PA · Davenport, Iowa · private
St. Ambrose University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What St. Ambrose asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"General biology (4 cr)" with lab, inside the 15 to 16 credit biological sciences block that also carries anatomy, physiology and microbiology. This sits beside the A&P requirement rather than inside it.
- 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
3 credits
"Organic chemistry (3-4 cr, lab recommended if available)." Required alongside biochemistry, not instead of it. The lab is recommended, not required.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry (3-4 cr, lab recommended if available)." Required in its own right, with organic chemistry required separately.
- English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
Required here rather than recommended: "6 credit hours in English/Writing."
- 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.
- Psychologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
"6 credit hours in psychology/sociology." Twice the usual ask, and sociology credit counts toward it, so the two subjects can be mixed to reach six.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human anatomy (4 cr), human physiology (4 cr)" as two separate lab courses inside the biological sciences block. A combined A&P I and II sequence covers the same ground.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology (3-4 cr)" inside a biological sciences block the program describes as "with labs." Three credits is the floor.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required here: "1-3 credit hours in Medical Terminology or a Certification in Medical Terminology." A certification satisfies it, so a for credit course is not the only route.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"Documented at least 500 hours of healthcare experience with direct patient contact." The program uses the phrase healthcare experience but qualifies it with direct patient contact, so it is recorded here rather than under healthcare experience.
- 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 shadowingrequireddiffers
16+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
Required, not recommended: "Document at least 16 hours of shadowing a physician assistant." It must be a PA, and it sits on top of the 500 patient care hours.
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 letternot required here
No PA letter is named. Three letters are required with the choice of writer left to the applicant, even though 16 hours of PA shadowing are required.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
The program says only "Provide 3 letters of recommendation" and does not name the writers. A patient care supervisor is a natural choice given the 500 hour requirement, but no writer is mandated.
Also on the school’s page
St. Ambrose publishes its prerequisites as credit blocks with the individual courses named inside them: "15-16 credit hours in biological sciences with labs covering general biology (4 cr), human anatomy (4 cr), human physiology (4 cr) and microbiology (3-4 cr)" and "14-16 credit hours in chemistry with labs to include general (inorganic) chemistry (8 cr, 2 semester sequence), organic chemistry (3-4 cr, lab recommended if available) and biochemistry (3-4 cr, lab recommended if available)." Outside the sciences it asks for 3 credit hours of statistics or biostatistics, 6 of psychology or sociology, 6 of English or writing, and 1 to 3 of medical terminology. The grade rules are strict on credit type: prerequisites need "a grade of 'C' or higher," and "We do not accept prerequisite coursework graded pass/fail or credit obtained by CLEP exam or Advanced Placement (AP)." The GPA bar is "a minimum 3.0 cumulative, prerequisite, and science GPA on a 4.0 scale." On testing the program is test optional and says so plainly: "Optional: Send GRE scores to CASPA." The PA-CAT is not mentioned. Three letters of recommendation are required, with no writer specified. No recency window on prerequisite coursework is published on this page. The program also states applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent legal residents, requires a campus interview, and closes applications on October 1. Oral communication and biomedical ethics are recommended but not required, and there is a separate early admission pathway for high school seniors with its own thresholds.
Check your transcript against this list
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