Cyclios

PA · Greensboro, North Carolina · public

North Carolina A&T State University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What NC A&T asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

  • Biology with labrequiredextra here

    3 credits · lab

    "Biology I with lab" is a named prerequisite here even though the baseline does not carry it. No credit figure is attached to the row, but the page requires every prerequisite to be "3-4 credits (semester) or 4.5-6 credit (quarter) hours in length" and "for Science Majors."

  • General chemistry with labrequireddiffers

    3 credits · lab

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

    One semester, not the two-semester sequence the baseline assumes: "General Chemistry I with lab." Must be a science-majors course of 3 to 4 semester credits.

  • Biochemistryrequireddiffers

    1 semester · 3 credits · lab

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.

    The page reads "Organic Chemistry I with Lab or Biochemistry with lab," so either course answers this line, and unusually the lab is required whichever you pick. Biochemistry also appears on the highly recommended list, which reads as a preference for taking it even if organic was your prerequisite.

  • English or writing-intensivenot required here

    No English or writing course appears anywhere in NC A&T's required or recommended coursework list.

  • Statisticsrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Statistics or Biostatistics," 3 to 4 semester credits under the program's course length rule.

  • Psychologyrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "General Psychology or Abnormal Psychology." One course answers it; abnormal psychology is also on the recommended list as an extra.

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    Human Anatomy, 4 semester credits, and Physiology, 4 semester credits, each "As a single course or part of a two-semester combined Anatomy and Physiology Course including lab." Eight credits with lab either way. Preference for courses completed within the last 7 years.

  • Microbiologyrequired

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    Named by nearly every program, usually 3 or 4 credits. A minority accept it without the lab, so read the school's own line before dropping one.

  • Medical terminologyrequireddiffers

    1 credits

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

    Required rather than recommended: "Medical Terminology" sits in the required preparatory coursework list and "may be completed as an online or certificate course." The page's 3 to 4 credit rule is stated for prerequisite courses generally; the certificate route suggests it is not enforced for this line, but confirm with the program before relying on a one credit course.

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencerequireddiffers

    1000+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.

    "Each applicant must document and submit a minimum of 1,000 direct, hands-on, patient care hours," and "All hours must be earned before submission of the CASPA application." The program's examples of direct patient care: phlebotomist, EMT/paramedic, medical scribe, RN/LPN, PT/PTA or OT/OTA, military medical corpsman or med tech, CNA, CMA (back-office responsibilities only), X-ray technician, medical dietician, EKG technician, electrophysiology technician. Note that scribing counts as direct patient care here, which many programs do not allow. The page does not say whether hours must be paid.

  • 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

    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 letterrecommendeddiffers

    1 letter

    Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

    The program says "professor" without specifying science, so any professor with direct interaction fits its wording. Three letters total, attesting to "the character, strengths, emotional intelligence and readiness for a career as a physician assistant."

  • PA letterrecommendeddiffers

    1 letter

    Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

    Not required by title. The program asks for "3 letters of recommendation" from "a physician assistant, physician, nurse practitioner, professor or supervisor who has had direct interaction with the applicant," so a PA letter is one of several accepted writers rather than a mandatory one. "DO NOT submit letters from family members or a peer." Letters go through CASPA.

  • Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers

    1 letter

    Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

    A supervisor is one of the five writer types the program names for its three letters, alongside a PA, physician, nurse practitioner or professor, but no single writer type is required.

Also on the school’s page

NC A&T is a new program: the department page says it "has applied for Accreditation Provisional" from the ARC-PA and anticipated its first class in fall 2025, and the admissions page lists a CASPA deadline of November 1, 2026 for classes beginning fall 2027. The required coursework page names nine prerequisites: Human Anatomy and Physiology (4 semester credits each, single courses or a two-semester combined A&P sequence including lab), Biology I with lab, Microbiology with lab (4 semester credits), General Chemistry I with lab, Organic Chemistry I with lab or Biochemistry with lab, General or Abnormal Psychology, Statistics or Biostatistics, and Medical Terminology. "All prerequisite courses must have a grade of C or higher," "All prerequisite coursework must be for Science Majors," and "Courses must be 3-4 credits (semester) or 4.5-6 credit (quarter) hours in length." AP, CLEP and audited coursework are not accepted; "Online courses from regionally accredited institutions are accepted." The recency window is a preference rather than a bar: "Preference will be given for courses completed at a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States within the last 7 years." Biochemistry, genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, abnormal psychology, embryology, histology and immunology are listed as recommended upper-level courses, "NOT required." GPA is a hard floor on two numbers, from the grade point average page: "We require a cumulative GPA as calculated by CASPA to reach a minimum threshold of 3.0" and "We require a science GPA as calculated by CASPA to reach a minimum threshold of 3.0." The GRE is required with no minimum: "GRE scores are required of ALL candidates, including candidates who have already earned masters or doctoral degrees," taken no earlier than January 1, 2022 and no later than November 1, 2026, reported to CASPA code 1347, and "No other test scores are accepted in lieu of the GRE." The program adds that "GRE scores are not used to make admissions decisions." The PA-CAT is not mentioned. A bachelor's or graduate degree from a regionally accredited US institution must be earned "by July 15th of the year of matriculation," no specific major required. Applications go through CASPA with supplemental questions and the general CASPA personal statement.

School

ncat.edu/chhs/departments/physician-assistant-studies/index.php

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