PA · Stanford, California · private

Stanford University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Stanford asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 18 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

This school states it has no required prerequisite courses. Everything below is coursework it recommends rather than a gate.

Coursework

Biology with labrecommendedextra here
3 credits
"This should include at least one semeser/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of General Biology or Human Biology." One semester, not a sequence, and no lab is named for this line.
General chemistry with labrecommendeddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab and list it as required.
One semester, not the year sequence, and biochemistry substitutes for it outright: "This should include at least one semester/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of General Chemistry or Biochemistry." No lab is named.
Organic chemistry with labrecommendedextra here
3 credits
"This should include at least one semeser/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of Organic Chemistry." One semester only, and separate from the general chemistry or biochemistry line, so both appear on Stanford's recommended list.
Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
An alternative to general chemistry rather than a course beside it. Stanford's chemistry line reads "at least one semester/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of General Chemistry or Biochemistry", so one of the two answers the whole recommendation.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on Stanford's list. The preparatory coursework page names biology, microbiology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, organic chemistry, statistics, psychology, three upper-division bioscience courses and medical terminology, and no English or writing requirement appears anywhere in the admission materials.
Statisticsrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
"This should include at least one semester/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of General Statistics or Biostatistics." The exclusion is worth reading before you register: "Please note that specialized statistics courses, such as Statistics for Psychology, do not satisfy this recommendation."
Psychologyrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
General psychology only. "Please note that specialized psychology courses, such as Developmental Psychology or Psychology of Aging, do not satisfy this recommendation."
Advanced biologyrecommendedextra here
3 semesters · 9 credits
"In addition to the courses above, we recommend that applicants complete three (3) additional upper-division bioscience courses (3-5 units or credits each) prior to applying." Stanford names cell biology, embryology, endocrinology, genetics, histology, immunology, molecular biology, neuroscience, pharmacology and virology as common examples. The classification, not the subject, decides: "Unless the course is explicitly classified as upper division by your institution, it will not satisfy our course recommendation." Most such courses are numbered 300 and above, though the UC system counts 100 to 199 as upper division.
Anatomy and physiologyrecommendeddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab and list it as required.
Recommended, not required, and satisfiable two ways: "at least one semester/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of Anatomy and at least one semester/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of Physiology (including Animal, Human, or Exercise Physiology), or as two semesters/quarters (6-10 units or credits) of a combined Anatomy and Physiology course." The lab is a preference rather than a rule: "We strongly prefer that these courses include a lab component." Animal and exercise physiology both count here, which is unusually broad for a PA program.
Microbiologyrecommendeddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab and list it as required.
"This should include at least one semeser/quarter (3-5 units or credits) of Microbiology." No lab is named, and like everything else on this list it is a recommendation.
Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
The softest line on Stanford's list, and deliberately unquantified: "We suggest that applicants, especially those without strong prior healthcare experience, consider taking a course in Medical Terminology prior to matriculation. No specific course type or units/credits are recommended."

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No patient care minimum exists at Stanford, and none should be inferred from the 500 hour combined figure. What the program does say is that the kind of hours matters: "While all types of clinical experience will be considered in our review, direct patient care experience in a human medical setting is strongly preferred." Stanford's own examples of direct patient care are broad, running from athletic trainer, CNA, EMT, medical assistant and medical scribe through military medic, paramedic, radiology technician, registered nurse and sonographer. Scribing counts as direct patient care here, which many programs do not allow. Clinical hours never expire.
Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
Stanford publishes one combined figure and does not split patient care from healthcare experience: "We recommend that applicants complete a minimum of 500 hours clinical experience. Clinical experience includes direct patient care experience and health care experience, broadly defined." The 500 hours is recorded here rather than against patient care because either kind counts toward it. Volunteer clinical work counts too. Two exclusions: hours earned for academic credit and hours in a veterinary setting are "noted but not formally considered", and only experiences that supply contact information for verification are read.
PA shadowingnot required here
Stanford says outright that it does not weigh shadowing: "Shadowing will be noted but not formally considered in our review." Hours spent shadowing are worth having for your own sake and for the preferred PA letter, but they earn nothing in this program's review.
Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
The one experience Stanford words as an expectation: "A demonstration of community service dedication is expected of all applicants. We give volunteer credit for service to patients, the poor, and the marginalized." No hours figure is published. The five year window is the catch: "Volunteer experience must be completed within the last five years in order to be considered."
Researchrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
No number, but named explicitly: "We encourage applicants to include relevant research experience, including publications, projects, and participation in clinical research settings." Stanford wants research that will feed the program's own scholarly work: "research that will support scholarly work within the program is highly desirable." No expiration, but research done for academic credit is noted rather than counted.

Letters

Science faculty letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Stanford asks for an academic voice rather than a science professor specifically: the third preferred writer is "a person who can speak to the applicant's academic potential, such as a science professor or academic advisor." An advisor satisfies it. Prior employers, professional colleagues and mentors are also acceptable writers; letters from your own healthcare providers, family or friends "would NOT be considered."
Physician letterrecommendedextra here
1 letter
One of the three writers Stanford names: "Letters of recommendation from a physician assistant, a physician, and a person who can speak to the applicant's academic potential, such as a science professor or academic advisor, are strongly preferred." Strongly preferred, not required, and a letter from your own healthcare provider does not count.
PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Recommended rather than required, like every letter here: "A minimum of three (3) letters of recommendation is recommended with a maximum of five (5) letters allowed through the CASPA application." A PA letter heads the strongly preferred set. Letters should reach CASPA by the time you submit and "should speak directly to the applicant's alignment with the mission and goals of our program."
Supervisor letternot required here
Not required and not among the preferred writers. Stanford lists employers alongside colleagues and mentors as merely acceptable: "Letters from prior employers, professional colleagues, and mentors are also acceptable." The three it actually wants are a PA, a physician, and someone who can speak to academic potential.

Also on the school’s page

Stanford is the rare PA program with almost nothing required. "We have only ONE requirement for admission: a qualifying bachelor's degree. All other application elements are recommended but not required." The degree must be from a regionally accredited institution in the United States or Canada, held by July 1 of the matriculation year, in any major, and "Online Bachelor's degree/program is not acceptable." A non-US, non-Canadian degree, including an international medical degree, does not qualify on its own and WES equivalencies are not accepted. There is no minimum GPA: "we do not have a minimum GPA requirement." On exams: "Completion of the GRE, MCAT, or PA-CAT is highly recommended", none is required, no minimum score is published, and "The PA-CAT test is preferred among standardized testing", with a partial fee waiver available. Scores must be verified in CASPA or received by the admission office by July 1 to be read, and submitting more than one exam "will not confer any type of advantage." Admitted students who have not sat the PA-CAT may be asked to take it before matriculating, at the program's cost, with no effect on their admission. Recency windows differ by category and matter more here than the course list does: coursework must be within ten years, since "coursework in progress or older than ten (10) years will not be considered during the review process"; volunteer experience must be within the last five years; clinical, research and teaching experience have no expiration. AP, IB, CLEP and high school credit satisfy nothing. Anything done for academic credit is "noted but not formally considered", and every experience must carry contact information: "Unverifiable experience will not be considered." Report only hours already completed, never projected ones. The essay is the standard CASPA personal statement at 5,000 characters. Because nothing is a prerequisite, Stanford makes no waivers or exceptions for coursework.

School

med.stanford.edu/pa

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