PA · Williamsburg, Kentucky · private
University of the Cumberlands Physician Assistant Studies Program, Williamsburg prerequisites
What Cumberlands Williamsburg asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 11 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Chemistry 1 and 2 with labs- 3 semester hours or more." The full two semester sequence at three hours each, six in total, lighter than the baseline's eight. The parallel pre-professional course list confirms the split, naming "CHEM 132 - Chemistry 1 w/ lab- 3 semester hours or more" and "CHEM 232 - Chemistry 2 w/ lab - 3 semester hours or more."
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
Organic chemistry and biochemistry substitute for each other, and either one alone answers the line: "Organic 1 or Biochemistry - 3 semester hours." No laboratory is specified, unlike the anatomy, physiology, microbiology and general chemistry rows which name theirs. Biochemistry also appears separately on the upper level science elective menu.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English composition or writing course appears in the prerequisite list. The only language requirement is a fluency test for non-native speakers of English, waived for anyone with US bachelor's or master's coursework.
- 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
"Psychology (Abnormal or developmental preferred)- 3 semester hours or more." One course, and introductory psychology answers it, but the program says outright which two flavours it would rather see.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two separate courses, each with its own laboratory, six semester hours in total rather than the baseline's eight: "Anatomy with lab (Human preferred)- 3 semester hours or more" and "Physiology with lab (Human preferred)- 3 semester hours or more." Human is a preference, not a requirement, in both rows. Must fall inside the ten year science window.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology with Lab- 3 semester hours or more." Three semester hours rather than the baseline four, laboratory still required, ten year window applies.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended as in the baseline. It is the one prerequisite on the list with no credit figure attached: the page names "Medical Terminology" flat, while every course around it carries a semester hour count.
- Additional science creditsrequiredextra here
2 semesters · 6 credits
A six credit upper level science block that reaches well past biology, and the program publishes the menu: "Upper Level Science Electives - 6 semester hours (Select from Genetics, Embryology, Immunology, Biochemistry, Advanced Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Histology, Parasitology, Virology, Organic Chemistry II, Analytical Chemistry, any upper level Pharmacology course)." Two chemistry options and a pharmacology option sit on that list alongside the biology ones, so this is a science elective requirement rather than an upper level biology one. Subject to the same ten year recency window as the other sciences.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
"Students will need a minimum of 500 hours of paid employment or volunteer hours; must include a minimum of 50 hours PA shadowing." Paid and unpaid count equally, but the setting is what qualifies the work: "Patient Care Experience is paid or unpaid direct patient care and/or observation of medical care occurring in a defined healthcare setting: outpatient clinic, inpatient (hospital, nursing home, long term facility), acute care (urgent treatment facility, emergency room, and prehospital acute care), perioperative care (pre-op, operating room, and post op care in both inpatient and outpatient surgery)." Documented clinical experience is one of the four factors scored on the applicant point sheet.
- Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
Cumberlands does not draw the usual line between hands on patient care and other healthcare work. Its own definition folds observation into the patient care category, "paid or unpaid direct patient care and/or observation of medical care occurring in a defined healthcare setting," so the qualifying test here is the setting rather than the level of responsibility. All 500 hours are recorded against the patient care line above.
- PA shadowingrequireddiffers
50+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
Required with a number, which is unusual on this path, and carved out of the 500: "must include a minimum of 50 hours PA shadowing." It must be a PA specifically, "direct observation of a physician assistant in the delivery of health care with patients and other members of the healthcare team."
Letters
- Science faculty letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
The academic slot on the acceptable writer list is an advising one rather than a teaching one: "Acceptable references: MD, DO, PA, or NP as well as academic advisors." A science professor who also advises you fits; the other four named writers are all clinicians.
- Physician letterrecommendedextra here
1 letter
An MD or DO is one of five acceptable writers rather than a named requirement: "Submission of 3 letters of recommendation (Acceptable references: MD, DO, PA, or NP as well as academic advisors)." Letters of recommendation are one of the four factors scored on the applicant point sheet.
- PA letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
A PA is one acceptable writer among several, not a required one: "Submission of 3 letters of recommendation (Acceptable references: MD, DO, PA, or NP as well as academic advisors)." Three letters total, and the 50 hour PA shadowing requirement makes a PA writer easy to reach here.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
No supervisor letter is named. Cumberlands lists writers by credential rather than by relationship: "Acceptable references: MD, DO, PA, or NP as well as academic advisors." A clinical supervisor answers it only if they hold one of those credentials.
Also on the school’s page
Three separate 3.0 GPA floors, all of which must be cleared: "An earned bachelor's degree with an overall cumulative grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0," "A minimum average of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0 in required pre-requisite courses. Pre-recs must have a grade of C or better," and "A minimum of 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale in the combined Biology, Chemistry, Physics (BCP) as figured by" CASPA. The recency window is ten years and it applies to the sciences specifically: "Successful completion (as defined above) within ten years prior to admission of the following undergraduate science courses." No exam is named among the admission requirements, so neither the GRE nor the PA-CAT is stated as required here; the only tests on the page are language tests for non-native speakers, where "The minimum acceptable TOEFL or IELTS scores for admission are: Paper-based TOEFL (PBT) - 550, Internet-based TOEFL (IBT) - 79, IELTS - 6, Duolingo - 100," waived for anyone who has completed bachelor's or master's coursework in the US. The cycle "opens the last Thursday of April each year, and closes on August 1," now on rolling admissions, and the degree must be earned "by the end of the fall semester prior to spring semester entry." A CASPA application plus a supplemental application are both required, the supplemental link arriving by email only after CASPA verification. Selection runs on a published point sheet: "Consideration is given based on BCP GPA (Biology, Chemistry, Physics), documented clinical experience, letters of recommendation, and applicant residence. Applicants who reside in Appalachia, or a medically underserved area, and those who have completed hours at UC receive additional points on the score sheet." The cohort is 30. Waivers exist but only at the edges: "Waivers will be considered by the admissions committee on a case-by-case basis... Under no circumstances will the minimum requirements for entrance to the program be waived." This is the only one of the two Cumberlands campuses open to international applicants: "International students seeking to study in the Physician Assistant program under an F1 student visa can only apply to study at our Williamsburg, KY campus." No transfer credit or advanced placement is granted for prior PA coursework.
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