PA · Searcy, Arkansas · private
Harding University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Harding asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 11 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- 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.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Harding calls this "Additional Chemistry" and takes either Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, 3 credits, with no lab required. One course, your choice of the two, on top of the full general chemistry sequence.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing course appears in the published prerequisite list.
- Statisticsnot required here
Statistics specifically is not required. It is one of four courses that can satisfy Harding's single 3 credit math line, alongside College Algebra, Precalculus and Calculus.
- College mathematicsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Harding asks for "Math" generally, 3 credits, satisfied by College Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus or Statistics. Any one of the four clears it; there is no separate statistics requirement on top.
- Psychologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
Two courses, not one: "General Psychology" 3 credits plus a "Psychology elective" 3 credits. The elective is unrestricted within psychology.
- Advanced biologyrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Upper-Level Biology," 3 credits. It carries the same seven year recency recommendation as anatomy, physiology and microbiology, so an upper-division biology course taken early in a long undergraduate career may need refreshing.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy and Physiology with labs," 8 credits, the full sequence. Subject to the seven year recency recommendation, so an A&P sequence from a first degree a decade ago is the coursework most likely to need retaking here.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with lab," 4 credits, and one of the three subjects Harding strongly recommends be no more than seven years old at matriculation.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended, listed at 1 to 3 credits, so a single credit course satisfies it.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
Harding publishes no separate patient care minimum. Its 200 hour requirement is written as healthcare experience, and direct patient care is one of the things weighed within it: the program considers whether the experience involves direct patient care, the total hours, the duty descriptions, and recency, preferably within five years. Hands-on hours are what make the 200 competitive, but they are not separately required.
- Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
200+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
"200 hours of HCE is required prior to submission to the CASPA application," so the hours must be banked before you submit, not before you matriculate. Harding does not split healthcare experience from patient care experience into two numbers; it publishes this one and names qualifying roles: medical assistant, EMT or paramedic, RN or LPN, CNA, phlebotomist, scribe, and healthcare volunteers with patient contact. The exclusion is explicit: "Clerical or front desk work does not count towards HCE hours."
- PA shadowingrequireddiffers
10+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
Required here, and unusually low: "10 hours of PA shadowing is required. Virtual shadowing cannot be used to meet this requirement." Shadowing other healthcare professionals is also advised and should be included in the application.
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 letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Three letters are required but no writer type is mandated. Harding suggests an academic reference, a professional or work supervisor reference, and a practicing PA reference, which makes the PA letter strongly advised rather than compulsory.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Same suggested set. A professional or work supervisor is one of the three recommended voices, not a stated requirement.
Also on the school’s page
Harding's prerequisite list runs General Chemistry I and II with labs 8 credits, an Additional Chemistry course 3, Microbiology with lab 4, Human Anatomy and Physiology with labs 8, Math 3, General Psychology 3, a Psychology elective 3, Medical Terminology 1 to 3, and Upper-Level Biology 3. The prerequisite GPA floor is hard: "3.00 or higher on a 4.00 scale" with "no exceptions," and cumulative undergraduate GPA should be "greater than 3.00." The program also publishes what competitive looks like, which is well above the floor: highly qualified applicants typically show a 3.6 cumulative, 3.7 prerequisite, 3.5 overall science and 3.8 last 40 hours GPA. Those are descriptions of who gets in, not minimums. Recency is a strong recommendation rather than a bar: "It is strongly recommended that coursework in Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, and Upper-level Biology be completed within the seven years prior to your anticipated matriculation into the program." On exams, Harding does not require the GRE; it says only that GRE scores are considered in the holistic review if submitted by the applicant to CASPA. The PA-CAT is not addressed anywhere on the page. Letters: "Applicants to the Harding University PA program are required to submit three (3) letters of recommendation through CASPA. Up to five (5) letters may be submitted and will be reviewed; however, additional letters beyond five will not be considered."
School
harding.edu/paprogramCheck your transcript against this list
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