PA · La Jolla, California · public

University of California-San Diego Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What UC San Diego asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 17 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 8 credits
"Biological Sciences: 12 quarter credit hours/8 semester credit hours. In addition to the Anatomy, Physiology, and Microbiology requirements below." Those three cannot be double counted toward it. No laboratory is named for this block, unlike the anatomy, physiology and microbiology lines.
General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
One course, not the year sequence: "Chemistry: 4 quarter credit hours/3 semester credit hours." UCSD names no laboratory for it and does not specify general chemistry, though the organic or biochemistry line sits separately beneath it.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits
"Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry: 4 quarter credit hours/3 semester credit hours." Either course fills this line, and it sits on top of the separate general chemistry block, so two chemistry courses are needed in total. No laboratory is named.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
The alternative to organic chemistry rather than an addition to it: "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry: 4 quarter credit hours/3 semester credit hours." Whichever you take, three semester credits, no lab named.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on either list. UCSD's required prerequisites are biological sciences, human anatomy, human physiology, microbiology, chemistry, organic chemistry or biochemistry, and statistics, and its recommended list names genetics, psychology, nutrition, medical terminology, advanced biology and medical Spanish. No English or composition course appears on either.
Statisticsrequireddiffers
2 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
"Statistics: 3 quarter credit hours/2 semester credit hours." Two semester credits is the lowest statistics bar on this path, and like everything else here it never times out.
Psychologyrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
Not required, only suggested, and either course answers it: the recommended list names "General Psychology/Abnormal Psychology." No credit count is attached.
Geneticsrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
One of six courses on UCSD's published recommended list, beside general or abnormal psychology, nutrition or dietetics, medical terminology, advanced biological sciences, and medical Spanish. Recommended, never required, and it can also count toward the eight semester credit biological sciences block.
Advanced biologyrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
"Advanced/Upper-Level Biological Sciences" appears on the recommended coursework list. No number of courses or credits is attached. These courses also count toward the required eight semester credits of biological sciences, so the recommendation costs nothing extra to follow.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two separate lines, each with a lab: "Human Anatomy with Lab: 4 quarter hours/3 semester credit hours" and "Human Physiology with Lab: 4 quarter hours/3 semester credit hours." Six semester credits in total, less than the baseline's eight. The combined route needs a full year: "A combined Human Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) series with lab can be used to fulfill the Human Anatomy and Human Physiology prerequisites. If you choose to complete a combined A&P series, you must complete a full year of sequential coursework, either two semesters or three quarters." Nothing here expires.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology with Lab: 4 quarter credit hours/3 semester credit hours." Three semester credits with the laboratory, and it does not count toward the separate eight credit biological sciences block.
Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
On UCSD's recommended coursework list with no credits, format or grade attached. It is never checked as a requirement, so treat it as preparation rather than a box.
Foreign languagerecommendedextra here
No published minimum
Recommended and specific about the kind: "Medical Spanish/Spanish for Health Care Professionals." A general Spanish course is not what the list names. No credits are specified and no language requirement exists.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
UCSD sets no patient care minimum and folds patient care into one combined 500 hour healthcare experience figure, so no PCE number should be read into it. What separates a strong file is the level of responsibility rather than the label: "Experiences in positions requiring autonomous, high-level, medical decision-making are scored highest." Hands-on roles will score above observation inside the same 500 hours.
Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
This is the number UCSD actually enforces, and it is healthcare experience rather than patient care: "A minimum of 500 hours of health care experience must be accrued at the time of application and recorded as part of the official CASPA application." The program does not publish a separate patient care minimum, and the 500 hours is deliberately inclusive: "Either paid or unpaid experience is accepted. Hours obtained observing, volunteering, shadowing, or as part of an educational program will be counted towards the 500 hours experiences." Hours accrued after you apply do not count. Quality is scored alongside quantity: "Experiences in positions requiring autonomous, high-level, medical decision-making are scored highest", and "Applicants should seek experiences that expose them to the patient-provider relationship." All hours are subject to verification.
PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
No minimum, but shadowing counts toward the hours that are required, which is unusual: "The program values and encourages but does not require PA shadowing experience. Shadowing hours with PA, MD/DO, and NP providers will count toward the 500 health care experience hours. Shadowing other types of health care providers will not count toward the health care experience requirement." So shadowing a PA, physician or nurse practitioner earns credit toward the 500, and shadowing any other provider earns nothing.
Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
"Evidence of community service/volunteerism with local programs or outreach initiatives in collaboration with community organizations is desirable but not required." It is scored by quantity, with a ceiling worth knowing before you log more: "A maximum of 1000 community service experience hours will be scored."

Letters

Science faculty letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
UCSD requires three letters and names no writer, only suggests: "A minimum of 3 letters of recommendation are required. Letters must be submitted through the CASPA portal and should come from professional and reputable sources... Applicants should consider garnering references from health care providers, professors, academic advisors, and employers/supervisors." Conflicts of interest are ruled out, meaning personal, family and marital relationships, and letters sent by email or post are not accepted. More than three is not free: "If an applicant has submitted more than three letters, a mean score of all letters submitted will be calculated", so a weak fourth letter drags the average down.
PA letternot required here
Not required. A healthcare provider is the first source UCSD suggests, but the requirement is three letters "from professional and reputable sources" with the choice left to the applicant, and a PA letter specifically is never named.
Supervisor letternot required here
Not required. Employers and supervisors sit on UCSD's list of suggested writers beside professors, academic advisors and healthcare providers, and none of the three letters is tied to a particular one.

Also on the school’s page

The Atkinson program asks for smaller course blocks than most California PA programs and, unusually, sets no expiry on any of them: "Prerequisite coursework does not expire/time-out." A ten year old anatomy course still counts here. On exams the wording leaves no room: "Entrance exams are not required, e.g. GRE, PA-CAT, MCAT, etc. If entrance exam scores are reported in the CASPA application, scores are not considered during the application review process." Two GPA floors apply, "Minimum overall undergraduate GPA of 3.0 or overall graduate GPA of 3.0" and "Minimum undergraduate sciences GPA of 3.0 or graduate sciences GPA of 3.0." Eligibility is restricted by status rather than by state: the program considers only U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and current DACA recipients or undocumented applicants, and "Applicants that do not satisfy one of these eligibility requirements will not be considered." Residence does not change the price, since "All learners, regardless of in-state or out-of-state residence, will be subject to the same cost of attendance." Prerequisite rules are generous in the places that usually catch people: community college and online or distance courses from regionally accredited U.S. institutions are accepted, AP, IB, CLEP and concurrent enrollment coursework counts where it is documented on the official transcript, and Pass grades are accepted for 2020-2021 coursework only. International prerequisite courses are not accepted, though an international bachelor's degree may be. The calendar is two-staged: CASPA and the secondary application are both due August 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET, and CASPA must have verified the application by September 1. The secondary fee is $135, waived on proof of a CASPA fee waiver, and it is never refunded, including for late or failed CASPA verification. Screening runs six levels, three of initial review, one qualitative, one faculty and a second look, with rubric scores at each stage. Interviews are virtual multiple mini interviews on Zoom in September and October, two minutes to read each scenario and eight with the rater; roughly 90 to 120 applicants interview and 30 are admitted. UCSD does not require a criminal background check before matriculation, following California's Ban the Box law, but warns that clinical sites and state licensing boards run their own. "Deferrals of admission will not be granted for any reason", and declining an offer in order to defer means reapplying without priority.

School

medschool.ucsd.edu/education/physician-assistant/index.html

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