PA · Whittier, California · private
Southern California University of Health Sciences Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What SCU asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 13 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"Chemistry," 8 credits, the largest single line on SCU's list and a core science bound by the 2019 or later rule. Lecture required, lab strongly recommended but not required.
- Biochemistrynot required here
Not on SCU's list. The only chemistry line is the 8 credit core science chemistry requirement, with no biochemistry or organic chemistry named.
- English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
"English Composition," 3 credits, named as a required general course. Composition specifically, not any writing-intensive substitute.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, 3 credits, a general course rather than a core science, so the 2019 or later recency rule does not reach it.
- College mathematicsrequiredextra here
2 credits
"Mathematics," 2 credits, listed as its own general course beside the separate 3 credit statistics requirement. Statistics will not cover both lines here.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Psychology, 3 credits, a required general course. Not subject to the core science recency rule.
- Sociologyrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Sociology or Anthropology," 3 credits. Either discipline answers the line, and it sits alongside the separately required psychology course rather than replacing it.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two core science lines, Human Anatomy 4 credits and Human Physiology 4 credits. Lecture is required and a laboratory component is "not required but is strongly recommended." Both fall under the core science recency rule, so both must have been completed in 2019 or later.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
Microbiology, 4 credits, a core science and therefore subject to the 2019 or later rule. Lab strongly recommended but not required.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
A required general course here rather than a suggestion, at 1 credit. One of the smallest and most easily overlooked lines on the list.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
SCU publishes no separate patient care figure. Its single requirement is 1,000 paid hours of healthcare experience, and hands-on patient care work counts toward that total, so no distinct patient care minimum is recorded here. Hands-on roles remain the strongest way to fill those 1,000 hours, but the program does not say so in a number.
- Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
1000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
"A total of 1,000 paid hours of healthcare experience is required at the time of application submission." SCU publishes this as one combined figure and does not split patient care experience from healthcare experience, so the number is recorded here rather than invented as a patient care minimum. Two conditions carry weight: the hours must be paid, and they must be complete when you submit, not promised for later in the cycle.
- PA shadowingnot required here
The admissions requirements set no shadowing figure and make no shadowing mention. Only the 1,000 paid healthcare hours are counted.
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 (3) required, PA and supervisor preferred." Three evaluations are mandatory, but the PA writer is a stated preference rather than a rule, so a strong file without one is still complete.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
The other half of "Three (3) required, PA and supervisor preferred." A supervisor letter is preferred, not required, and the third writer is unconstrained.
Also on the school’s page
SCU splits its prerequisites into core sciences and general courses. Core sciences are Chemistry 8 credits, Human Anatomy 4, Human Physiology 4, and Microbiology 4; general courses are Mathematics 2, Psychology 3, English Composition 3, Sociology or Anthropology 3, Statistics 3, and Medical Terminology 1. That is a long list by PA standards, with three separate general education lines most programs do not name. On labs, SCU says "A lecture component is required. A laboratory component is not required but is strongly recommended," so no line here is recorded as lab-required. The recency rule is explicit and applies to the sciences only: "Each core science prerequisite course must have been completed in 2019 or later (within 7 years of the current admissions cycle)." All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of C or higher. SCU sets three GPA floors rather than one: overall 3.0, biology, chemistry and physics GPA 3.2, and core science prerequisite GPA 3.2, so the science bar sits above the overall bar. On exams, the GRE is a preference rather than a requirement: the program lists an official score report showing one or more of Quantitative 150 or above, Verbal 152 or above, or Analytical 4.0 or above among its applicant preferences, and nothing on the page requires the GRE or the PA-CAT. The cycle opens April 30, 2026 and closes January 15, 2027 for a September 7, 2027 matriculation, a January deadline that is unusually late among California programs.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what SCU still needs from you.
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