Cyclios

PA · Bridgeport, Connecticut · private

University of Bridgeport Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What Bridgeport asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 8 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

  • Biology with labrequiredextra here

    1 semester · 4 credits · lab

    "Biology with lab: 4 credits. Must include lab." A general biology course on top of anatomy and physiology, which the PA baseline does not carry.

  • General chemistry with labrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Chemistry with labs: 8 credits. Must include labs. General/inorganic chemistry." The full two-semester sequence, and organic or biochemistry credits cannot be counted here because they answer a separate line.

  • Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here

    3 credits

    One of the two ways to answer a single line: "Organic chemistry or biochemistry: 3 credits. Lab not required." Take either this or biochemistry, and no laboratory is needed for either.

  • Biochemistryrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    The alternative to the organic chemistry option on the same line: "Organic chemistry or biochemistry: 3 credits. Lab not required."

  • English or writing-intensivenot required here

    No English, composition or writing credits appear in the published prerequisite table.

  • Statisticsrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Statistics: 3 credits." This is one of the two courses on the longer clock: "Statistics and psychology must be completed within 15 years of the current application year," against 10 years for the sciences.

  • Psychologyrequired

    1 semester · 3 credits

    "Psychology: 3 credits," and like statistics it carries the 15 year window rather than the 10 year one that governs the science prerequisites.

  • Anatomy and physiologyrequired

    2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

    "Anatomy and Physiology with labs: 8 credits. Must include labs. Must be human or mammalian." A comparative or general animal physiology course will not answer this line.

  • Microbiologyrequireddiffers

    3 credits

    Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.

    "Microbiology: 3 credits. Lab not required." A lecture-only microbiology course is acceptable here, unlike at most PA programs.

  • Medical terminologynot required here

    Not among the prerequisite courses in Bridgeport's published table.

Experience hours

  • Patient care experiencerequireddiffers

    1000+ hours

    Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.

    A stated minimum with a hard timing rule: "1000 hours of direct patient care experience - must be completed at the time of application submission," so hours you plan to earn over the summer do not count. Bridgeport adds that it looks for "direct patient care experience that exceeds the minimum requirement and is of high quality (hands-on contact with patients and/or high-level decision making in a medical environment)."

  • 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 shadowingrecommended

    20+ hours

    Under a fifth of programs set a shadowing minimum; among those that do the median is 20 hours and a handful ask for 100 or more. Several count shadowing inside their experience total rather than separately, and a few have dropped it from scoring entirely.

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

    Bridgeport asks only for "Three letters of recommendation" through CASPA and names no writer, so no PA letter is required.

  • Supervisor letternot required here

    Same line. Three letters are required, but the program specifies no relationship the writers must have to you.

Also on the school’s page

Bridgeport publishes a course by course prerequisite table in credits: "Anatomy and Physiology with labs: 8 credits. Must include labs. Must be human or mammalian," "Biology with lab: 4 credits. Must include lab," "Chemistry with labs: 8 credits. Must include labs. General/inorganic chemistry," "Microbiology: 3 credits. Lab not required," "Organic chemistry or biochemistry: 3 credits. Lab not required," "Psychology: 3 credits" and "Statistics: 3 credits." Two recency windows run in parallel: "Required coursework must be completed within 10 years of the current application year," while "Statistics and psychology must be completed within 15 years of the current application year." Every prerequisite needs a C or better and must come from a regionally accredited United States institution. Both GPA floors sit at 3.0, "Overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher" and "Overall science GPA of 3.0 or higher." Neither the GRE nor the PA-CAT is mentioned anywhere on the admission requirements page; the only test named is TOEFL for certain international applicants, at a "minimum total TOEFL iBT score of 90, with no individual section score below 22." The program is "not open to international students" and "all applications must be verified by CASPA by the August 1 deadline."

School

bridgeport.edu/academics/schools-colleges/physician-assistant-institute

Check your transcript against this list

Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Bridgeport still needs from you.

See it for PA school

Also in Connecticut

All PA programmes, compared