PA · Missoula, Montana · public
University of Montana Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Montana asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 10 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- 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
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry with lab," four credits. One semester answers it, and it sits on top of the full two semester general chemistry sequence and biochemistry rather than replacing either.
- 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
No English composition or writing prerequisite appears in the eleven line table. The non science lines are psychology, statistics and medical terminology.
- 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
"Genetics," three credits, no laboratory stated. Named as its own prerequisite line, which most PA programs do not do.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The full A&P sequence with lab, the one course essentially every program names. Recency windows bite hardest here: several programs expire A&P specifically, one at three years, while leaving the rest of the list alone.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
Named by nearly every program, usually 3 or 4 credits. A minority accept it without the lab, so read the school's own line before dropping one.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required here rather than recommended, and small: "Medical Terminology," one credit. Like every other prerequisite it must have been taken within ten years of matriculation and earned a C or better.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
Montana publishes no patient care minimum. It scores hours on a rubric instead: zero hours earns 0 points, 500 to 1,000 hours earns 1 point, 1,000 to 2,000 hours earns 3 points, and 2,000 or more earns 5 points. So there is no floor you can fall below, but nothing below 500 hours scores at all and full marks start at 2,000. Roles the program names include EMT, paramedic, CNA and phlebotomist. Treat 2,000 as the competitive target, not a requirement, because the page states none.
- Healthcare experiencenot required here
The page scores patient care hours only and publishes no separate healthcare experience figure or definition, so there is no broader healthcare experience line to satisfy here.
- PA shadowingrequireddiffers
20+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
"Minimum of 20 hours of in-person PA Shadowing." Two constraints beyond the number: it must be with a PA specifically, and it must be in person, so virtual shadowing programs do not answer it. It sits within the same experience section the program scores on its rubric.
Letters
- Science faculty letterrecommended
No published minimum
Only a handful of programs require a science faculty letter by name. An academic letter is welcome nearly everywhere and mandatory almost nowhere.
- Physician letterrequiredextra here
1 letter
Three letters are required and one is pinned to a clinician, though not to a physician: "One letter must be written by a provider (PA, MD, DO, NP)." Any of those four writers satisfies it; the other two letters are unconstrained on the page.
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not required by title. The mandatory letter is from "a provider (PA, MD, DO, NP)," and a PA is one of four writers who satisfy it. A PA letter is the natural pairing with the required twenty hours of PA shadowing, but the program does not insist on it.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
No supervisor or employer letter is named. Three letters are required, one from a provider, and the page places no stated condition on the other two.
Also on the school’s page
Montana publishes an eleven line prerequisite table, the longest science block of any program in this batch, and scores experience on a rubric rather than gating on it. Every prerequisite needs a C or better, and the recency window is firm: "Prerequisite coursework must be completed at the postsecondary level within the past 10 years at the time of matriculation," so a sequence taken more than a decade before you start does not count no matter how good the grade. You do not have to finish everything before applying; applicants may have "up to two outstanding prerequisite courses to complete at the time of application," and the program says those may be online or distance courses. All prerequisite credits and the bachelor's degree must be complete by the end of the spring semester of the matriculation year. Two GPA floors apply, a 3.0 cumulative and a 3.0 prerequisite GPA. On tests the page is unambiguous: "GRE, PA-CAT, and CASPer are not required." Three letters, a personal statement addressing motivation to become a PA, and official transcripts from every institution attended round out the file. Submit through CASPA by "11:59 PM ET October 1"; the portal opens in late April, interviews run through the autumn and winter, the cohort is settled by March and classes begin in August. Accepted students pay a nonrefundable $1,000 deposit. Note that the program is styled Physician Associate rather than Physician Assistant.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what Montana still needs from you.
See it for PA school