PA · La Crosse, Wisconsin · public
University of Wisconsin La Crosse Physician Assistant Studies Program prerequisites
What UW La Crosse asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 6 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"General or Introductory Chemistry (2 semester sequence)" (UWL's CHM 103 or 104). No credit figure published; UWL counts semesters. "At least two of the required Chemistry courses must include a lab," the chemistry block being general chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry.
- Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Organic Chemistry (1 semester), 200 level or above," one semester only, matching UWL's CHM 300, 303 or 304. The lab is not individually mandated, but it counts toward the rule that "At least two of the required Chemistry courses must include a lab," and "At least one Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry lab is encouraged."
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry (1 semester), 300 level or above (must be completed at a four year institution)." This is the one prerequisite UWL will not take from a community college. "Molecular Biology or Cellular Biology (300 level or above) are acceptable alternatives." UWL equivalents: CHM 325, CHM 417 and 418, BIO 435 or BIO 315. Organic chemistry is required separately and does not substitute.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing course appears among the nine listed prerequisites.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics (1 semester)," UWL's STAT 145. Unusually broad on substitutes: "Biometry/Biostatistics and Research Methods courses often serve as acceptable substitutes." Required in addition to the precalculus or calculus requirement.
- Calculusrequiredextra here
No published minimum
"Precalculus or Calculus (1 semester)," so calculus itself is not compulsory: precalculus satisfies it, and "College Algebra AND Trigonometry may serve as an acceptable alternative but often require two semesters of study." UWL equivalents are MTH 151 or MTH 207. This sits alongside the separate statistics requirement, not instead of it.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"General, Introductory, Developmental or Abnormal Psychology (1 semester)," any one of the four, matching UWL's PSY 100, 204, 210, 212, 304, 310, 311 or 312.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy (1 semester) AND Human Physiology (1 semester), 200 level or above, OR Human Anatomy & Physiology (2 semester sequence), 200 level or above" (UWL's BIO 312 and 313). No credit figure is published. "Human Anatomy & Physiology courses are strongly preferred, Mammalian or Vertebrate Anatomy & Physiology may be accepted when Human Anatomy & Physiology is not available." Lab is handled as a quota across the biology block: "At least two of the required Biology courses (A&P and Microbiology) must include a lab." There is no hard recency limit, but coursework within the last 4 years is what the program treats as evidence of current academic aptitude, and the professional curriculum opens with graduate level gross anatomy and physiology.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology (1 semester), 200 level or above," UWL's MIC 230. No credit figure published. The lab is not mandated for this course individually, but at least two of the three biology prerequisites (anatomy, physiology, microbiology) must include one, so in practice most applicants take it with lab.
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not on UWL's prerequisite list, which runs anatomy, physiology, microbiology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, precalculus or calculus, statistics and psychology. No medical terminology course is asked for before or after admission.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequired
500+ hours
Recently raised, so check the number against anything older you read: "Starting summer of 2026, our program will require a minimum of 500 hours of direct patient care experience in order for your application to be reviewed. We previously required a minimum of 200 hours that was implemented in the summer of 2025." "The hours are calculated at the time of application submission," so later hours do not count. Volunteer and research routes are open: "Direct patient health care experience must have direct medical responsibility for patients and can come from traditional paid employment, volunteer, or clinical research experiences." Examples given, with the program stating the order implies no preference: EMT, nurse, paramedic, radiology technician, respiratory therapist, physical therapy aide, patient care technician, athletic trainer, phlebotomist, certified medical assistant, laboratory or medical technician, CNA, mental health worker. 500 is the review threshold and not the competitive figure: the class of 2028 averaged 1,650 patient care hours with a range of 560 to 5,680.
- Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
No separate hours figure is published, and healthcare work without hands-on responsibility does not count toward the 500: "Direct patient health care experience must have direct medical responsibility for patients." It still carries weight in the acceptance decision, where "Quality and extent of healthcare related experience" is a stated factor. If you are unsure which side of the line a job falls on, the program invites the question at paprogram@uwlax.edu.
- PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
No hour figure published and no credit toward the hours bar: "Other demonstrated commitment to health care, such as shadowing physician assistants, although regarded as favorable, does not count towards direct patient care." It feeds the acceptance factor "Knowledge of the PA profession and the profession's role in the healthcare system."
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 letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
UWL requires three references but names no required writer, so a PA letter is a choice rather than a requirement here.
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
"Applicants will submit program specific narratives and recommendation information for 3 references" through CASPA. The program specifies no writer type or profession; the references are read as part of the "Written application including references" acceptance factor.
Also on the school’s page
UWL lists nine prerequisite courses by course and level rather than by credit hour, and names the UWL equivalent for each so you can match a transfer course. Course level matters here more than at most programs: anatomy, physiology and microbiology must be 200 level or above, organic chemistry 200 level or above, and biochemistry 300 level or above and "must be completed at a four year institution." Labs are handled as quotas rather than per course: "At least two of the required Biology courses (A&P and Microbiology) must include a lab" and "At least two of the required Chemistry courses must include a lab. At least one Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry lab is encouraged." On recency: "The program does not have a 'statute of limitations' as to how recently prerequisite courses must have been completed. However, due to the rigor of the program, an applicant's current (within the last 4 years) academic aptitude is considered." You may apply with prerequisites in progress, but all must be finished before the program starts. Community college credit is accepted with a caveat: "the competitive nature of the admission process suggests an advantage to prerequisite completion at a baccalaureate institution." AP credit counts only when the undergraduate transcript lists the specific courses granted; a score alone is not enough. GPA floors are 3.00 cumulative and 3.00 science as calculated by CASPA, and "Applications not meeting GPA requirements will not be evaluated," though "the GPA of students admitted typically far exceeds this minimum": the class of 2028 averaged 3.95 cumulative and 3.93 science. Testing is the thing to plan around: the Casper situational judgement assessment IS required, taken through Acuity Insights at roughly $66 to $70 including one distribution, with its own earlier deadline (July 19, 2026 for the 2026-27 cycle), and it is an explicit interview selection factor; Snapshot and Duet are not required. "Beginning with the 2023-24 application cycle, the program does not require official GRE results," and "MCAT scores will not be accepted as a substitute for GRE results." No PA-CAT requirement appears. Apply through CASPA (deadline August 1, materials must be "complete" though not necessarily verified), plus a non-refundable $50 program fee paid by mailed form, and three references. Acceptances are notified in early November and the class starts the following summer. This is a small, extremely competitive program: 718 applications for the class of 2028, 90 interviews, 28 seats. On preference, which is employer and campus based rather than state based: extra weight in interview selection goes to "Current employment at Gundersen Health System, Mayo Clinic, Marshfield Clinic or UWL, if at least 12 months of employment at the time of application submission," and to current UWL students enrolled at least part time on track to graduate before the program starts or UWL graduates within 12 months of applying. The program profile page states ARC-PA has granted the program Accreditation-Continued status, with the next validation review approximately Fall 2027.
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