George Fox University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

General Biology with Lab, 4 semester or 5 quarter hours: a "Foundational Biology course," "Normally a 200-level course." Not accepted: "X, XL, and extension courses" and "Survey, introductory, or essential Biology courses."

7 credits · lab

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

Two lines combined: General Chemistry with Lab, 4 semester or 5 quarter hours, a "Foundational Chemistry course," "Normally a 200-level course," not a survey, introductory, essential, X, XL or extension course; plus Other Chemistry, 3 semester or 4 quarter hours, accepting "Upper-level Chemistry," "General Chemistry II," "Organic Chemistry," "Analytical Chemistry," and "Biochemistry (if not used for other Biology)." Only the first 4 hours need the lab. AP accepted for General Chemistry only.

Not required on its own. Biochemistry may fill either the Other Biology or the Other Chemistry line, but not both.

Not on George Fox's prerequisite list.

1 semester · 3 credits

Accepted: "General Statistics," "Biostatistics," "Behavioral Statistics," "Psychology Statistics." Not accepted: "Business Statistics."

1 semester · 3 credits

Accepted: "General Psychology," "Intro to Psychology," "Developmental Psychology," "Human Growth and Development." Not accepted: "Topic-specific or narrowly focused psychology courses (e.g., Sports Psychology, Psychology of Love, Psychology of Music)."

1 semester · 3 credits

George Fox's Other Biology line, 3 semester or 4 quarter hours. Accepted: "Upper-level Biology," "General Biology II," "Genetics," "Cell Biology," "Immunology," "Virology," "Epidemiology," and "Biochemistry (if not used for other Chemistry)." Not accepted: survey, introductory or essential biology courses. General Biology II is accepted, so this line is broader than upper-level biology. AP credit not accepted here.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Human Anatomy & Physiology with Lab, 8 semester or 10 quarter hours. Accepted: "Two anatomy/physiology classes OR one anatomy class with lab and one physiology class; lab not required." Not accepted: "X, XL, and extension courses" and "Survey, introductory, or essential A&P courses." The line is titled with lab while the accepted text says a lab is not required for the split option; confirm with the program. AP credit not accepted. Within the last 10 years.

3 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.

Microbiology, 3 semester or 4 quarter hours: "Microbiology for non-science majors accepted," "Survey or introductory level accepted," "No lab required." AP credit not accepted.

Not on George Fox's prerequisite list.

2000+ hours

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

"A minimum number of patient care experience hours are not required for admittance into the program. However, it is recommended that applicants have 2,000 hours of direct patient care experience in order to be a competitive applicant. All PCEs must be from paid positions in the United States, not volunteer work or an academic internship." Hours are weighted: high modifier (1:1) for military medic, EMT, paramedic, ER technician, RN, LPN, hospital CNA, respiratory therapist, medical assistant, chiropractor, community health aid; medium (100 hours counts as 67) for skilled nursing CNA, scribe, PT aid, mental health practitioner, radiology tech, home health aid; low (100 counts as 33) for clinical research, lab tech or phlebotomist, surgical tech, dental assistant. Administrative work, billing, records, interpretation, transcription and scheduling are not accepted. Recent cohorts averaged 3,148 to 4,209 hours.

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.

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.

500+ hours

No minimum is required, but "it is in an applicant's best interest to pursue 500 hours after modifiers have been applied." Must be unpaid, with no academic credit or compensation. High modifier (1:1): serving unhoused populations, disaster response, service trips to underserved areas; medium (100 hours counts as 67): teaching or tutoring, health and community service, faith community service, coaching; low (100 counts as 33): fundraising events, club or fraternity service, animal or environmental service. Shadowing, internships, research, academic-credit work and pre-high school experiences are not accepted. Recent cohorts averaged 560 to 1,123 hours.

The preferred academic reference is from "a professor," with no science restriction; recorded on the any-discipline faculty line.

1 letter

"It is preferred that one of the three references come from a professor who can speak to an applicant's academic aptitude. Those with a GPA below 3.4 should strongly consider seeking this recommendation. If an academic reference is not available, a third professional reference may be provided." Any discipline.

No PA letter is asked for; references come from supervisors or coworkers in paid experience and preferably one professor.

2 letters

Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.

"Three letters of recommendation are required. These recommendations should come from a supervisor or coworker who can speak to an applicant's work ethic during a paid experience." One of the three is preferably a professor; otherwise a third professional reference. "Shadowing references do not count toward the required number of references."