Cyclios

PA · Erie, Pennsylvania · private

Gannon University Physician Assistant Program, Erie prerequisites

What Gannon Erie 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

  • Biology with labrequiredextra here

    2 semesters · 8 credits

    "Biology - 8 Credits." Gannon lists a general biology block that the PA baseline does not carry, on top of the upper level anatomy, physiology, microbiology and genetics courses. The line names no laboratory, and Gannon lists labs as separate prerequisite lines wherever it wants one, so lab is recorded as not required here.

  • General chemistry with labrequireddiffers

    2 semesters · 8 credits

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

    "Chemistry - 8 Credits." Eight credits of chemistry, with no subject named beyond chemistry and no laboratory line. Gannon lists labs separately wherever it requires one, so lab is recorded as not required here.

  • Biochemistrynot required here

    Not on Gannon's prerequisite list. The chemistry ask is a plain "Chemistry - 8 Credits" with no organic or biochemistry line.

  • English or writing-intensiverecommended

    2 semesters · 6 credits

    English composition, usually two semesters where it is asked for at all.

  • 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

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Genetics*" where the asterisk means "must be upper level." No credit count is published for this line; three credits is the ordinary size of the course. Genetics is required by only a minority of PA programs, so check it against your transcript early.

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    Four separate prerequisite lines: "Human Gross Anatomy*", "Human Anatomy Lab* **", "Human Physiology*" and "Human Physiology Lab*", where * means "must be upper level." The anatomy lab carries the program's hardest clause: it "must include human cadaver dissection (in-person, hands-on, using real human tissue. No virtual simulation or dissection of anatomical models.)" A combined A&P I and II sequence at the introductory level will not answer this. Gannon publishes no credit count for these four lines, so the baseline's 8 credits is retained as an approximation rather than as the program's own number.

  • Microbiologyrequired

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Microbiology*" and "Microbiology Lab*", both starred as "must be upper level." A survey or allied health microbiology course will not answer an upper level requirement. Gannon publishes no credit count for these lines, so the baseline's 4 credits is retained as an approximation.

  • Medical terminologyrequireddiffers

    3 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.

    Required rather than recommended, and heavier than the usual one or two credits: "Medical Terminology (or demonstrated competency) - 3 Credits." The parenthetical leaves room to test out rather than take the course.

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencenot required here

    Gannon publishes no patient care hours minimum for the post-baccalaureate option. Its only experience requirement is "30 hours of documented volunteer/paid medical experience or 30 hours of shadowing a Physician Assistant," which shadowing alone can satisfy, so there is no hands-on patient care floor to record. On the five year direct entry side the program does state that "30 hours of patient interaction experience must be completed prior to matriculating," with additional hours each summer for the first four years.

  • Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers

    30+ hours

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

    Gannon asks post-baccalaureate applicants for "30 hours of documented volunteer/paid medical experience or 30 hours of shadowing a Physician Assistant." That is one combined figure: the program does not distinguish hands-on patient care from work in a healthcare setting, and it accepts shadowing alone in place of either, so the number is recorded here rather than as a patient care minimum. Thirty hours is far below what the PA field treats as competitive, and the program does not say that thirty hours is sufficient to be competitive for the limited seats.

  • PA shadowingrecommendeddiffers

    30+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours.

    Shadowing is an alternative rather than an addition here: "30 hours of documented volunteer/paid medical experience or 30 hours of shadowing a Physician Assistant." Thirty hours of PA shadowing alone satisfies the whole experience requirement, which is why it is marked recommended rather than required.

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

    Gannon asks post-baccalaureate applicants to "submit recommendation forms from three evaluators" and names no role for any of the three, so a PA letter is not required.

  • Supervisor letternot required here

    Same reason: three evaluators, none of them specified. Gannon uses its own recommendation forms rather than free letters.

Also on the school’s page

Gannon Erie is primarily a five year direct entry program that admits from high school, not a conventional graduate entry PA program, and the requirement lines below describe its Post-Baccalaureate Option, the only route open to someone who already holds a degree. That option runs on a space available basis: "Applications for the post-baccalaureate option will be reviewed on a space available basis... A limited number of seats are anticipated for the Fall of 2027. Applications for Fall 2027 entry will open October 1, 2026, and will close January 1, 2027," and applicants apply at apply.gannon.edu rather than through a central service. Floor is "a minimum GPA of 3.0... from previous professional education and prerequisites must have been completed within the last seven years," a seven year recency window on every prerequisite. Applicants "can have no more than 2 outstanding pre-requisite courses at the time of application, and no more than 1 of these can be a science course," with outstanding prerequisites completed by June 30 prior to matriculation, and lecture plus its matching lab counts as one course. A separate 3 credit "Research Process (or 3 credits of directed research participation)" line sits on the prerequisite list; the requirement vocabulary has no key for a research methods course, so it is recorded here only. Anatomy, physiology, microbiology and genetics must all be upper level, and the anatomy lab "must include human cadaver dissection (in-person, hands-on, using real human tissue. No virtual simulation or dissection of anatomical models.)", an unusually strict lab clause. On testing, the page names no GRE or PA-CAT requirement for the post-baccalaureate option; for the five year high school route it states "SAT/ACT scores are not required and will not be considered when making admissions decisions." For context on the direct entry side, the class is 58 seats, up to three reserved for freshman level transfers, applications close October 15, the high school GPA floor is 3.4, transfer students "must repeat any science course which was taken longer than five years prior to program admission," and "30 hours of patient interaction experience must be completed prior to matriculating. Additional hours are required each summer during the first four years of the program."

School

gannon.edu/academic-offerings/health-professions-and-sciences/undergraduate/physician-assistant

Check your transcript against this list

Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Gannon Erie still needs from you.

See it for PA school

Also in Pennsylvania

All PA programmes, compared