PA · Charleston, West Virginia · private
University of Charleston Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What U Charleston asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 12 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"A General Biology course with a lab for natural science majors. Introductory courses and courses for non-science majors will not be accepted. A lab is required." One semester, 4 credit minimum including the lab. Online labs are accepted.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Two General Chemistry courses for natural science majors. Upper-level Chemistries and Biochemistry will be accepted. Introductory and non-science major courses will not be accepted. Lab required," at 2 semesters and an 8 credit minimum including lab. The second sentence is a real concession: an upper level chemistry course or biochemistry can stand in for a general chemistry semester here, which is rare.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry I for natural science majors. Introductory and non-science major courses will not be accepted. Organic Chemistry II and the lab will not fill this requirement. Lab required." One semester, 4 credit minimum. Read the second sentence carefully: a second semester of organic does not substitute backwards for the first, so an applicant who took only Organic II has not met this line.
- Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
Not required at UC, only urged: "Biochemistry. While not required, at least one semester with a lab is strongly recommended." Note that biochemistry can also be used to fill part of the general chemistry requirement, so a biochemistry course is not wasted either way. Organic Chemistry I with lab, not biochemistry, is the chemistry course UC actually requires beyond general chemistry.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing prerequisite appears on the Traditional pathway list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Any statistics course directed towards an understanding of foundational statistics," 1 semester with a 3 credit minimum. No department or level is specified, so a psychology or business statistics course answers it as long as the content is foundational statistics.
- Calculusrecommendedextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Not required but named: "Calculus. While not required, at least one semester is strongly recommended." It appears on the Fast Track course list as Math 201, which suggests how seriously the program means the recommendation for its own students.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
One semester, 3 credit minimum, and the accepted set is wide: "Introductory, developmental, and abnormal psychology courses are accepted." Any one of the three satisfies it, and no recency window applies.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two separate lines, each 1 semester with a 4 credit minimum including lab, so 8 credits in total. Both carry the same restriction: "Must be a 'Human' natural science major course. Comparative, vertebrate, introductory, and non-science major courses will not be accepted. Must be completed within 10 years prior to matriculation. Lab required." The combined sequence works, with the labs: "Human A&P I with a lab for natural science majors can satisfy this requirement" for anatomy, and Human A&P II with a lab for physiology. A comparative or vertebrate anatomy course, common in a biology major, is worth nothing here.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"A General or Medical Microbiology course for natural science majors. Introductory and non-science major courses will not be accepted. Lab recommended," at "1 semester (3-credit minimum, lab not required but strongly recommended)." The lab is the unusual part: most PA programs insist on it and UC does not.
- Medical terminologyrecommended
1 credits
Recommended rather than required, but with a consequence attached: "While not required, a 1-3 credit course is strongly recommended. Admitted applicants will be required to take a medical terminology proficiency exam the first week of classes." Skipping the course does not skip the material, it moves it to your first week of PA school.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No minimum and no requirement: "Work experience is not required, but it may increase the strength of an application." UC lists "healthcare experience/exposure" among the qualities it values, alongside PA shadowing, but publishes no hour count and does not draw a line between hands on patient care and other healthcare work.
- Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
Recorded here as well because UC does not split the two: the program names "healthcare experience/exposure" as one item among its admissions preferences and says separately that "Work experience is not required, but it may increase the strength of an application." No number is published for either bucket, so none can honestly be recorded.
- PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
"PA shadowing" is listed among the qualities the program values, with no hour count attached and no requirement to have any. Note the reference preference: a provider letter from an MD, DO or PA is recommended, and shadowing is one of the few ways to earn one.
- Non-clinical volunteeringrecommendedextra here
No published minimum
No hours attached, but named among the qualities the program weighs: "The UC PA Program values applicants with academic strength and rigor, average to above average performance on standardized tests, healthcare experience/exposure, PA shadowing, social engagement (volunteerism, community service, leadership, extracurricular activities), a propensity to work with the underserved, a connection to West Virginia, a propensity to stay in West Virginia after graduation, moral reasoning, maturity, grit, commitment, and a passion to become a PA."
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
UC recommends a letter from "an instructor" with no discipline attached, which is recorded on the any-discipline faculty line instead. A science professor is not specifically asked for.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)recommendedextra here
1 letter
Only two letters are required and neither writer is mandated: "Two letters of recommendation received by CASPA by September 1st. Letters from a provider (MD, DO, or PA) and an instructor are recommended." The instructor half of that pair is this line, and no discipline is specified, so a professor from any department answers it.
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
"Two letters of recommendation received by CASPA by September 1st. Letters from a provider (MD, DO, or PA) and an instructor are recommended." Two letters is a low bar for this path, and neither writer is required, only recommended. A physician or osteopathic physician satisfies the provider half equally with a PA. The program separately says it values "strong references, and a healthcare provider (MD, DO, or PA) reference letter."
- Supervisor letternot required here
Not required. Only two letters are asked for, and the recommended writers are a provider and an instructor, neither of whom needs to have supervised your work.
Also on the school’s page
UC runs three pathways and this file records the Traditional one, the pathway that goes through CASPA for applicants who will hold a bachelor's degree by matriculation; the Fast Track pathway is for enrolled UC undergraduates and asks for higher grades in the same courses, including an A in both semesters of Human Anatomy and Physiology, and the Transfer pathway is for applicants already in an ARC-PA accredited program. The gate is a hard one: "A Traditional CASPA application will only be reviewed after all the following requirements are met: A CASPA-verified status must be obtained by September 1st. An overall CASPA-defined GPA of 3.0 or higher is required," with one narrow exception, "Applicants with a GPA between 2.95 and 2.99 may be considered if enrolled in additional coursework that could raise their cumulative GPA to 3.0." Prerequisites need "a minimum grade of 'C' or higher" and "C-minus grades are not accepted." Sourcing rules are unusually specific: online courses and online labs are accepted, community college credit is accepted, "AP and CLEP credits may fulfill prerequisite requirements; however, they will not contribute to the prerequisite GPA," and three providers are named and refused, "The UC PA Program does not accept prerequisite coursework completed through StraighterLine, Portage Learning, or Sophia Online Learning." Quarter hours convert at 0.667. The program may ask for syllabi, and "may consider additional coursework to satisfy prerequisite requirements on a case-by-case basis." The recency window applies to only two courses, Human Anatomy and Human Physiology, each of which "Must be completed within 10 years prior to matriculation." On exams, UC still requires the GRE: "An official GRE score sent to CASPA code 8830 by September 15th. While GRE scores contribute to the overall strength of an application, there is no minimum GRE score requirement." No PA-CAT is mentioned. The program starts a new cohort every January over 7 contiguous semesters and 110 credits. On residency, the admissions page states preferences the catalog row does not carry: the program values "a connection to West Virginia, a propensity to stay in West Virginia after graduation" and says "Additional consideration is also given to West Virginia residents, bordering state residents, and UC students and alumni."
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