PA · Harrisonburg, Virginia · public
James Madison University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What James Madison asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 14 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labnot required here
General chemistry is not on JMU's prerequisite table. Biochemistry is the only chemistry required, and the program says outright that organic chemistry does not satisfy it.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry. Necessary Grade: 'C', 2.0 (or better). Length: A one semester course. Lab Required: No. Other Notes: Organic Chemistry does NOT meet this requirement." Any of "Introduction to Biochemistry", "Foundations of Biochemistry", "Principles of Biochemistry", "Concepts of Biochemistry" or "Fundamentals of Biochemistry" satisfies it. Seven-year window to matriculation.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing course appears on the prerequisite table.
- Statisticsnot required here
No statistics or biostatistics course appears on the prerequisite table.
- Psychologynot required here
No psychology course appears on the prerequisite table.
- Geneticsrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Genetics. Necessary Grade: 'C', 2.0 (or better). Length: A one semester course. Lab Required: No. Expiration: Must have been completed within 7-years of matriculation." No credit count is published, only the one-semester length.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two separate table rows, Anatomy (Human or Mammalian) and Physiology (Human or Mammalian), each one semester and each needing a B (3.0) or better. "The total credit hours for two semesters of anatomy and physiology should combined be at least 6 credit hours." Only anatomy needs the lab: "Anatomy must include laboratory work either as a component of the anatomy course or as a separate laboratory course," and "An online lab for Anatomy is acceptable. An in-person lab is preferred only because it will help the successful applicant in the future graduate-level anatomy course within the PA program. However, this is a recommendation, not a requirement." A combined A&P sequence at a single college is accepted if it covers all body systems and regions. Seven-year window to matriculation.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology. Necessary Grade: 'C', 2.0 (or better). Length: A one semester course. Lab Required: No." JMU does not require the microbiology laboratory the baseline assumes, and publishes no credit count. Seven-year window to matriculation.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required, not recommended, and the only prerequisite with no time limit: "Expiration: Can have been completed within any number of years." "Must be taken for credit (generates a transcript), it CANNOT be a certificate," so the free online certificate route many programs allow does not work here. Grade of C or better, one semester, no lab.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequireddiffers
1000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.
"A minimum of 1,000 hours of direct patient contact experience is required as a prerequisite to admission to the PA Program. However, students who are successful in gaining admittance typically have greater than 1,000 hours accumulated." Paid or voluntary, from one experience or several. JMU tiers the roles: Tier I is high responsibility and autonomy (paramedic, PT, OT, pharmacist, RN, RD, ATC, chiropractor, psychiatrist or psychologist, SLP, military medic or corpsman), Tier II is some responsibility (EMT basic and intermediate, surgical tech, respiratory therapist, patient care technician, sleep technologist, mental health counselor), Tier III is less (CNA, home health or personal care aide but not for a family member, radiology technician, ophthalmology technician, medical assistant, PT aide, phlebotomist, ultrasound technologist, RBT). "Experiences listed in Tiers I, II, and III ALL COUNT," and "applicants who have completed all of their hours in Tier III are still accepted quite frequently." Tier IV does not count and includes doula, social worker, pharmacy technician, medical scribe, dental roles, medical interpreter, patient transporter, unit clerk, non-clinical research assistant and shadowing. Hours "in the role of a student/intern DO NOT count," for example EMT training hours before certification. The 1,000 hours are due before the curriculum begins in August, "not prior to applying." "the actual job title is much less important to the Admissions Committee than the tasks, duties and level of responsibility associated with it," so write a detailed job description in CASPA.
- 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 shadowingnot required here
"Although desirable for other reasons, PA and/or physician shadowing experience does not count toward the required 1,000 hours of direct patient care experience," and shadowing sits in Tier IV. No shadowing number is required.
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
JMU names "university professors" with no science restriction among the preferred letter writers; that option is recorded on the any-discipline faculty line.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)recommendedextra here
1 letter
Three letters are required through CASPA and JMU names "university professors" among the preferred writers, with no science restriction. "Letters of recommendation from friends or family members are highly discouraged."
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Three letters are required but JMU does not mandate a clinician among them: "Letters are best from prior supervisors/employers, university professors, and/or medical professionals (clinicians) who have observed you working or volunteering in a patient care environment (not simply someone you shadowed briefly)." A PA letter is one preferred option, not a rule.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Preferred rather than required. "Letters are best from prior supervisors/employers," listed first among the three suggested sources for the three required letters.
Also on the school’s page
JMU's prerequisite list is unusually short and its patient care requirement unusually high. The whole required course table is anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, genetics, microbiology and medical terminology; general chemistry, statistics, psychology and English are not on it. Grades: anatomy and physiology each need a B (3.0) or better, the other four need a C (2.0) or better, "If the Anatomy and Physiology course requirements are fulfilled by taking A&P and A&PII, then the minimum grades for each of those courses must be a 'B' (3.0)," repeated attempts are averaged rather than replaced, and a separately graded lecture and lab are averaged together. Recency: every prerequisite except medical terminology "Must have been completed within 7-years of matriculation," measured to matriculation and not to application; the program will consider an exception for someone whose work keeps the material current, but "This kind of exception is typically only granted for someone who has taught the course in a collegiate setting." Courses must be taken for credit at an accredited institution and generate a transcript, must carry a letter grade rather than pass/fail, and "Courses taken online or at community colleges are acceptable"; exact course titles do not matter "so long as it matches the intent of the requirements." Prerequisites need not be done at application, only "prior to the first day of the Fall semester." GPA: "An overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or higher is preferred. However, students who are successful in gaining admittance typically have an overall GPA higher than 3.0," so 3.0 is a preference and not a floor. Testing: "Completing the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required. There is no minimum score requirement, however, anything below the 25th percentile in any of the three sections is considered a 'red flag' by the JMU Admissions Committee." Scores go to both CASPA and the JMU Graduate School under code 7442, best section scores across sittings may be reported, and "The GRE requirement is waived for any applicant who has completed a graduate degree." On the PA-CAT: "Our program has no immediate plans to adopt the Physician Assistant College Admission Test (PA-CAT) as an admission requirement." The program's admissions overview page adds that JMU admits one cohort of 36 students a year and requires two separate applications, one to the JMU Graduate School and one through CASPA, both complete by the stated deadline with CASPA verification a month later.
Check your transcript against this list
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