PA · West Palm Beach, Florida · private

Palm Beach Atlantic University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What PBA asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 6 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
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"General Biology and Lab, 4 semester hours," required here on top of the anatomy and physiology sequence.
General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The two-semester sequence with lab. Around a fifth of programs want only one semester or skip general chemistry entirely and start at organic or biochemistry.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry including lab, 4 semester hours." One semester, not the full sequence, and PBA names organic rather than biochemistry.
Biochemistrynot required here
Not on PBA's prerequisite list. The program names organic chemistry as its second chemistry requirement instead.
English or writing-intensiverecommended
2 semesters · 6 credits
English composition, usually two semesters where it is asked for at all.
Statisticsnot required here
No statistics or mathematics course appears on PBA's prerequisite list.
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.
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 terminologyrecommended
1 credits
Required outright by nearly half of programs, which is more than its recommended level here suggests. Several refuse a certificate or a free online course and want transcript credit; a few teach it after acceptance instead.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
A "minimum of 500 Hours of Direct Patient Care/Patient Care Experience" by matriculation, paid or volunteer. "Medical scribe hours may account for up to 250 hours of the required 500," so scribing alone cannot answer it. PBA lists MA, CNA, PCT, phlebotomist, pharmacy technician, EMT, athletic trainer, behavioral health tech, RN, respiratory therapist, physician and clinical lab tech as qualifying roles.
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 letterrecommended
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.
PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Three letters are required overall, and "one letter from a PA preferred" rather than required. A letter from another healthcare professional or a mentor is accepted in its place.
Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
PBA names no supervisor letter. Its three letters may come from "another healthcare professional (physician, dentist, pharmacist, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physical or occupational therapist) and/or from a mentor," so a work supervisor qualifies only if they fit one of those descriptions, and never as a relative, friend, or your own healthcare provider.

Also on the school’s page

PBA publishes a short, closed prerequisite list in semester hours: general biology with lab 4, human anatomy and physiology I and II with labs 8, general chemistry with lab 8, organic chemistry with lab 4, microbiology with lab 4, and psychology 3. Every prerequisite needs a grade of "C (2.0) or better from a regionally accredited US institution," and lab courses "cannot be completed online if it requires a lab component" except for the Spring 2020 to Spring 2022 COVID window. Applications are reviewed with "no more than two outstanding prerequisites." AP credit is accepted only in a limited way: approved for psychology, and for biology or chemistry only when backed by upper-level coursework. The page states no prerequisite recency window. On numbers, PBA requires a "minimum overall GPA of 3.0 and prerequisite GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale as calculated by CASPA," and a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited US institution. On exams, the GRE is required and must be completed by application submission; PBA's GRE code is 1289, "multiple GRE scores will be super scored," and while no minimum is published, "150 in each quantitative and verbal, as well as analytical score of 3.5, is considered competitive." The page does not mention the PA-CAT. Three letters of recommendation are required, with "one letter from a PA preferred" and the others from "another healthcare professional (physician, dentist, pharmacist, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physical or occupational therapist) and/or from a mentor"; letters from "relatives, friends, personal healthcare providers, or personal friends" are not accepted. The page publishes no shadowing requirement.

School

pba.edu/academics/schools/school-of-health-professions

Check your transcript against this list

Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what PBA still needs from you.

See it for PA school

Also in Florida

All PA programmes, compared