Northwest University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

General chemistry is not on Northwest's eight-requirement prerequisite table, and the page rules it out as a substitute elsewhere: the organic chemistry requirement is "Not satisfied by General Chemistry" and neither is biochemistry. You will still need it as the prerequisite for the organic and biochemistry courses Northwest does require.

6 credits

Six semester credits (eight quarter), "Satisfied by at least two of the following lecture courses: Organic Chemistry I, Organic Chemistry II, Organic Chemistry III, Bioorganic Chemistry, Structure & Bonds, Structure & Reaction." Explicitly "Not satisfied by General Chemistry, survey or intro courses, Biochemistry, or Organic Chemistry lab. Lab is not required." The two-term sequence counts as a single requirement for the outstanding-coursework rule.

1 semester · 3 credits

Three semester credits (four quarter), required outright rather than as an alternative to organic chemistry, which Northwest also requires. A "Dedicated course emphasizing structure-function relationships of biologically important molecules and metabolism," also satisfied by Biological Chemistry, Biomolecules, Metabolism, Physical Biochemistry, Physiological Chemistry or Cellular Biochemistry. "Not satisfied by survey courses, General Chemistry, Introduction to Organic and Biochemistry, Organic Chemistry, or Molecular Biology." The program recommends a course that itself has organic chemistry as a prerequisite.

No English, composition or writing requirement appears on the prerequisite table, which lists exactly eight requirements totalling 29 semester credits.

1 semester · 3 credits

Three semester credits (five quarter). "Introduction to Statistics, General Statistics, Behavioral Statistics, Biostatistics, or equivalent" all count, and the page warns it is "Not satisfied by Calculus."

1 semester · 3 credits

Three semester credits (five quarter). A wide list counts: "Introduction to Psychology, General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Psychological Disorders, Lifespan Psychology." It is "Not satisfied by Sports Psychology, Organizational Psychology, Sociology, or Anthropology."

1 semester · 3 credits

Three semester credits (four quarter): a "Course dedicated to genetics topics, must cover Mendelian genetics, inheritance, alleles, and pheno/genotypes. Satisfied by Human Genetics, Genomics, Epigenetics, Genetic Epidemiology, Medical Genetics." Not satisfied by general, molecular or cellular biology courses.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Two separate requirements, Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II, at four semester credits each (five quarter each), both with an in-person lab. Human Anatomy alone satisfies the first and Human Physiology alone satisfies the second, as does a Human Gross & Micro Anatomy/Physiology sequence. "Not satisfied by survey or introductory A&P or any animal A&P courses." There is no hard time limit, but the program "highly recommend[s] retaking or refreshing" A&P older than 5 years.

3 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.

Three semester credits (five quarter), lower than the baseline's four, but the lab must be in person: "In-person lab required." Satisfied by Principles of Microbiology, General Microbiology, Medical Microbiology or Microbiology for Health Professions, and "Not satisfied by Cell/Molecular Biology or Bacteriology."

Not an application prerequisite. Northwest handles it after acceptance as a pre-matriculation post-requisite it supplies itself: "Medical Terminology Course, This is an internal NU offered course that is no cost to admitted students. All students must receive a passing score upon completion of the course." No reason to pay for one before applying.

500+ hours

"A minimum of 500 qualifying PCE hours must be completed by the application deadline with a clear plan to complete a minimum of 1,000 qualifying PCE hours by August 1 of the matriculation year." Hours must be paid, with one exception: "PCE hours are direct hand-on paid positions with an exception for work as an EMT or paramedic when emergency services are provided on a volunteer basis." There is no time limit on PCE and "A maximum of 5,000 hours will be scored." Northwest scores roles by tier: high quality includes paramedic, AEMT, RN, RT, PT, OT and radiology technologist; moderate includes basic EMT, medical assistant, ER/ED tech, LVN/LPN and surgical tech; low quality still counts but scores least and includes CNA, medical scribe, phlebotomist, patient care technician, EKG tech and home health aide. Anything not on those lists "must be approved by the NU School of PA Medicine program prior to submitting the application in CASPA."

Healthcare experience without hands-on responsibility does not count here, and logging it in the wrong CASPA category is dangerous: "PCE is not synonymous with Health Care Experience (HCE) as HCE is not limited to direct hands-on responsibility by CASPA definition. Qualifying experiences should be entered as Patient Care Experience, or your application may be inadvertently removed from consideration." Medical billing, records, transcription, scheduling, reception, front office medical assisting, transport and interpreting are all named as non-qualifying.

20+ hours

Northwest publishes no shadowing hour requirement or target, and shadowing earns no credit toward the hours that count: it is listed by name among the "Experiences that will NOT fulfill the PCE requirement," alongside volunteering, transport, interpreting and bench lab work. Useful for deciding whether PA is the right path, but it will not move this application's hour count.

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.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

Northwest names no required writer, so a PA letter is encouraged rather than mandated: "Letters from supervisors and medical providers (e.g. PA, MD, DO, NP) who know you well are highly recommended."

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

"Three letters of recommendation are required. Only three will be reviewed," and the program specifies no writer type, only that "Letters from friends and family will NOT be considered" and that supervisors and medical providers are "highly recommended." All three go through the Evaluations section of CASPA before the deadline, and an application does not move into the Evaluation stage until all three have arrived, even though CASPA will verify it with two.