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PA · Asheville, North Carolina · private

South College Asheville Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What South College Asheville 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.

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Coursework

  • Biology with labrequiredextra here

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Biology I and II with laboratory (Mammalian, Cell, Molecular, or Human Biology). Upper Level Mammalian, Cell, Molecular, or Human Biology may be substituted for Biology II." Minimum of 8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours. Science coursework must be within the last 7 years.

  • General chemistry with labrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "General Chemistry I and II with laboratory (minimum of 8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours)." The full sequence, within the 7 year window.

  • Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers

    1 semester · 3 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

    Not required. Biochemistry and organic chemistry appear only in the "Strongly suggested" list alongside genetics, immunology and advanced biology or zoology courses.

  • English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers

    2 semesters · 6 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.

    Required here, not merely recommended: "English (minimum of 6 semester hours or 8 quarter hours)."

  • Statisticsrecommendeddiffers

    1 semester · 3 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

    Statistics is one option within the required six hour mathematics block, not a separate requirement: "A statistics course is recommended."

  • College mathematicsrequiredextra here

    2 semesters · 6 credits

    A six hour mathematics block that statistics may fill but need not: "Statistics, Algebra, Calculus, Finite Math, or other equivalent Advanced Mathematics (minimum of 6 semester hours or 8 quarter hours). A statistics course is recommended."

  • Psychologyrecommendeddiffers

    1 semester · 3 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

    Named only as a recommendation inside the six hour humanities or social science block: "Psychology recommended."

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with laboratory (minimum of 8 semester hours or 12 quarter hours)." Must be within the last 7 years, as with all science prerequisites here.

  • Microbiologyrequireddiffers

    3 credits · lab

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

    "Microbiology with laboratory (minimum of 3 Semester or 4.5 quarter hours)." Three semester hours rather than the baseline four, lab required.

  • 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.

  • Social sciences and humanitiesrequiredextra here

    2 semesters · 6 credits

    "Humanities and/or Social Science (minimum of 6 semester hours or 8 quarter hour). Psychology recommended." Any humanities or social science course counts toward the six hours.

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers

    500+ hours

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

    No minimum, and the program says so outright: "Direct patient care experience is not required for admission to the program. However, such experience is considered a valuable component of an applicant's preparation and may strengthen the overall application." Direct patient care experience hours are still a scored domain in the evaluation rubric, so bring them; there is simply no floor to fall below.

  • 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 of recommendation. It is recommended that one of these letters is from a specific healthcare provider: Physician Assistant (PA), Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO), or Nurse Practitioner (NP)." A PA is the first writer named, but an MD, DO or NP satisfies the same recommendation.

  • Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers

    1 letter

    Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

    The page names no supervisor letter. Of the three required letters, only the clinician letter carries a recommendation about its writer.

Also on the school’s page

South College Asheville publishes its prerequisites in semester and quarter hours and leans on breadth rather than depth: two semesters each of anatomy and physiology, general chemistry and biology, all with laboratory, plus microbiology with lab, and then 6 hours each of English, mathematics and humanities or social science. Only a recency window and cumulative GPAs gate the coursework; no per-course minimum grade is stated. "Science prerequisite coursework must be within the last 7 years." GPA floors are low and there are three of them: an overall cumulative GPA "minimum of 2.75 on a 4.0 scale," "completion of all prerequisite coursework with a cumulative GPA of a minimum of 2.75," and "completion of all science prerequisite coursework with a cumulative GPA of a minimum of 2.75." The GRE is required with no minimum: "Completion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The GRE code for the South College Asheville Physician Assistant Program is 5009." Neither the PA-CAT nor Casper is mentioned. "Applications with up to two outstanding prerequisite courses will be reviewed and are eligible for an admission decision." "Strongly suggested one or more of the following courses: genetics, immunology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, and other advanced biology/zoology courses." A baccalaureate degree "from an accredited college or university in the United States, prior to matriculation" is required; application is through CASPA plus a South College supplemental, with an interview. "South College undergraduate students who meet prerequisite requirements are offered an interview," and military veterans, first-generation college graduates and multilingual applicants are named in the scoring rubric. The admissions page does not state accreditation status; check the ARC-PA listing.

School

south.edu/programs/asheville-physician-assistant-program

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