

    No English or writing course appears in Emory's prerequisite list.

  • 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.

  • Psychologynot required here

    Psychology is not among Emory's 8 prerequisite courses and is not on its recommended list either.

  • Geneticsrecommendedextra here

    No published minimum

    "Recommended but not required: Coursework in microbiology and genetics." No credit count attached.

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers

    6 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

    "Human Anatomy: 3 semester/4 quarter hours" and "Physiology: 3 semester/4 quarter hours," with the footnote that "Combined Anatomy and Physiology courses are acceptable provided the total credits received is a minimum of 6 semester hours or 8 quarter hours." Emory attaches lab requirements to its biology and chemistry lines and not to these two, so no lab is stated here.

  • Microbiologyrecommendeddiffers

    1 semester · 4 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab and list it as required.

    "Recommended but not required: Coursework in microbiology and genetics." Emory is one of the few programs that does not require microbiology, and it names no credit count or lab.

  • Medical terminologynot required here

    Not named anywhere in Emory's admissions requirements.

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencerequireddiffers

    2000+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.

    One of the highest published floors on this path: "A minimum of 2,000 hours of paid or volunteer patient care experience is required with direct, 'hands-on' patient contact (e.g., EMT or paramedic, health educator, RN, patient care attendant or nurse's aide, clinic assistant, medical Peace Corps volunteer or other cross-cultural health care experience, medical technologist, therapist, scribe, clinical research assistant, etc.)." Scribing counts here, which many programs no longer allow. "These hours of patient care experience must be completed at the time of the submitted application," so projected hours do not count. Explicitly excluded: "non-clinical research assistant positions, pharmacy technician, hours accrued in certificate training programs or student clinical experiences, student 'intern' experiences for which school credit is received." Volunteer patient care hours do count and should be entered in both the 2,000 and the community service totals.

  • 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

    Recommended with no number: PA shadowing hours are "highly recommended although they do not count towards the 2,000 hours minimum of patient care experience." Budget them on top of the 2,000, not inside it.

  • Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here

    No published minimum

    "Non-patient care community volunteer hours as well as PA 'shadowing hours' are highly recommended although they do not count towards the 2,000 hours minimum of patient care experience." The supplemental application collects community service hours separately.

Letters

  • Science faculty letternot required here

    Same reason: two letters of reference with no writer type specified.

  • PA letternot required here

    Emory asks only for "two letters of reference" through the supplemental application and names no required writer, so a PA letter is not specifically required.

  • Supervisor letternot required here

    Same reason: two letters of reference with no writer type specified.

Also on the school’s page

This page is written for exactly this cycle: "The prerequisites for application to the Emory Physician Assistant Program's Master of Medical Sciences curriculum for the 2026-2027 application cycle are outlined below," with "All prerequisite courses must be completed by December 2026 for the class matriculating in August 2027." Emory asks for 8 prerequisite courses under a heading that also sets an aggregate floor, "Natural Sciences: minimum 23 semester credits": biology of choice with lab 4, a chemistry with lab 4, a second chemistry of choice with lab 4, human anatomy 3, physiology 3, organic chemistry or biochemistry 3, and statistics 3. The named science courses total 21 semester hours, which is short of the 23 credit natural sciences minimum the same block states, so ask the program (pa_admissions@emory.edu) which additional science credit closes that gap before you plan a schedule around the itemised list alone. Combined A&P is accepted "provided the total credits received is a minimum of 6 semester hours or 8 quarter hours." Microbiology and genetics are recommended and not required, which is unusual on this path. Every course needs a C or better from a regionally accredited North American institution, and none may be taken "on a Pass/Fail basis, as CLEP credit, or audited." Online courses at accredited institutions are acceptable. Recency is a recommendation only: "We strongly recommend all prerequisite courses be completed within 10 years of submitting the application." Cumulative and science GPA floors are both 3.0. The GRE is dead here: "GRE's are no longer required," and no PA-CAT is mentioned. A baccalaureate degree is required, and a degree from outside the United States must be followed by at least one year (24 semester hours) full time at a US or Canadian regionally accredited institution. TOEFL 93 total with 26 speaking applies where English is not the native language or the first degree is foreign. The CASPA application is followed by an Emory supplemental with a non-refundable $75 fee, and that supplemental "includes two letters of reference" with no writer type specified. No transfer credit, no advanced placement, no credit for pre-admission experiential learning, and full time study only: "there is no part-time pathway."

School

med.emory.edu/pa

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