PA · Stephenville, Texas · public

Tarleton State University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Tarleton State 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.

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Coursework

General chemistry with labnot required here
General chemistry is not on Tarleton's required list. The seven required courses are statistics, anatomy and physiology, microbiology, genetics, biochemistry, medical terminology, and psychology. Biochemistry is required without a general chemistry prerequisite of the program's own, though your institution will almost certainly require chemistry to reach it.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry, 3 Semester Credit Hours. Please note that Organic Chemistry is not an accepted substitute for this course." Biochemistry specifically, and no chemistry sequence is required underneath it, so plan the pathway your institution requires to reach the course.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or writing prerequisite appears on the required course list.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics, 3 Semester Credit Hours. Please note that biostatistics and psychology statistics are accepted substitutes, however business statistics is not accepted."
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.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics, 3 Semester Credit Hours," a named required prerequisite. No lab is specified and no substitute is offered.
Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Anatomy with lab (4 hours) AND Physiology with lab (4 hours) OR Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II (8 hours)," 8 semester credit hours either way. "The program RECOMMENDS that prospective learners complete an upper-division standalone Anatomy course with laboratory (4 credit hours) AND an upper-division standalone Physiology course with laboratory (4 credit hours)." Starting with the 2027 admissions cycle that language strengthens: "The program PREFERS that prospective learners complete a standalone upper-division Anatomy course with laboratory AND a standalone upper-division Physiology course with laboratory." The combined sequence still satisfies the requirement, but the standalone upper-division route is what the program wants.
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.
"Medical Terminology, 1 Semester Credit Hour." Required, not recommended, and the credit must be real college credit: "Please note that we do not accept course certificates to fulfill the medical terminology requirement."

Experience hours

Patient care experiencenot required here
There is no separate patient care hours minimum. Tarleton publishes one combined figure, 500 hours of "healthcare and/or patient care experience," recorded on the healthcare experience line, and accepts either category toward it.
Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
"A minimum of 500 hours of healthcare and/or patient care experience in a healthcare setting must be completed at the time of application submission. No updates after application submission will be accepted." Tarleton does not split the two: one combined 500 hour floor, quoting the CASPA definitions of healthcare experience and patient care experience side by side and accepting either. The screening rules make it a hard cut, denying applicants who "have fewer than 500 approved patient care experience hours at the time of application submission." "Starting the 2026-2027 application cycle, scribing will be accepted as filling the 500-hour minimum requirement." Hours must be verifiable on CASPA.
PA shadowingrecommendeddiffers
100+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours.
No shadowing requirement of its own, but it is worth up to a fifth of the experience floor: "Starting the 2026-2027 application cycle, up to 100 hours of shadowing a Physician Assistant can be counted towards meeting the 500-hour minimum. Please note that hours shadowing any other clinical profession will not be accepted." The 100 here is a ceiling on what counts, not a minimum you must reach.

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.
"Two letters of recommendation are required," fewer than most programs ask for. "At least one letter from a physician assistant is preferred but not required." Acceptable writers are "physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, research mentors, professors, or volunteer coordinators/supervisors who have had direct interaction with the applicant." "Letters must not be from a family member or peer."
Supervisor letternot required here
No supervisor letter is required. A volunteer coordinator or supervisor is one of six kinds of writer the program will accept for its two letters, alongside physicians, PAs, nurse practitioners, research mentors, and professors.

Also on the school’s page

Tarleton publishes an unusually explicit admissions page, including the exact grounds on which an application is denied before review. Three GPA floors must all be met at the time of submission: overall 3.0, prerequisite 3.0, and "U60" 3.0, the last 60 credits earned. Every prerequisite needs a C or higher from a U.S. regionally accredited institution, and "it is the responsibility of the applicant, not the program" to verify that. "Applicants may apply with up to ONE prerequisite in progress," it must already appear on the transcript as registered or in progress, and it must be finished with the grade posted to CASPA by December 31 of the year before matriculation; "if an application is submitted with more than one prerequisite in progress, the applicant will not be considered for that cycle." On recency: "There is no time limit for completion of prerequisite coursework. However, the program strongly recommends repeating prerequisite coursework if it has been over ten years since completion." Prerequisites may be taken online or in person, but ACE coursework does not count, and "CLEP (College Level Examination Program) or Advanced Placement (AP) credit may not be used or substituted to meet prerequisite requirements." Pass grades count only for Spring 2020 through Summer 2021. Coursework and degrees taken outside the United States are not accepted, and WES evaluations are not accepted for degree verification. Neither the admissions page nor the program FAQ mentions the GRE, the PA-CAT, or any other entrance exam, so no exam policy is recorded here. The cycle opens with CASPA in April, carries a priority deadline of August 1 starting with the 2026-2027 cycle, and closes October 1 at 11:59 PM Eastern; interviews begin in July and are in person. Applicants who fall into the automatic interview groups must apply by the priority deadline. Military members and veterans, and Tarleton alumni or currently enrolled learners, receive an automatic interview if they meet the requirements; additional rubric points go to Texas and Oklahoma residents, A&M System alumni or students, applicants who live in or spent most of their childhood in a federally designated MUA or HPSA, first generation college students, and applicants with clinical experience in an HPSA or MUA/P. Two letters, a personal statement, a $1,000 non-refundable seat fee, a clear background check and drug screen, and AHA BLS certification round out the requirements. Deferrals are not granted except for required military service. Starting with the 2026-2027 cohort the program moves to a May/summer start.

School

tarleton.edu/pam

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