PA · West Haven, Connecticut · private
University of New Haven Physician Associate Program prerequisites
What New Haven asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 8 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Chemistry with Lab (minimum 3 credits)." One semester with lab, not the two-semester sequence most PA programs ask for.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits
One of the two ways to answer a single line: "Organic or Biochemistry (minimum 3 credits)." No laboratory is asked for on either option.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
The alternative to organic chemistry on the same line: "Organic or Biochemistry (minimum 3 credits)."
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing credits appear in the published prerequisite list.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics or Calculus (minimum 3 credits)." A calculus credit answers this line just as well as statistics.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Human Psychology (minimum 3 credits)." One course, and it too must sit inside the seven year window.
- Advanced biologyrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Upper-Level (200-level or higher) Human Biology (minimum 3 credits)." A fourth science course beyond microbiology and the anatomy and physiology sequence, and the human focus rules out a general upper-division biology elective.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II with Lab; completed on campus (minimum 8 credits)." Note the phrase completed on campus: an online A&P sequence will not answer this line here.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with Lab (minimum 4 credits)," and like every prerequisite here it must fall inside the seven year window.
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not among the prerequisite courses New Haven names.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequireddiffers
750+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.
"Minimum of 750 hours of paid direct patient care experience in the U.S. healthcare system at the time of application (to be verified upon acceptance; failure to provide verification will result in revocation of admission)." Read the role list before counting: military medic, physical therapist, occupational therapist, RN, LPN, certified nursing aid, medical assistant, emergency room scribe, respiratory tech, speech-language pathologist and emergency room technician "count 100% (need only 750 hours)," while EMT, paramedic, optician assistant, hospice worker, phlebotomist, medical lab scientist or tech, pathology assistant, operating room scrub tech, licensed dietitian or nutritionist, PT aide, OT aide, radiology tech and ECG tech "count towards the requirement at a 50% decrease. (1500 hours required to meet the 750 requirement)." Volunteer hours do not count; the experience must be paid.
- 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 shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
Under a fifth of programs set a shadowing minimum; among those that do the median is 20 hours and a handful ask for 100 or more. Several count shadowing inside their experience total rather than separately, and a few have dropped it from scoring entirely.
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.
- PA letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
New Haven requires "Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a licensed healthcare professional." A PA satisfies that letter, but so does any other licensed healthcare professional, so this is one acceptable answer rather than a named ask.
- Supervisor letternot required here
Only one of the three letters is specified, and it is a licensed healthcare professional rather than a work supervisor: "Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a licensed healthcare professional."
Also on the school’s page
New Haven publishes a named course list with credit floors: "Microbiology with Lab (minimum 4 credits)," "Human Anatomy and Physiology I & II with Lab; completed on campus (minimum 8 credits)," "Upper-Level (200-level or higher) Human Biology (minimum 3 credits)," "General Chemistry with Lab (minimum 3 credits)," "Organic or Biochemistry (minimum 3 credits)," "Statistics or Calculus (minimum 3 credits)" and "Human Psychology (minimum 3 credits)." All of them need "a grade of 'C' or better by the time of application" and all "must be taken within the seven years prior to date of application. Courses taken while on active duty in the military are accepted if completed within ten years prior to the date of application." Unusually, there is no GPA floor: the program states there is "no minimum GPA requirement," but warns that "an applicant with less than a 3.0 BCP GPA or over-all GPA incurs a significant point loss on the application scoring rubric." On exams, "GRE not required," and neither the PA-CAT nor CASPer is mentioned. The program holds ARC-PA Accreditation-Provisional status and applies through CASPA.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what New Haven still needs from you.
See it for PA schoolAlso in Connecticut
- Quinnipiac University Physician Assistant ProgramNorth Haven
- Sacred Heart University Physician Associate Studies ProgramStamford
- University of Bridgeport Physician Assistant ProgramBridgeport
- University of Saint Joseph Physician Assistant ProgramWest Hartford
- Yale University Physician Associate ProgramNew Haven