PA · Terre Haute, Indiana · public
Indiana State University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Indiana State asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 13 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labnot required here
General chemistry does not appear anywhere in Indiana State's prerequisite list. The chemistry ask here is organic chemistry I and II with labs; general chemistry will normally be a prerequisite to those courses at your own institution, but the PA program does not list it as one of its own.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
lab
The baseline does not carry organic chemistry on this path, but Indiana State requires the full sequence: "Organic Chemistry I & II with labs (ISU equivalent: CHEM 351/351L and CHEM 352/352L)." The laboratory ask is satisfied by "Two semesters of organic chemistry laboratory instruction OR A minimum of 2 total semester credit hours of organic chemistry laboratory coursework," and that instruction "may be embedded within lecture courses, offered as separate laboratory sections, or offered as a combined organic chemistry laboratory course covering both Organic Chemistry I and II." The admissions committee "reserves the right to request course descriptions or syllabi if laboratory inclusion is unclear." Note the change ahead: beginning with the 2027-2028 CASPA cycle, "Organic chemistry labs will not be required prerequisites."
- Biochemistrynot required here
Not a required prerequisite. Biochemistry appears only as the first of nine named examples of courses that can satisfy the two upper-level 300-400 biological sciences requirement, alongside genetics, virology, immunology, pathology, biomedical ethics, molecular biology, cell biology and exercise physiology.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English composition or writing course appears in the prerequisite list. The only non science prerequisites are statistics and medical terminology.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics (ISU equivalent: HLTH 340 or MATH 241 or BIO 485)." This is the one place the program's blanket rejection of advanced placement credit bends: "AP Statistics will be accepted if official high school transcripts are provided showing a grade of C or better." No credit hour figure is published.
- Psychologynot required here
No psychology or behavioral science course appears in the prerequisite list.
- Advanced biologyrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 6 credits
"Two upper-level (300-400) Biological Sciences (Examples of acceptable courses: Biochemistry, Genetics, Virology, Immunology, Pathology, Biomedical Ethics, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Exercise Physiology)." Beginning with the 2027-2028 CASPA cycle, "Upper-level biology prerequisite courses must be at least 3.0 credit hours," which is where the six credit figure for the pair comes from.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Listed as two separate courses, "Human Anatomy with lab (ISU equivalent: ATTR 210/210L, BIO 231/231L)" and "Human Physiology with lab (ISU equivalent: BIO 241/241L)," with two accommodations stated outright: "Combined Human Anatomy and Human Physiology courses with labs will be accepted" and "Mammalian anatomy and physiology will be accepted." No credit hour figure is published for this requirement, so none is recorded here.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with lab (ISU equivalent: BIO 274/274L or BIO 374/374L)." The lab is required and no credit hour figure is published.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required outright here rather than recommended as in the baseline: "Medical Terminology (ISU equivalent: ATTR 225)." Beginning with the 2027-2028 CASPA cycle, "Certificates for prerequisite courses will not be accepted," which closes the certificate route many applicants use for this course.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No separate patient care minimum is published. The program's only hour figure is the 500 hour healthcare experience requirement, which it does not divide into hands on and non hands on categories, and its only other statement on experience is that preference goes to applicants with "greater healthcare and community service experience." The two roles it names as not counting are medical reception and medical billing.
- Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
"A minimum of 500 hours of healthcare experience is required. Medical reception and medical billing will not be considered for this requirement." Indiana State publishes one combined healthcare experience number and does not split hands on patient care from other healthcare work, so the 500 hour floor is recorded here rather than as a patient care figure.
- 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.
The program asks for "at least one academic" reference among the three and does not say it must come from a science professor, so a science faculty letter is one good way to answer that slot rather than a requirement of its own.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
1 letter
"Applicants must submit three letters of reference, including at least one academic and one professional reference." The academic reference is this line; the program does not say the academic writer must be a science professor.
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
No PA letter is named. Three letters of reference are required, of which at least one must be academic and one professional; a PA who has worked with you answers the professional slot but nothing requires that writer to be a PA.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"Applicants must submit three letters of reference, including at least one academic and one professional reference." The professional reference is the closest thing the program names to a work supervisor letter; it does not use the word supervisor or say the writer must have supervised your patient care hours.
Also on the school’s page
Indiana State publishes its admission criteria as a downloadable document rather than a web table. The prerequisite list is short and unusual for this path: human anatomy with lab and human physiology with lab, microbiology with lab, organic chemistry I and II with labs, statistics, medical terminology, and "Two upper-level (300-400) Biological Sciences." General chemistry, psychology and English appear nowhere. Every prerequisite needs "a grade of C or better, by September 1 prior to the start of the program," and "Indiana State University's PA program does not accept advanced placement courses," with AP Statistics the single stated exception. On recency the program is explicit that there is no hard window: "ISU does not currently enforce an expiration date for prerequisites. However, candidates whose prerequisite coursework is more than 10 years old are strongly encouraged to consider refreshing it." On tests, the program's own site states "The ISU PA Program does not require the GRE"; the criteria document publishes a GRE average of 305 for the Class of 2025 and no test figure for later classes, and the PA-CAT is not mentioned. GPA is a hard gate: "A minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required for consideration. Applicants with a cumulative undergraduate GPA below 3.0 will not be considered." Published averages for accepted applicants are 3.52 overall and 3.40 science for the Class of 2027 and 3.50 and 3.38 for the Class of 2028, which are averages, not minimums. Beginning with the 2026-2027 CASPA cycle all prerequisite coursework must be completed at "a regionally accredited institution located in the United States, or an accredited institution in English-speaking Canada," and foreign coursework will not fulfill the requirement even with a credential evaluation. Beginning with the 2027-2028 CASPA cycle applicants "may have no more than two outstanding prerequisite courses at the time of application submission," certificates for prerequisite courses will not be accepted, upper-level biology prerequisites must be at least 3.0 credit hours, and "Organic chemistry labs will not be required prerequisites." Admissions are rolling, reviewed first come first served, and preference is given for stronger GPAs, supportive letters, military service, Indiana residency, ISU alumni status, greater healthcare and community service experience, and interest in rural or medically underserved practice.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Indiana State still needs from you.
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