PA · Carbondale, Illinois · public

Southern Illinois University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What SIU 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.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits
"General biology for science majors, one semester (may also select from genetics or cell and molecular biology)." A non-majors survey course does not count, and no laboratory is stated as required. Taking genetics here satisfies this line and the program's separate recommendation at once.
General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Unusually flexible: "Chemistry, with lab, two semesters (select from general, organic, inorganic, or biochemistry)." Any two of those four with laboratory satisfy the whole chemistry requirement, so a general chemistry sequence is one route among several.
Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
Not required on its own. Biochemistry is one of the four courses that can fill the two semester chemistry requirement, and separately it is "highly recommended before matriculation" alongside genetics, pharmacology and pathophysiology.
English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended: "English composition, one semester." Literature is not named as a substitute.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, not calculus. The exception is regional: several Oklahoma and Texas programs require college algebra instead and do not count statistics, so check those individually.
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.
Geneticsrecommendedextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics, pharmacology, pathophysiology and biochemistry, although not required, are highly recommended before matriculation." Genetics is the one of those four that can also fill the general biology prerequisite.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two separate courses, each with its laboratory: "Human physiology, one semester with lab (upper level preferred)" and "Human anatomy, one semester with lab (upper level preferred)." Both need a grade of B or higher, and if either was taken pass/fail during the pandemic SIU requires documentation from the instructor showing the numerical grade and its letter equivalent.
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 terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required, with an escape hatch: "Medical terminology, one semester (or passage of proficiency exam)." It is also one of only two prerequisites SIU allows you to finish in the spring term before matriculation, so it need not delay an application.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
No hour minimum is published anywhere on the program's pages. The how to apply checklist instructs applicants to "provide evidence of patient care experience and PA shadowing, with optional volunteer or observation hours," and the prerequisites page says "preference will be given to those applicants with credentialed experience in providing direct patient care, rurality, and shadowing a certified physician assistant." Credentialed hands-on work is what SIU rewards; with no floor to clear, treat this as a competitive dimension rather than a box to tick.
Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
"Healthcare experience is preferred for applicants. This experience should be in conjunction with shadowing a licensed, certified, practicing physician assistant. Combinations of experience may vary and can be full-time or part-time, as an employee or volunteer." SIU does not publish a number and does not split healthcare experience from patient care experience, though its preference statement points clearly at credentialed direct patient care.
PA shadowingrequireddiffers
20+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
Named explicitly and with no number attached: the application checklist asks applicants to provide evidence of "patient care experience and PA shadowing," and the program requires that healthcare experience "be in conjunction with shadowing a licensed, certified, practicing physician assistant." Shadowing a physician does not answer this; it must be a PA.

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 letterrecommended
No published minimum
Fewer than a third of programs require a letter from a PA. Most ask for a clinician letter that a PA, physician or nurse practitioner satisfies equally, so a PA letter is usually sufficient and rarely necessary.
Supervisor letterrecommended
No published minimum
A letter from a work supervisor is required by about a quarter of programs. Many name no writer category at all and simply ask for three letters.

Also on the school’s page

SIU's list is ordinary and its grading rule is not: "All prerequisite courses must have a grade of 'B' or higher," one of the strictest floors on this path, and the GPA bar is three separate 3.4s. "The overall grade point average (GPA) and the overall science GPA, as calculated by CASPA, must be at least 3.4 on a 4.0 scale. The prerequisite course GPA, as calculated by SIU, must also be at least a 3.4 on a 4.0 scale." The courses are medical terminology (one semester or passage of a proficiency exam), chemistry with lab (two semesters, chosen from general, organic, inorganic or biochemistry), psychology, human physiology with lab, human anatomy with lab (upper level preferred for both), microbiology with lab, general biology for science majors, statistics and English composition, each one semester unless noted. "Genetics, pharmacology, pathophysiology and biochemistry, although not required, are highly recommended before matriculation." On timing, all prerequisite coursework must be finished by the end of the fall term before matriculation, except that "one prerequisite course and medical terminology can be completed during the Spring term before matriculation." No recency window is published. Two eligibility rules sit outside the coursework: "the applicant must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident" and must have completed at least 30 semester hours, including all prerequisites, at a U.S. regionally accredited degree granting institution, with a bachelor's degree by matriculation. "No pre-admissions testing required (GRE, PCAT, etc)." Neither the prerequisites page nor the how to apply page publishes a number or a writer for letters of recommendation; the program says only that preference goes to applicants with "strong references," so plan on CASPA's standard three. Preference is also given to applicants from southern and central Illinois and from medically underserved or rural areas. Deadline is November 1 with rolling admissions, so apply early.

School

siumed.edu/paprogram

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