PA · Edinburg, Texas · public

University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What UTRGV 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.

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Coursework

Biology with labrequiredextra here
6 credits
General Biology I and General Biology II, 3 semester credit hours each. The prerequisite table lists credit hours only and does not name a laboratory, and the FAQ says online lab courses are accepted. The course must be the biology taken for science majors: "Science courses taken for non-science majors will not be accepted."
General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
General Chemistry I and II at 3 semester credit hours each, 6 total rather than the baseline 8, and the table names no laboratory.
Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
The table carries a single line reading "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry," 3 semester credit hours. Either course answers it; the program does not require both.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or composition line appears on the prerequisite table. The only non-science entries are Statistics and a psychology course.
Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Statistics, 3 semester credit hours. One of only two prerequisites where the program will take a test score in place of a class: "Credit by examination is accepted for Statistics and Psychology only."
Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Introductory Psychology or Abnormal Psychology," 3 semester credit hours, either one. Credit by examination is accepted here as it is for statistics.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
Genetics is a named line on UTRGV's table, 3 semester credit hours, and is not waivable. Unusual for a PA program and easy to miss when planning a prerequisite year.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"Anatomy & Physiology I (human preferred)" and "Anatomy & Physiology II (human preferred)," 3 semester credit hours each, so 6 rather than the baseline 8. Human A&P is preferred, not mandated, and no laboratory is named on the table.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
One 3 hour microbiology course rather than the baseline 4 with lab. No laboratory is named on the prerequisite table, and it must be the microbiology taken for science majors.
Medical terminologynot required here
Not on UTRGV's prerequisite table, which is a closed list totalling 33 semester hours that every applicant must meet in full.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
UTRGV publishes no hours minimum. "Health related and/or patient care experience" appears in the program's list of "Preferences for admission," alongside health care professional status, research, leadership and community service, so the hours are weighed but no floor is stated. Do not read the absence of a number as permission to apply without patient care time.
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
"No, shadowing is no longer a requirement for application. However, it is still recommended," per the program's FAQ. No number is published.

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 letterrecommended
No published minimum
Fewer than a third of programs require a letter from a PA. Most ask for a clinician letter that a PA, physician or nurse practitioner satisfies equally, so a PA letter is usually sufficient and rarely necessary.
Supervisor letterrecommended
No published minimum
A letter from a work supervisor is required by about a quarter of programs. Many name no writer category at all and simply ask for three letters.

Also on the school’s page

UTRGV publishes a fixed 33 semester hour prerequisite table, every line 3 credits: General Biology I and II, Genetics, Microbiology, Anatomy & Physiology I and II (human preferred), General Chemistry I and II, Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, Statistics, and Introductory or Abnormal Psychology. The table names credit hours only and does not name a laboratory on any line. "Every applicant must meet ALL prerequisite requirements. No prerequisite course waivers will be granted." "Pass or Credit grades will not be accepted for any science prerequisite coursework. Credit by examination is accepted for Statistics and Psychology only. All prerequisite science courses must be taken for science majors. Science courses taken for non-science majors will not be accepted." All prerequisites must be finished by the September 1 CASPA deadline: "Prerequisites completed after the September 1 deadline will not be considered for interview or admission." On recency, the program does not put a window on the prerequisites themselves but requires that "a minimum of 15 U.S. Semester credit hours must be completed within the past 10 years." A bachelor's degree in any field is required at matriculation, and the minimum overall GPA is 3.0, with prerequisite, overall science and last 60 hours GPAs all expected at 3.0 or better. On testing, the program requires the Acuity Insights Casper assessment (United States Casper 2, CSP-20100) registered with the CASPA ID, and lists "CASPer performance" among its admission preferences; the admissions page makes no mention of the GRE or the PA-CAT, so neither is recorded here. The page lists "Letters of Reference" among the other factors considered but never states a number or a required writer, so this file leaves the letter lines at the baseline rather than inventing UTRGV's. Admissions is rolling and the program is approved to accept up to 100 students. The program's own FAQ page, https://www.utrgv.edu/cohp/schools-and-departments/department-of-physician-assistant/faqs/index.htm, is the source for the shadowing line below and states that online courses and online lab courses are both accepted from accredited institutions.

School

utrgv.edu/cohp/schools-and-departments/department-of-physician-assistant/index.htm

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