PA · Washington, District of Columbia · private
George Washington University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What GW 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.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labnot required here
Not on GW's prerequisite list. The chemistry lines are organic chemistry and biochemistry, one semester each.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits
"One semester of Organic Chemistry and one semester of Biochemistry." One semester only, and the page states no laboratory requirement.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"One semester of Organic Chemistry and one semester of Biochemistry." GW requires both, not one or the other, so plan on a second chemistry course beyond biochemistry.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on GW's prerequisite list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"One semester of Statistics."
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"One semester of Psychology. Abnormal Psychology or Developmental Psychology is recommended." The recommendation names which psychology course to pick, not a second one.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"One semester of Anatomy and one semester of Physiology are required. This requirement may also be met by taking two semesters of a combined Anatomy & Physiology course." At 3 semester credits per course that is 6 credits. GW's page does not state a laboratory requirement for any prerequisite. The 10 year recency window and the B- minimum apply.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"One semester of Microbiology." Three semester credits, no laboratory stated.
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not on GW's prerequisite list.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequireddiffers
1000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.
A hard minimum with an unusually early deadline: "1,000 hours of direct patient care experience are required. These hours must be completed by the time the application is submitted." Hours you plan to finish during the cycle do not count here.
- 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.
One of the three CASPA letters, preferred rather than mandated: "Academic instructors who can strongly attest to your academic ability." GW does not require the instructor to be in a science department.
- PA letternot required here
GW does not require a letter from a PA. It says a health care professional is preferred among the three CASPA letters, without naming the profession.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"Three letters of recommendation are required and must be submitted through CASPA." GW does not fix the writers, but says the strongest letters come from people "who can attest to your potential as a physician assistant, preferably a health care professional" and from "Academic instructors who can strongly attest to your academic ability."
Also on the school’s page
GW publishes a compact five-line prerequisite list: anatomy and physiology, organic chemistry plus biochemistry, psychology, statistics and microbiology. Every prerequisite must be "3-credit (semester) or 4.5-credit (quarter) credit hours in length" and taken "at a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States or accredited English-speaking Canadian institutions within the last 10 years." That 10 year recency window applies from the date of application, and each prerequisite needs "a grade of B- or better." "Pre-requisites taken at US community colleges are accepted." The GPA bar is high and stated as a hard minimum: "Both the minimum cumulative and overall science grade point averages (GPA) must be 3.2 or higher." No general chemistry, physics, English or medical terminology prerequisite is listed, and the page states no laboratory component for any prerequisite. On testing, the admission requirements page names neither the GRE nor the PA-CAT, so neither appears to be required, but confirm with the program before assuming a waiver.
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