University of Saint Francis Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

General chemistry is not a Saint Francis prerequisite. The only chemistry on the list is the organic chemistry or biochemistry option, and general chemistry is usually a prerequisite for those at the institution teaching them rather than at the PA program.

3 credits · lab

One line of the prerequisite list reads "Organic chemistry with lab OR Biochemistry with or without lab," so that block is required but organic chemistry specifically is not. If you answer it with organic chemistry the laboratory comes with it, and the course needs at least 3 semester credit hours.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

"Organic chemistry with lab OR Biochemistry with or without lab." Biochemistry is one of two ways to answer a required block rather than a requirement on its own, and it is the cheaper way: taken this route no laboratory is needed. Minimum 3 semester credit hours.

Not on the prerequisite list. The two required behavioral sciences courses are the only non-science coursework the program names.

No statistics or mathematics course appears among the minimum admission requirements or the scoring rubric.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

Psychology is one of five disciplines that can fill the required two course behavioral sciences block, alongside sociology, social work, criminal justice and anthropology. Nothing obliges you to take psychology specifically.

6 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

Saint Francis lists anatomy and physiology as two separate prerequisites, "Human anatomy with lab" and "Human physiology with lab," each at least 3 semester credit hours. A combined sequence works: "Two courses of combined human anatomy and physiology with labs (minimum total of 6 semester credit hours) may be used to satisfy the individual human anatomy and physiology requirements." Substitutions are policed: "Comparative anatomy and/or physiology courses are not considered acceptable substitutions," while "Mammalian anatomy, gross anatomy, and vertebrate anatomy are considered acceptable substitutions for human anatomy."

3 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.

"Microbiology with lab," minimum 3 semester credit hours, grade of C or better with C minus not accepted. Online or hybrid delivery is accepted here, labs included.

1 credits

Not a prerequisite, a scoring preference: applicants who "have completed (or are in the process of completing) an undergraduate or graduate level medical terminology course with a grade of 'C' or better" earn rubric points. "There is no semester credit hour minimum," but pass/fail and advanced placement credit do not count. A pathophysiology course earns points on the same terms.

2 semesters · 6 credits

"Completion of two courses (minimum of 6 total semester credit hours) within the behavioral sciences discipline with a grade of 'C' or better." The program names what counts: "Accepted courses include those in the disciplines of psychology, sociology, social work, criminal justice, and anthropology." Two courses, not one, and criminal justice counting is unusually broad.

500+ hours

Required with no number attached: "Direct patient care experience. There is no minimum hour requirement." The definition is strict, though, "hands-on experience with patients in an approved paid clinical position," and "volunteer experiences cannot be used to satisfy the requirement for direct patient care experience." Scribe, medical assistant, CNA, EMT, paramedic, phlebotomist, ER tech, radiologic and ultrasound tech, RN, military medic and dental hygienist all qualify. Explicitly excluded: personal care assistant, unit clerk, patient transporter, front office or clerical staff, counselor, sales representative and medical researcher. The rubric awards preference points at 1,000 hours, which is a target rather than a minimum.

Saint Francis does not carry a healthcare experience bucket. It draws the line the other way, listing positions such as unit clerk, patient transporter and front office staff as work that "does not qualify for direct patient care experience," with no separate credit given for it.

50+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours.

"Shadowing experiences, volunteer experiences, and extracurricular experiences are not required but are encouraged." 50 hours is the rubric preference threshold, not a bar to clear. Shadowing can also be the route to the required clinician letter, since that writer may know you "through observation, shadowing, or prior/current work experience."

200+ hours

Not required: "Shadowing experiences, volunteer experiences, and extracurricular experiences are not required but are encouraged." The 200 is a rubric preference threshold, "Possess greater than or equal to 200 hours of volunteer service/community enrichment activities," not a floor. Note that volunteer time cannot be counted toward the patient care requirement here.

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.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

Three letters are required and one must come from a clinician, but a PA is only one of four acceptable writers: "One recommendation must be from a clinician (i.e., MD, DO, PA, or NP) who has worked alongside the candidate in a clinical setting through observation, shadowing, or prior/current work experience." The other two are the applicant's choice, though "letters of recommendation from relatives or family friends are not accepted."

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

No supervisor letter is named. A clinical supervisor who is an MD, DO, PA or NP can fill the one required clinician slot, and otherwise a work supervisor is simply one of the two discretionary letters. The rubric rewards letters carrying at least seven ratings of "Excellent" each, so pick writers who will mark you top of scale.