PA · Tallahassee, Florida · public

Florida State University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What FSU asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Eight semester hours of biology with lab, and the course must carry the science major designation. This sits beside the anatomy and physiology sequence rather than counting toward it.
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
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
Four hours of organic chemistry with lab, science major designation required. One semester, with biochemistry required separately. The program says it "carefully reviews" organic chemistry, biochemistry, and the math and science cumulative GPA.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Roughly half the programs that ask for an upper chemistry accept either biochemistry or organic chemistry for the same single line, so one course often covers both entries on this list.
English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
"English Composition/Writing Intensive," 6 hours. Required at FSU, not merely recommended, and no science major designation is needed.
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.
College mathematicsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"College Algebra or Higher," 3 hours, required in addition to the 3 hours of statistics rather than instead of it.
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
1 semester · 3 credits
Three hours, no lab, science major designation required.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Anatomy and Physiology I and II, 4 hours each, both with lab and both requiring the science major designation. A non-majors A&P sequence will not satisfy this.
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 terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required, but only 1 semester hour, which the common one credit online course satisfies.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"A minimum of 500 hours of direct patient care experience is required with additional experience recommended." Shadowing does not count: the program states that hours obtained by shadowing do not qualify toward the required patient care hours.
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 letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
"Applicants must submit at least 3 (three) letters of recommendation and no more than 5 (five)." The writers are recommended rather than mandated: "at least one reference should be from a healthcare provider, and one should be from a science faculty member."
PA letternot required here
FSU requires no PA letter. Its guidance names a healthcare provider, not a PA specifically, and even that is phrased as a recommendation.
Supervisor letternot required here
No supervisor letter is required. FSU sets a count, three to five letters, and only suggests that one come from a healthcare provider and one from a science faculty member.

Also on the school’s page

FSU publishes a prerequisite table in semester hours with three columns: hours, whether a lab is required, and whether the course must carry a science major designation. Anatomy and physiology I and II at 4 hours each, biology 8, microbiology 4, general chemistry 8 and organic chemistry 4 all require the lab; biochemistry 3, genetics 3, statistics 3, college algebra or higher 3, English composition or writing intensive 6, general psychology 3 and medical terminology 1 do not. The science major designation is required for anatomy and physiology, biology, microbiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry and genetics, but not for general chemistry, statistics, algebra, English, psychology or medical terminology. Minimum grade is "C or better" for all letter graded prerequisites. No expiration window is published, though "more recent is considered favorable." Applicants may apply with up to two prerequisites outstanding if they finish by the end of the spring 2027 semester. Admissions requires a "Minimum cumulative GPA 3.0 and a minimum prerequisite math and science GPA of 3.0." On testing, the GRE is required: "Applicants must submit GRE scores taken within 3 years of the date of matriculation. We do not accept the MCAT or other substitutes." There is no minimum score, but the program calls "a combined quantitative and verbal score of 300 or greater" competitive. CASPer is not required from the 2026 cycle onward. Interview preference goes to Florida residents, residents of south Georgia and south Alabama bordering Florida, and U.S. military veterans.

School

med.fsu.edu/pa/home

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