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PA · Florham Park, New Jersey · private

Fairleigh Dickinson University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Fairleigh Dickinson 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.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

  • 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.

  • Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here

    lab

    "Organic Chemistry I with lab" is required outright. The second course is a choice: "Organic Chemistry II with lab, or Biochemistry with lab." Credits are not stated.

  • Biochemistryrequireddiffers

    1 semester · 3 credits · lab

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.

    One of two ways to meet FDU's second organic course: "Organic Chemistry II with lab, or Biochemistry with lab." An applicant who has taken Organic Chemistry II with lab does not need biochemistry here. Note the lab: FDU names "Biochemistry with lab," which most programs do not.

  • English or writing-intensivenot required here

    No English or writing requirement appears on the admissions page.

  • 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.

  • Psychologyrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    General psychology. Many programs fold it into a broader social or behavioural science block that sociology or anthropology also satisfies.

  • Geneticsrequiredextra here

    No published minimum

    "Genetics" appears on FDU's prerequisite list. No credit count or lab is stated.

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    Two rows, each with an alternative: "Anatomy and Physiology I, or Anatomy with lab" and "Anatomy and Physiology II, or Physiology with lab." A separate anatomy course and a separate physiology course, each with lab, answer this line as well as the combined sequence. Credits are not stated.

  • 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 terminologynot required here

    Not among the prerequisite courses FDU lists.

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers

    500+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.

    FDU does not publish a separate patient care minimum. Its one experience number, "400 hours of patient care and healthcare-related experiences," combines hands-on and non hands-on work and is recorded on the healthcare experience line. Hands-on hours count toward that 400.

  • Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers

    400+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.

    "400 hours of patient care and healthcare-related experiences." FDU does not split patient care from healthcare experience, so the combined figure lives here rather than on a patient care line the program never states. The 25 recommended PA shadowing hours are meant to sit inside this total.

  • PA shadowingrecommendeddiffers

    25+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours.

    "We strongly recommend that a minimum of 25 hours include PA shadowing," counted within the 400 hour experience figure rather than on top of it.

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

    No PA letter is required. FDU asks for "three letters of recommendation" from "employers, supervisors, professors, or others" who can speak to "professional and educational achievements and potential," naming no particular writer.

  • Supervisor letternot required here

    A supervisor is one of the writers FDU suggests, not one it mandates. The three letters may come from "employers, supervisors, professors, or others."

Also on the school’s page

FDU publishes its prerequisites as a list of course names without semester credit counts, so the credit figures shown on lines this file does not modify are the baseline's planning numbers, not FDU's. Every prerequisite must be completed "within the last ten years" with "a minimum grade of C." Two GPA floors: an overall GPA of "3.2 or better" and a science GPA of "3.0 or better." Experience is published as one combined figure, "400 hours of patient care and healthcare-related experiences," without a separate patient care minimum; that number is recorded on the healthcare experience line. The admissions page says nothing about the GRE or the PA-CAT in either direction, so treat exam policy as unstated and confirm with the program. Applications go through CASPA on a rolling basis; for the current cycle CASPA opened April 30, 2026 and "applications must be completed and verified no later than August 1, 2026." Technical standards are published separately at https://www.fdu.edu/academics/colleges-schools/pharmacy/pa/technical-standards/.

School

fdu.edu/academics/colleges-schools/pharmacy/pa

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