Keck Graduate Institute Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

One semester only, not the two-semester sequence: "One semester of a general or inorganic chemistry course with a laboratory component. A combination overview course with inorganic/organic/biochemistry cannot be used to satisfy this prerequisite."

1 semester · 3 credits

"One semester of organic chemistry or biochemistry. No lab is required." Either course answers this line. A combined organic and biochemistry course is acceptable, a three-way inorganic, organic, and biochemistry overview course is not, and "a general chemistry course will not meet this requirement."

Not among KGI's seven prerequisites; no composition or writing requirement is published.

1 semester · 3 credits

Three semester or four quarter hours: "General statistics or biostatistics are acceptable. May be taken through a math or psychology department. Other departments to be considered on a case-by-case basis."

Not among KGI's seven prerequisites. Psychology matters here only as a department statistics may be taken through.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two courses, minimum 8 semester or 10 quarter hours: "A full sequence of Anatomy and Physiology with lab OR two standalone courses in Human Anatomy with lab and Human Physiology with lab covering all organ systems. The syllabus must specifically have HUMAN anatomy/physiology as the primary focus. In person lecture/labs are strongly recommended."

3 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.

Three semester hours and, unlike most programs, no lab: "Microbiology course must cover a variety of microbes including bacteria, viruses, and fungi. General or Medical Microbiology are preferred. No lab is required."

1 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.

A required prerequisite here, not a suggestion. Minimum 1 semester hour or 1.5 quarter hours: "Must be a comprehensive medical terminology course that includes an understanding of basic elements, rules of building and analyzing medical words, and medical terms associated with the body as a whole."

1000+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.

"A minimum of 1,000 hours of paid, hands-on patient care experience (PCE) completed in the past five years is required at the time of application." Volunteer, shadowing, and training-program hours do not count, and the hours must be earned in the United States, its territories, or a U.S. organization such as the military or Peace Corps. Accepted roles include paramedic, EMT, dietitian, respiratory therapist, radiological technician, back-office medical assistant, nurse, CNA, physical therapist, occupational therapist, surgical technician, medical scribe, pharmacist, and phlebotomist. Explicitly not accepted: pharmacy technician, optometry, podiatry, veterinary and dental settings, administrative or front-office roles, lifeguarding, aesthetics, home care, caregiving, and lab-only research. KGI reviews hours on quantity, quality, and breadth, and says applicants above the minimum are more competitive.

KGI publishes no healthcare experience figure and counts only paid, hands-on patient care toward its 1,000 hours. Administrative and front-office healthcare work is named as unacceptable rather than credited to a separate bucket.

20+ hours

No hour figure is published and shadowing cannot be counted toward the patient care requirement: "Hours obtained during volunteering, shadowing, or during training programs are not counted towards patient care hours." It still earns you the required provider letter, which may come from "a paid position or a volunteer or shadowing experience."

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

Three references total. The second may be a second healthcare reference, "an academic reference from a professor with whom you took a course or an academic advisor from your college/university," a research supervisor, or a mentor; the third is your choice. A faculty letter is one accepted option, not a requirement, and KGI does not ask for a science professor specifically. All three must be requested through CASPA at submission and completed by December 31 of the application year.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.

"One letter must be from a healthcare provider who is a PA, Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Nurse Practitioner (NP)." A PA letter answers this, but so does an MD, DO, or NP letter, so this is a provider letter rather than a PA-specific one. It "must discuss your suitability for the medical profession based on their interactions with you" and may not come from a family member or family friend you have not worked, volunteered, or shadowed with.

Not required by name. A supervisor could write the second or third letter as a healthcare, research, or mentor reference, but KGI names no employment supervisor requirement.