PA · Fullerton, California · private

Marshall B. Ketchum University School of Physician Assistant Studies prerequisites

What Ketchum 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.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

General chemistry with labnot required here
MBKU's published prerequisite list names no general chemistry course; its only chemistry line is "Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry." In practice general chemistry is still the campus prerequisite for either of those courses, so most applicants will have taken it anyway, but MBKU does not check for it.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry," minimum three semester or quarter credit units. Either course clears the line and no lab is specified.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on MBKU's prerequisite list. No composition or writing requirement is published for domestic applicants.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, minimum three semester or quarter credit units, grade of C or above or a pass.
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"General Psychology," minimum three semester or quarter credit units.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
A standalone required prerequisite here, which is unusual on the PA path. Minimum three semester or quarter credit units, grade of C or above or a pass.
Advanced biologyrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
MBKU names "Other Biological Science" as its own line, meaning a biology course beyond the anatomy, physiology, microbiology, and genetics it already requires. Minimum three semester or quarter credit units.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two separate lines, Human Anatomy with lab and Human Physiology with lab, at a minimum of three semester or quarter credit units each. Both "must be taken in the last seven years," so an older sequence has to be retaken no matter how well it went.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology with lab," minimum three semester or quarter credit units. No recency window is stated for this one, unlike anatomy and physiology.
Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
Required outright by nearly half of programs, which is more than its recommended level here suggests. Several refuse a certificate or a free online course and want transcript credit; a few teach it after acceptance instead.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequireddiffers
2000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.
"All applicants must have at least 2,000 hours of paid, verifiable, direct, hands-on patient care experience to be eligible to apply." Twice the common floor, and an eligibility bar rather than a preference. One narrow exception: "Volunteer patient care hours that are part of a formal or professional training program may be credited towards this requirement." Preferred experiences named by the program are military medic or corpsman, back office medical assistant, certified nurses' aide, EMT, paramedic, physical therapy aide, registered nurse, COPE Health Scholar, and medical scribe.
Healthcare experiencenot required here
No separate healthcare experience figure is published. MBKU counts only paid, verifiable, direct, hands-on patient care toward its 2,000 hours, plus volunteer hours earned inside a formal training program.
PA shadowingnot required here
The requirements page sets no shadowing figure and does not list shadowing among the experiences it counts. Shadowing will not move you toward the 2,000 hour bar.

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.
"MBKU requires three LORs for admission. Letters must be submitted directly to CASPA on or before November 1." The program recommends rather than requires that they include at least one clinician and someone who has known you at least six months, and says "Reference letters should not be from personal friends or family members." A PA is one clinician among several who would answer this.
Supervisor letternot required here
MBKU asks for three letters without naming an employment supervisor. Its only guidance is a recommendation for at least one clinician and someone who has known you six months or more.

Also on the school’s page

MBKU sets one unit floor across the whole list: "A minimum of three semester or quarter credit units, with a letter grade of C or above OR a 'pass' grade, must be completed in the following courses." The eight named courses are Microbiology with lab, Human Anatomy with lab, Human Physiology with lab, Other Biological Science, Genetics, Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry, Statistics, and General Psychology. Anatomy and physiology carry a recency window: both "must be taken in the last seven years." On grades, the program encourages an overall GPA of at least 3.0 and a science GPA of at least 3.0 but does not state them as absolute cutoffs, and warns that meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee an interview or an offer of acceptance. On exams, "We do not require scores from the Graduate Records Examination (GRE)," and the requirements page names no PA-CAT. Letters go directly to CASPA on or before November 1. The two heaviest lines in this application are the 2,000 patient care hours and the seven year clock on anatomy and physiology, and both take planning years ahead.

School

ketchum.edu/pa-studies

Check your transcript against this list

Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Ketchum still needs from you.

See it for PA school

Also in California

All PA programmes, compared