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PA · Fayetteville, North Carolina · private

Methodist University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Methodist asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 10 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

  • General chemistry with labnot required here

    General chemistry does not appear on Methodist's prerequisite checklist. The chemistry lines are organic chemistry I with lab and biochemistry, both of which normally presume general chemistry, but the program does not list it as a requirement.

  • Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Organic Chemistry I with lab," 4 semester hours. One semester only, required alongside biochemistry rather than instead of it.

  • Biochemistryrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Biochemistry," 3 semester hours, required in addition to organic chemistry I with lab rather than as an alternative to it.

  • English or writing-intensivenot required here

    No English or writing course appears on Methodist's prerequisite checklist.

  • Statisticsrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Statistics," 3 semester hours.

  • Psychologyrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "One psychology course," 3 semester hours, with no particular course named.

  • Advanced biologyrequiredextra here

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "One additional Biology (Genetics rec.)," 3 semester hours, on the prerequisite checklist. The checklist does not say the course must be upper division, only that it be a biology course beyond microbiology and A&P, with genetics recommended.

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Anatomy & Physiology with lab," 8 semester hours. No time limit applies, but the program recommends retaking prerequisites older than five years.

  • Microbiologyrequired

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Microbiology with lab," 4 semester hours, the first line on Methodist's checklist.

  • Medical terminologyrequireddiffers

    1 credits

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

    Required as a graded course, "1 semester" on the checklist. The FAQ closes the usual shortcuts: "All applicants must complete a Medical Terminology course with a letter grade or pass/fail. Not accepted: CME credit or certificates of completion."

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencerequired

    500+ hours

    Methodist requires 1,000 hours of clinical experience and sorts roles into two tiers. Tier 1 is direct patient contact, normally paid: EMT, paramedic, CNA, nursing, scribe, surgical technician, respiratory technician, military medic, phlebotomy, athletic training, PT aide, ER technician and similar. Tier 2 roles with limited or no patient contact, including pharmacy technician, laboratory technician and shadowing, count only up to 500 hours. The 500 hour floor here is the arithmetic consequence of that cap: at least half of the 1,000 must be Tier 1. Scribing counts as Tier 1 at this program. Not accepted at all: clerical work, transporting, veterinary work, dental assisting, in-home caregiving and pharmaceutical sales.

  • Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers

    1000+ hours

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

    The combined requirement: "A minimum of 1,000 hours clinical experience completed at the time of application. Applicants who have not completed the 1,000 hours at the time of application will not have their application considered further." Tier 2 healthcare roles without direct patient contact may supply at most 500 of these hours; the rest must be Tier 1 direct patient contact. No time limit applies to when the hours were earned.

  • PA shadowingrecommendeddiffers

    50+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours.

    Shadowing is "encouraged" and counted as Tier 2 experience, so it can supply at most 500 of the 1,000 required hours. The program recommends "quality time," defined as "50 hours or more with one or a select number of PAs and/or supervising physicians," and only shadowing of a PA, NP, MD or DO qualifies.

Letters

  • Science faculty letterrequireddiffers

    1 letter

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

    Required here rather than recommended: one of the three letters should come from "A professor or advisor within the science department."

  • PA letterrecommendeddiffers

    1 letter

    Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

    A PA is preferred rather than required for the clinical letter: one of the three required letters should come from "Medical personnel with whom you have worked in a clinical setting," preferably a PA. Letters from family members or friends cost points, as do letters marked "Do Not Recommend" or "Recommend with Reservations."

  • Supervisor letterrequireddiffers

    1 letter

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

    "Three letters of recommendation are required as a part of the CASPA application." One must come from "Medical personnel with whom you have worked in a clinical setting," a colleague or supervisor from your clinical hours, preferably a PA. A third letter comes from an additional professional employer, another professor or a medical coworker.

Also on the school’s page

Methodist's requirements page does not itself list the courses; they come from the Prerequisite Check-List PDF it links (methodist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/pa_checklist22.pdf), which carries a 2022 file name, so confirm against the current checklist before relying on it. That checklist, in semester hours: microbiology with lab 4, anatomy and physiology with lab 8, one additional biology (genetics recommended) 3, organic chemistry I with lab 4, biochemistry 3, statistics 3, one psychology course 3, and medical terminology, one semester. General chemistry does not appear on it. Grades: "a letter grade of C or higher in each course," and the checklist adds "Any classes with a 'C-' or lower will not be accepted." Courses "must be completed in the United States at a regionally accredited institution"; per the FAQ, "Prerequisites taken at a regionally accredited community college or online are accepted," and "The program does accept advanced placement (AP) credit from high school for prerequisite coursework." No recency window: "MUPAP does not have time limits on prerequisite coursework or clinical experience hours," though the FAQ recommends applicants "Retake prerequisite courses completed 5+ years ago to refresh content knowledge." Timing: "At the time of application, applicants may have no more than three (3) outstanding prerequisite courses remaining." Degree: "A bachelor's degree from a four-year regionally accredited college or university. No specific major is required." GPA figures are recommendations, not cutoffs: "An overall GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended," "A prerequisite GPA of 3.2 or higher is recommended," "A science GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended," and "Competitive applicants exceed" each. No test of any kind: "The MUPAP does not require a general standardized test such as the GRE, MCAT, PCAT, or CASPer, and scores from these exams will not be considered if submitted." The PA-CAT is not mentioned. Non native English speakers need a TOEFL beginning with the 2027-2028 cycle, minimum 100 overall and 26 on speaking. Apply through CASPA; "No supplemental application is required," and up to five letters may be uploaded. On residency the two pages disagree: the requirements page lists "North Carolina resident" and "Cape Fear region resident" as competitive enhancers, while the FAQ says the university "does not give preference based on residency."

School

methodist.edu/paprogram

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