PA · Austin, Texas · private

South University Austin Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What South University Austin asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 7 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"General Biology, 2 courses. Required: General Biology I (Lab recommended), General Biology II (Lab recommended)." The lab is recommended and not required on this one. "Alternative Substitution for Biology II ONLY: Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Immunology," so an upper-division course can replace the second semester but not the first.
General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"General Chemistry and Labs, 2 courses. Required: General Chemistry I with lab, General Chemistry II with lab." Stated as two courses rather than a credit count, and both need the lab.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, 1 course. Lab recommended, not required." Either course satisfies the line, and one semester is enough.
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 biostatistics prerequisite. The prerequisite list is entirely science coursework.
Psychologynot required here
Psychology is not on South University's prerequisite list. The five required blocks are anatomy and physiology, general biology, general chemistry, microbiology, and one course of organic chemistry or biochemistry.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Anatomy and Physiology, 2 courses (sequenced): Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II with Lab OR Human Anatomy with Lab and Human Physiology with Lab." The program counts courses rather than credits here. "No course substitutions are accepted for this requirement," and the lab is genuinely required, unlike the biology and chemistry-elective rows.
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 terminologynot required here
Medical terminology is not named as a prerequisite or a recommendation anywhere on the page.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No hours minimum, and the program says so plainly: "Although not required, preference is given to applicants who have direct patient care experience (i.e., care that involves personal interaction with patients such as: physical therapist, respiratory therapist, emergency medical technician/paramedic, nurse, medical assistant, or certified nursing assistant, or other similar professions)." Direct patient care is an explicit preference-point category in the selection rubric, and "clinical experiences should provide the applicant with a knowledge of, and orientation to, the presentation, signs, and symptoms of a variety of illnesses and injuries."
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 is published. "Healthcare provider mentorship/shadowing experiences" is one of the listed preference-point factors, and shadowing is one of the two ways to earn the required clinician reference letter, which must come from someone "with whom the applicant has worked or shadowed."

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 letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"Applicants must have at least three letters of reference submitted to CASPA. At least one reference letter must be from a physician (MD/DO), Physician Assistant, or Nurse Practitioner with whom the applicant has worked or shadowed and to whom the applicant is not related." A physician or NP satisfies this line too, but in the selection rubric "references from Physician Assistants (PAs) are preferred." The program wants letters "attesting to the applicant's motivation, communication and interpersonal skills, professionalism, and future contribution towards health care."
Supervisor letternot required here
No separate work supervisor letter is required. Three letters are needed and only one writer is specified: a physician, PA, or nurse practitioner the applicant has worked with or shadowed, who must not be a relative.

Also on the school’s page

South University Austin holds Accreditation-Provisional status and starts its cohort in January, with the application cycle opening in April and a September 1 deadline for a complete CASPA application; interviews are rolling, so "those who apply early in the admission cycle are more likely to be granted an interview than those who apply later." Prerequisites are unusually front-loaded: "Applicants must complete all prerequisite courses listed below with a grade of C or better at a regionally accredited U.S. college or university prior to submission of their application," and online, virtual or on-ground formats are all accepted. No recency window is published. The bachelor's degree must be earned no later than August 1 of the year of application. GPA floors are an overall 3.0 as calculated by CASPA, with a Biology-Chemistry-Physics science GPA of 3.0 phrased as "should have" rather than must; preference points go to an overall GPA of 3.3 or above and a BCP GPA of 3.15 or above, which are preferences, not minimums. The GRE is required: "Official GRE scores for the General Test (verbal, quantitative, and written essay) are required to be electronically submitted to CASPA through ETS," using the Austin program GRE code 0174, and paper copies are not accepted. There is no minimum score, but "preference will be given to those with GRE scores (Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning) at the 50th percentile or above." The PA-CAT is not mentioned anywhere on the page. AP credit is accepted and "will be counted as one course credit towards completion of the respective prerequisite subject," though AP grades are excluded from the GPA calculation; CLEP credit is not accepted for any prerequisite. On labs the program says "only courses (excluding General Biology, Biochemistry, and Organic Chemistry) with an associated lab will fulfill prerequisite requirements," and where a lab is simply not offered an applicant "may request the lab requirement for that course be waived by contacting the program," with waivers and substitutions granted at the Admissions Committee's discretion and supporting syllabi expected. Courses titled "Essentials of," "Survey of," or "Introductory to" are "considered less competitive" unless designed for science majors. Applicants may hold a seat at only one South University campus, and there is a non-refundable $1000 acceptance fee applied toward tuition.

School

southuniversity.edu/austin/physician-assistant-ms

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