PA · Grand Rapids, Michigan · public
Grand Valley State University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Grand Valley State asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 15 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"General Biology (BIO 120)". Required outright, which the PA baseline does not assume. No credit hours or laboratory are stated on the list.
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Chemistry (CHM 109 or CHM 125 & 127)". If the sequence route is taken, both courses must be completed. No laboratory flag or credit figure is published, and general chemistry does not carry the five year window.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Organic Chemistry (CHM 231 or CHM 235 & 237)". Required alongside biochemistry, not as an alternative to it. If taken as the two course sequence, both courses must be completed. It must be finished at the time of application, though it does not carry the five year window.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry (CHM 234 or CHM 461)". One of the four courses inside the five calendar year window and one of the five that must be complete at the time of application.
- Physics with labrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Physics (PHY 200 or 220 or 221)". The sequence rule is waived here: "The exception to this rule is Physics, in which only one semester is required." No laboratory is stated.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or composition credit appears on GVSU's prerequisite list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics (STA 215)". No credit figure is published and no five year window applies.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Either course answers it: "Psychology, Introductory course (PSY 101) or Lifespan Development (PSY 364)".
- Geneticsrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Genetics (BIO 355 or BIO 375/376)". An uncommon PA prerequisite and one of the harder ones to fit in late.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two separate lines, "Human Anatomy (BMS 208 or BMS 250 & 251)" and "Human Physiology (BMS 290 or BMS 250 & 251)", and where the two course sequence is used both courses must be completed. Both carry the five calendar year window and both must be finished at the time of application. GVSU states no laboratory requirement and no credit hours on its list, so neither is recorded; the GVSU equivalents it names are lecture and lab courses.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology (BMS 212 & 213)", both courses of the pair. Carries the five calendar year window and must be complete at the time of application. No laboratory flag or credit figure is published.
- Medical terminologynot required here
Medical terminology appears neither in GVSU's eleven required prerequisites nor in its recommended list.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
GVSU publishes no separate patient care minimum, only the combined 500 hour healthcare figure. On hands-on work it says just "Hands-on patient care experience is highly encouraged", so no number is recorded here.
- Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
GVSU publishes one combined number and does not split patient care from healthcare experience: "The applicant must complete a minimum of 500 hours of significant volunteer and/or work and/or observational experience in a health care environment by the time of application." Patient care experience and shadowing both count in full toward the 500; only some healthcare experience does. Counting: "filling prescriptions, administering medication, taking vitals or other record-keeping information, and working as a scribe, CNA, or medical assistant." Not counting: "clerical work, delivering patient food, and cleaning patient rooms." The 500 is the floor, not the competitive mark, and "Achievement of over 10,000 hours of health care experience" is separately listed among the factors that earn additional consideration at interview selection.
- PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
No shadowing minimum is published. Shadowing hours count in full toward the combined 500 hour healthcare experience requirement, which is the only number GVSU states.
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
Where GVSU allows a faculty rubric it says "a university faculty member", any discipline, so a science professor specifically is not asked for.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)recommendedextra here
1 letter
The second of the two rubrics "may be completed by either a second health care professional or a university faculty member", any discipline. Note GVSU takes rubrics, not letters: "Separate letters of recommendation can NOT be substituted for a recommendation rubric."
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
"Minimum of two (2) Recommendation Rubrics", of which "One recommendation rubric must be completed by a health care professional." A PA satisfies that, but so does any other health care professional, so a PA specifically is not required.
- Supervisor letternot required here
GVSU takes two recommendation rubrics and names no supervisor. One must come from a health care professional and the second from a health care professional or a university faculty member.
Also on the school’s page
GVSU publishes one of the longest prerequisite lists on this path, eleven courses named by GVSU equivalent rather than by credit hours: general biology, general chemistry, genetics, organic chemistry, biochemistry, human anatomy, human physiology, statistics, psychology, microbiology and physics. Because the list gives course numbers and not credits or laboratory flags, no credit minimums and no laboratory requirements are recorded here. Sequences: "If a course is part of a sequence, BOTH courses must fulfill the course requirement. The exception to this rule is Physics, in which only one semester is required." Grades and GPA: a minimum grade of C (2.0) in each prerequisite, and an average GPA of B (3.0) or higher in each of overall GPA, the last 60 hours of coursework, and the program prerequisite GPA. Recency: anatomy, physiology, microbiology and biochemistry "must be completed within the five calendar years of the year of application", counted irrespective of month, so "a course completed in April 2021 will expire at the end of December 2026." Anatomy, physiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry and microbiology must all be done at the time of application; everything else, plus the bachelor's degree, by May before matriculation. Pass/fail prerequisite coursework is not accepted; AP credit from high school is accepted at a test grade of 3, 4 or 5; competency examinations earn credit but do not count toward the calculated GPAs. Immunology, medical ethics, pharmacology, pathophysiology, nutrition and cadaver lab are recommended, not required. On exams, GVSU names no GRE and no PA-CAT, but "All applicants to the GVSU PAS program must complete the United States Casper 2 test", scored through Acuity Insights direct to GVSU rather than CASPA, and retaken every cycle. Applicants pick the Grand Rapids or the Traverse City campus and may not apply to both; the Traverse City review weighs connections to Northern Michigan. CASPA must be in complete status by the September 1 deadline, with a GVSU supplemental application and a 30 dollar fee. Application details, letters and the experience floor come from the sibling page https://www.gvsu.edu/pas/application-information-3 .
School
gvsu.edu/pasCheck your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Grand Valley State still needs from you.
See it for PA schoolAlso in Michigan
- Central Michigan University Physician Assistant ProgramMount Pleasant
- Concordia University Ann Arbor Physician Assistant ProgramAnn Arbor
- Eastern Michigan University Physician Assistant ProgramYpsilanti
- Lawrence Technological University Physician Assistant ProgramSouthfield
- Michigan State University Physician Assistant ProgramEast Lansing
- Oakland University Physician Assistant ProgramAuburn Hills
- University of Detroit Mercy Physician Assistant ProgramDetroit
- University of Michigan-Flint Physician Assistant ProgramFlint
- Wayne State University Physician Assistant ProgramDetroit
- Western Michigan University Physician Assistant ProgramKalamazoo