University of California-Davis Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

Not on the list. UC Davis's chemistry prerequisite starts at organic or biochemistry; general chemistry appears nowhere in the published prerequisites, though it is in practice the prerequisite your own institution will impose before letting you into organic.

3 credits · lab

"One semester or quarter in organic chemistry with lab or biochemistry with lab." Either course answers this single line, so you do not need both. One trap is called out twice: "Introduction to Organic Chemistry does not fulfill this requirement." A minimum of three units, a grade of C or better, and the lab is mandatory since "All science prerequisites must have a lab."

1 semester · 3 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.

Not a course beside organic chemistry but the alternative to it: "One semester or quarter in organic chemistry with lab or biochemistry with lab." If you satisfy the line with biochemistry it must carry a lab, which many biochemistry courses do not.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.

Required here rather than recommended, and composition specifically: "One course in English composition." The exclusions rule out most of an English major: "Literature, Poetry, fictional writing, seminar courses do not suffice for the English composition prerequisite." One full course, three units minimum, C or better.

Not a prerequisite. The published list is anatomy, physiology, organic chemistry or biochemistry, microbiology, English composition and two social sciences, and no statistics or mathematics course appears on it.

Not required on its own. Psychology is one of five example subjects UC Davis offers for the two social science courses, alongside sociology, ethnic studies, women's studies and cultural anthropology, and any of them satisfies the line.

6 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

"One course in human anatomy with lab" plus "one course in human physiology with lab", each a minimum of three units, or the combined series instead. The species restriction is explicit: "Mammalian, vertebrate or animal anatomy or physiology do not fulfill this requirement." The recency window is the tightest on this list: "It is required that human anatomy and physiology are completed within five years of submitting an application." If you take the combined route, "Series courses must be completed in full and must include a lab component. If an applicant only completes one part of the series course, the student must additionally complete a course in either Human Anatomy or Human Physiology to fulfill the requirement."

3 credits · lab

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

"One course in microbiology or bacteriology with lab." Three units minimum, C or better, lab mandatory. UC Davis's own examples include courses built for allied health and nursing students, so a majors-only section is not required here.

Not on UC Davis's prerequisite list, which is published as a closed set of six lines. No medical terminology course or certificate is asked for anywhere in the admission requirements.

2 semesters · 6 credits

"Two courses in social sciences. Ideal courses provide exposure to human or organizational behavior, such as psychology, sociology, ethnic studies, women's studies or cultural anthropology." The two may sit in one department or two: "Social science courses may be completed in two different subject areas or within the same subject area." UC Davis names what fails: "Common subjects that do not suffice for the social science prerequisites: history, humanities, religion, foreign language."

1000+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.

"A minimum of 1,000 hours of paid or volunteer experience in a clinical environment with direct patient exposure. Hands-on, paid, patient-care clinical experience is preferred. The most competitive applicants demonstrate paid experiences." The 1,000 is a floor and the program says so: "the most competitive applicants completed more than 1,000 hours of required minimum direct clinical experience." Breadth beats depth in one narrow role: "Broader experience with a variety of patients across the lifespan in a variety of situations and settings is considered stronger experience than narrowly focused technical experience." UC Davis's accepted roles are unusually wide, from CNA, EMT, medical assistant, paramedic, phlebotomist, LVN and RN through chiropractor, dental assistant, dietitian, occupational and physical therapist, pharmacy technician, respiratory therapist and speech therapist. Scribe is on the list, so scribing counts as patient care here.

Explicitly does not count toward the 1,000 hours: "Experience working in back-office medical records departments or other experiences with no patient contact is not acceptable." Every hour UC Davis reads has to involve direct patient contact.

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.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

UC Davis asks for a count and names no writer: "Three letters of recommendation, refer to CASPA website for more information." A science professor is a reasonable choice among the three, but the program does not require one.

Not required. UC Davis asks for three letters and specifies no writer at all, pointing applicants to CASPA's own guidance instead.

Not required. As with the PA letter, the program states a number and leaves the choice of writers entirely to the applicant.