PA · Princess Anne, Maryland · public

University of Maryland Eastern Shore Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What UMES 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.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Biology with Lab," 4 semester credit hours. General biology sits on the list in its own right here, separate from anatomy, physiology and microbiology, which is not true of most PA programs. Like every other prerequisite it must have been completed within six years prior to admission.
General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Chemistry I with Lab," 4 semester credit hours. One semester only. UMES does not ask for the second half of the general chemistry sequence, though General Chemistry II is normally needed to reach the organic or biochemistry course it does require.
Biochemistryrequireddiffers
4 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
"Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry with Lab," 4 semester credit hours. Either course answers the line, so biochemistry is not compulsory, but whichever you take must carry its laboratory.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or writing course appears in the Medical Core table. The only language requirement is TOEFL, PTE or IELTS, and only for non-native English speakers.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics," 3 semester credit hours.
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Psychology," 3 semester credit hours. One course, with no particular psychology course named.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two rows, each 3 to 4 semester credit hours: "Human Anatomy or Anatomy & Physiology I" and "Human Physiology or Anatomy & Physiology II." Separate anatomy and physiology courses answer this as well as the combined A&P sequence, and six credits clears it where most programs want eight. Note that unlike the biology and chemistry rows, these two are not annotated "with Lab" in the table, so a lab is not stated as required; confirm with the program if your courses were lecture only. The six year recency window applies.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology," 3 semester credit hours. Worth reading against its neighbours: the biology and both chemistry rows are annotated "with Lab" and this one is not, so UMES does not state a lab requirement for microbiology.
Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
"Medical Terminology," 3 semester credit hours, required rather than recommended and sitting at the top of the Medical Core table. Three credits is a full course, not the one or two credit module some programs accept, and the six year recency window covers it too.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"A minimum of 500 hours of experience involving direct patient care hours are required." Read the gap between the floor and the field carefully: the program says strong applicants will have more than 2,000 hours. Five hundred makes you eligible, not competitive. Hours are documented on the program's PA Patient Care Hours form.
Healthcare experiencenot required here
UMES asks for direct patient care hours and PA shadowing hours and publishes no separate healthcare experience figure.
PA shadowingrequireddiffers
150+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
"A minimum of 150 Physician Assistant shadowing hours is required." This is a hard minimum, not a recommendation, and it is roughly four times what programs that publish a shadowing number typically ask. It must be PA shadowing, documented on the program's PA Shadowing Hours form, and it is the requirement most likely to delay an application here because it depends on other people's schedules.

Letters

Science faculty letternot required here
Not named. None of the three to five letters is restricted to science faculty.
PA letternot required here
"At least three (3) but no more than five (5) letters of recommendation" are required, with no writer specified by role. They must recommend or highly recommend the applicant for the PA program. Given the 150 hour shadowing requirement a PA letter is easy to obtain here, but it is not mandated.
Supervisor letternot required here
No letter writer is specified by role, so a supervisor letter is not required.

Also on the school’s page

UMES publishes its prerequisites as a single table headed "Medical Core Prerequisite Courses and Credit Hours," nine rows totalling 30 to 32 semester credit hours. Two numbers on this page are unusually demanding. First the recency window: "All prerequisite courses are to be completed within six years prior to the date of admission," six years rather than the ten most programs allow, and it covers every course on the list, not just the sciences. Second the shadowing requirement: "A minimum of 150 Physician Assistant shadowing hours is required," which is among the highest published PA shadowing minimums anywhere and takes months of arranged time to accumulate. A cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0 and a science GPA of 3.0, both on a 4.0 scale, are required, and prerequisites must be passed with a B- or higher. The program warns that it "does not round-up any grades or cumulative GPAs," so a 2.99 is a 2.99. Between three and five letters of recommendation are accepted, and they must recommend or highly recommend the applicant for the PA program. Non-native English speakers must submit official TOEFL, PTE or IELTS scores. The admissions criteria mention no GRE or PA-CAT requirement at all, so confirm exam policy with the program rather than assuming it from silence. The program also publishes a "Prerequisite and GPA Waiver" form, so ask before writing yourself off on a single line.

School

umes.edu/pa

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