PA · Atlanta, Georgia · private
Morehouse School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Morehouse 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.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Biology with lab, 8 semester credit hours." The largest single line on Morehouse's table.
- General chemistry with labnot required here
General chemistry does not appear on Morehouse's prerequisite table. Only organic chemistry I with lab and biochemistry are listed, though general chemistry is normally the prerequisite for organic chemistry at the institution teaching it.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry I with lab, 4 semester credit hours." One semester, required alongside the separate 3 credit biochemistry line.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Roughly half the programs that ask for an upper chemistry accept either biochemistry or organic chemistry for the same single line, so one course often covers both entries on this list.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or writing course appears on the prerequisite table.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, not calculus. The exception is regional: several Oklahoma and Texas programs require college algebra instead and do not count statistics, so check those individually.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
General psychology. Many programs fold it into a broader social or behavioural science block that sociology or anthropology also satisfies.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The full A&P sequence with lab, the one course essentially every program names. Recency windows bite hardest here: several programs expire A&P specifically, one at three years, while leaving the rest of the list alone.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology, 3 semester credit hours." Morehouse marks lab required on its biology, organic chemistry and anatomy and physiology rows and not on this one.
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not named on the prerequisite table or in the admissions requirements.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"The MSM PA Program requires applicants to complete a minimum 500 hours of direct patient care experiences (e.g., EMT or paramedic, health educator, RN, patient care attendant or nurse's aide, clinic assistant, Peace Corps volunteer or other cross-cultural health care experience, technologist, therapist, clinical research assistant, etc.)." One restriction to plan around: "All direct patient care hours must be paid (compensated)," so volunteer patient care does not count toward the 500. Selection criteria then weigh "Quality and quantity of paid direct hands-on clinical patient care."
- 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 shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
No number: "The MSM PA Program does not require a minimum number of PA shadowing hours. While this is not a requirement, we strongly recommend applicants complete shadowing hours with physician assistants to gain exposure to the scope of practice." PA mentorship and shadowing is still a scored selection factor.
- Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
"Community service hours" is one of the named selection factors awarded preference points, with no number attached.
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
The professor letter Morehouse recommends is an "academic professor" with no discipline attached, so a science professor is not specifically asked for.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)recommendedextra here
1 letter
Three letters are required but the writers are only recommended: "Letters of reference from a PA or physician, academic professor and former employer are recommended." No discipline is attached to the professor.
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Three letters must reach CASPA, but Morehouse only recommends who writes them: "Letters of reference from a PA or physician, academic professor and former employer are recommended," and in the selection criteria, "it is recommended that at least one reference be obtained from a PA with whom you have worked with or shadowed." Family members and friends are named as undesirable writers.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
The "former employer" letter in Morehouse's recommended set of three. Recommended rather than mandated, like the other two.
Also on the school’s page
Morehouse publishes an eight row prerequisite table in semester credit hours: biology with lab 8, microbiology 3, organic chemistry I with lab 4, biochemistry 3, human anatomy or anatomy and physiology I with lab 4, human physiology or anatomy and physiology II with lab 4, statistics 3, and psychology 3. General chemistry is not on that table, which is unusual, though organic chemistry I normally carries it as its own prerequisite. Quarter hours convert at 1 quarter hour = 0.67 semester hour. Everything needs a C or better from a regionally accredited institution, and "All prerequisites must be completed within the last 7 years," a tighter window than the 10 years most programs use. The program will judge substitutions and oddly named courses, usually by asking for a syllabus, but states that "in no cases will prerequisites be waived." Up to two prerequisites may be outstanding at application, with admission contingent on finishing them. GPA floors are 3.0 science and 3.0 cumulative, with two documented alternatives: a 3.0 over the last 60 undergraduate hours for candidates below a 3.0 cumulative, and a graduate or post-baccalaureate GPA where at least 20 credit hours are complete. A bachelor's degree is required by May of the entry year. On testing, from the program's How to Apply page: "We will accept scores for either the GRE or PA-CAT... applicants are required to submit scores for only one of these exams. (not both)... there is no minimum score for these tests required for consideration of your application." The program adds that it considers the PA-CAT to have better predictive value for student success. GRE scores must be from the past five years and sent from ETS to CASPA under institution code 2552, and either score may be submitted through August 1. The cycle opens April 27 and closes August 1, classes start in June, and selected matriculants must finish assigned pre-matriculation modules in physiology, microbiology, anatomy and biochemistry before the first day of class. Interviews are on campus and use modified multiple mini interviews plus a group project. Preference points go to residents of Georgia and applicants with Georgia heritage, and the selection criteria also weigh demonstrated interest and experience in primary care, rural health or underserved populations. There is no advanced placement, transfer credit or part-time pathway. The hours, letters and testing lines here come from https://www.msm.edu/physicianassistantprogram/admissions.php and the seven year window and selection criteria from https://www.msm.edu/physicianassistantprogram/admissionsprocess.php.
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