PA · Dubuque, Iowa · private
University of Dubuque Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Dubuque asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 11 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"General Biology or Zoology with lab," 4 credits. One of only three requirements where Dubuque marks the lab as required rather than recommended. It sits beside the anatomy and physiology sequence, not inside it.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The two-semester sequence with lab. Around a fifth of programs want only one semester or skip general chemistry entirely and start at organic or biochemistry.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits
"Organic Chemistry I," 3 credits, lab recommended rather than required. Required alongside biochemistry here, not as an alternative to it.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Roughly half the programs that ask for an upper chemistry accept either biochemistry or organic chemistry for the same single line, so one course often covers both entries on this list.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
Not on Dubuque's published prerequisite table.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, not calculus. The exception is regional: several Oklahoma and Texas programs require college algebra instead and do not count statistics, so check those individually.
- 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
"Human Genetics," 3 credits, lab recommended rather than required. An uncommon PA prerequisite and worth planning a term around.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
Two courses of 4 credits each, Human Anatomy with Lab and Physiology I and II, labs required. This is the one requirement with a hard recency rule: "Anatomy and Physiology must be completed within a seven-year period of applying."
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
Three credits, and the lab is marked recommended rather than required, so a lecture only microbiology course is acceptable here.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required here rather than recommended, listed at 1 credit on the prerequisite table.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"A minimum of 500 hours of hands-on/direct patient care experience as a paid or volunteer employee is required at the time of application." The hours must be done by the time you apply, not by matriculation, and the program is explicit that "Shadowing experience will NOT count toward the 500 hours."
- 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 shadowingrequireddiffers
8+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
"Shadowing a PA in a primary care setting for a minimum of 8 hours is required," primary care meaning family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics or ob-gyn. Eight is the floor, not the target: "Points are awarded for shadowing up to 40 hours," so hours beyond the minimum score in the admissions rubric.
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
The academic letter is from "an academic professor" with no discipline attached, so a non-science professor satisfies it.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
1 letter
"One letter must come from an academic professor" speaking to scholastic aptitude. No discipline is specified, so any professor who taught you answers it.
- PA letternot required here
No PA letter is named. Dubuque's three letters are an academic professor, a healthcare workplace supervisor, and a non-family character reference, even though PA shadowing is required.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"One letter must come from the supervisor/manager/director in the applicant's healthcare workplace." One of three required letters, alongside an academic professor and a character reference who is not a family member.
Also on the school’s page
Dubuque publishes a course by course prerequisite table with credits, lab status and its own course equivalents beside each line: Human Anatomy with Lab and Physiology I (4) and II (4), General Biology or Zoology with lab (4), Microbiology (3, lab recommended), Human Genetics (3, lab recommended), General Chemistry I with Lab (4) and II with Lab (4), Organic Chemistry I (3, lab recommended), Biochemistry (3, lab recommended), Medical Terminology (1), Statistics (3) and General Psychology (3). Only anatomy and physiology, general biology and general chemistry carry required labs; the rest say lab recommended. The grade rule has an unusual ceiling on weak grades: "There may be no more than two grades of (C), and the grade point average for all of these courses must be 3.0 out of 4.0 or higher," with a 3.0 cumulative GPA also required and a C the minimum grade in any prerequisite. Recency binds one requirement and shapes the rest: "Anatomy and Physiology must be completed within a seven-year period of applying. All courses completed within seven years of application are considered ideal." On testing the page says simply "GRE: Not required." The PA-CAT is not mentioned. Three letters are required and Dubuque names all three writers, one of which, a character reference from someone outside the family, has no line of its own in this checklist and is easy to forget.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Dubuque still needs from you.
See it for PA school