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PA · Erie, Pennsylvania · private

Mercyhurst University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Mercyhurst asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 12 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

  • Biology with labrequiredextra here

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Biology with labs (8 credits, 6 course, 2 labs)."

  • General chemistry with labrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Chemistry with labs (8 credits, 6 course, 2 labs)."

  • Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Organic Chemistry with labs (4 credits, 3 course, 1 lab)." One semester with lab. Biochemistry is not listed.

  • Biochemistrynot required here

    Not on Mercyhurst's list; one semester of organic chemistry with lab is the advanced chemistry prerequisite.

  • English or writing-intensivenot required here

    Not on Mercyhurst's prerequisite list.

  • Statisticsrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Statistics (3 credits)."

  • Psychologyrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Psychology (3 credits)."

  • Geneticsrequiredextra here

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Genetics (3 credits)."

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers

    7 credits · lab

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

    "Anatomy with lab (4 credits, 3 course, 1 lab)" plus "Physiology (3 credits)," no physiology lab named. "The Anatomy and Physiology requirements may be met by taking either one semester of Anatomy and one semester of Physiology, or two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology combined." Physiology must fall within the five-year recency window.

  • Microbiologyrequired

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Microbiology with lab (4 credits, 3 course, 1 lab)." Must fall within the five-year recency window.

  • Medical terminologyrequireddiffers

    1 credits

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

    "Medical Terminology (1 credit)." "One credit of Medical Terminology is preferred; a certificate may be accepted due to limited course offerings." The only prerequisite that may be taken pass/fail or noncredit.

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 single 200-hour healthcare experience requirement is recorded on the healthcare experience line. "Candidates with higher overall GPAs, prerequisite GPAs, and direct patient healthcare experience are more competitive for earning admission."

  • Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers

    200+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.

    "Applicants must have 200 hours of healthcare experience (paid or volunteer)." Mercyhurst publishes one combined number and does not distinguish patient care from other healthcare experience, so the minimum is recorded here.

  • 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 letternot required here

    Three letters required, sources unspecified; no faculty letter is named.

  • PA letternot required here

    "Applicants are required to supply three (3) letters of recommendation"; no writer types are specified.

  • Supervisor letternot required here

    Three letters required, sources unspecified; no supervisor letter is named.

Also on the school’s page

Mercyhurst publishes a credit-counted prerequisite list: Chemistry with labs (8 credits, 6 course, 2 labs), Organic Chemistry with labs (4 credits, 3 course, 1 lab), Biology with labs (8 credits, 6 course, 2 labs), Anatomy with lab (4 credits, 3 course, 1 lab), Physiology (3 credits), Microbiology with lab (4 credits, 3 course, 1 lab), Genetics (3 credits), Statistics (3 credits), Psychology (3 credits), Medical Terminology (1 credit). "Applicants must complete all prerequisite courses listed below with a grade of 'C' or better prior to matriculation. Courses, other than Medical Terminology, taken as pass/fail or for noncredit will not be accepted." Recency: "A minimum of 12 credits of the prerequisite courses including physiology and microbiology must be completed within the five years prior to matriculation." "Transfer/AP/life experience credit will not be offered." GPA: "Applicants must have an overall GPA of 3.2 or higher (on a 4.0 scale)" and "a GPA of 3.2 or higher (on a 4.0 scale) in prerequisite courses." A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited U.S. or provincially accredited Canadian institution must be completed before matriculation. Experience: "Applicants must have 200 hours of healthcare experience (paid or volunteer)"; the program does not split patient care from other healthcare experience, though "Candidates with higher overall GPAs, prerequisite GPAs, and direct patient healthcare experience are more competitive." Three letters of recommendation are required, sources not specified. A personal statement on professional goals is required. Testing: neither the admission requirements page nor the application process page mentions the GRE, PA-CAT or CASPer. TOEFL 69+ for international or non-native speakers. "Preference will be given to equally qualified Mercyhurst graduates." CASPA opens April 26, 2026 and "must be completed by Dec. 1, 2026" for the 2027 entering class.

School

mercyhurst.edu/academics/grad/physician-assistant-studies

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