PA · Madison, Wisconsin · public
University of Wisconsin Madison Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program prerequisites
What UW Madison asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 9 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
lab
"General biology with lab," satisfied by a "Two-semester sequence or organismal biology." One common substitution is closed: "Cellular/Molecular Biology is not sufficient on its own." The UW equivalents given are Zoology 101 plus 102 or Biology 151 plus 152. No credit count is published.
- General chemistry with labnot required here
General chemistry is not on UW's prerequisite list. Biochemistry is the only chemistry named, and a combined organic and biochemistry course does not satisfy it.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Biochemistry," and the usual shortcut is closed: "Organic/biochemistry combined courses are not considered equivalent to our biochemistry prerequisite." UW equivalents are Biochem 301 or 501, or 507 plus 508. No credit count is published, and no organic chemistry is required in its own right.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing prerequisite appears among the seven listed courses.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics (one semester)," and the subject matter is open: the UW equivalent line reads "One semester: any emphasis."
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Intro/general/abnormal or developmental psychology (one semester)." Any one of those four answers the line. UW equivalents are Psychology 202 or 509, or HDFS 262 or 263, so a human development and family studies course counts here.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Listed as two separate prerequisites, "Human anatomy" and "Human physiology," each carrying the same window, "(within three years of matriculation)." This is the tightest recency rule most applicants will meet on this path, and it is applied to matriculation rather than to application. "Two-semester combined anatomy and physiology sequences must be completed at the same institution," and a combined two-semester course updates both requirements. No lab is stated for either, unlike the biology and microbiology lines. UW equivalents are Anatomy and Physiology 337 for anatomy and Anatomy and Physiology 335 or 435, or Biocore 485, for physiology. Anatomy and physiology courses "being updated during the application cycle are not considered outstanding prerequisites," so a refresh in progress does not count against the two outstanding science prerequisite cap.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with lab," with the UW equivalents given as Microbiology 101 plus 102 or 303 plus 304. No credit count is published, and note the general warning that "100-level courses from community and/or technical colleges are not accepted for some courses."
- Medical terminologynot required here
Not listed as a prerequisite or as recommended coursework anywhere on the admission requirements page.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequireddiffers
1000+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.
"The University of Wisconsin-Madison PA program requires a minimum of 1,000 hours of direct patient care experience. The hours are calculated at the time of application submission," and separately, "A minimum of 1000 hours of direct-patient care experience is required for your application to be reviewed." The bar is responsibility, not setting: "Direct patient care experience with some level of responsibility for the patient is valued most highly." Unpaid work counts if the responsibility is there, "Direct patient health care experience can come from traditional paid employment, volunteer or clinical research experiences," but "For direct patient care hours, volunteers must have direct medical responsibility for patients." Scribing is excluded outright: "While working as a medical scribe is valuable health care experience, it does not meet our criteria for direct patient care experience as there is no direct medical responsibility for the patient." Examples UW names as routes taken by successful applicants: certified nursing assistant, EMT, medical assistant, psychiatric care technician, phlebotomist, home health aide or personal care attendant, research assistant on projects involving procedures such as phlebotomy and EKGs, and clinical volunteering with medical responsibility. Recency and quality are weighed, not just the total: the committee considers "patient contact, whether you've worked with PAs, the quality and quantity of your experience and how recently the experience occurred."
- Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
No number is published for healthcare experience without patient responsibility, and it is kept strictly separate from the 1,000 hour requirement. "Other demonstrated commitment to health care, such as shadowing physician assistants and community service are also regarded favorably, but do not count towards direct patient care." CASPA's Health Related Experience section is where these hours go. UW does say what a strong file looks like: "Successful applicants present with significant highly responsible volunteer experience or professional experience in a health care setting. Most successful applicants have been employed in health care and also have volunteer experiences."
- PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
Encouraged with no hour count and explicitly worth nothing toward the 1,000: "Shadowing physician assistants is a good way to learn about the profession. Because it is an observational experience, it is not the equivalent of direct patient care." The committee does weigh "whether you've worked with PAs" when reading experience.
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
No faculty letter of any kind is named. The single specified writer is a health care setting colleague; the remaining two are left to the applicant.
- PA letternot required here
No PA letter is required. Of the three letters, only one writer is specified, and that is someone you have worked with in a health care setting, which a PA supervisor would satisfy but is not limited to.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"Three letters are required; up to five can be submitted through CASPA. At least one should come from someone whom you have worked with in a health care setting." Note the wording is "should," not must, and the other two writers are unspecified. "Letters should demonstrate that you have a high level of personal and professional maturity, integrity, dedication, and aptitude for the program and profession."
Also on the school’s page
UW Madison names seven prerequisites and publishes no credit hours for any of them, only the UW courses that satisfy each, so this file records the courses and their conditions rather than invented credit counts. The academic floor is high for this path: "A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher on a traditional 4.00 scale" and "A science GPA of 3.20 or higher on a 4.00 scale," the latter satisfiable either as a 3.2 overall science GPA or as "3.2 for the most recently completed 60 semester hours of science coursework." The published averages are far above the floor: "The average GPA for the most recently admitted class is 3.7" and the same for science, and "Applicants with a higher cumulative GPA are given preference in the review process." Those are averages, not minimums. Prerequisites need "a grade of C or higher," and "A maximum of two outstanding science prerequisites are allowed at the time of application, to be completed prior to planned matriculation in May." The recency window is narrow and applies only to two courses: human anatomy and human physiology must be completed "within three years of matriculation." UW publishes two ways to refresh a stale one, a University of Michigan anatomy specialization and a Duke physiology course on Coursera with a certificate of completion, or an approved course at C or better, and "All Anatomy and Physiology courses taken at a community or technical college must be a 200-level or higher." On exams: "The PA program does not require Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores," no PA-CAT is mentioned, but a different test is mandatory, "All applicants are required to complete the United States Casper 2 assessment as part of their application for each admissions cycle," at $50 plus a $20 distribution fee. On residency, the page states a numeric goal the catalog row does not carry: "It is a UW-Madison PA program goal that each admitted class will be made up of at least 70% Wisconsin residents." Priority for an interview also goes to applicants who grew up in a rural area or a CMS designated low income and health professional shortage area, are military affiliated, have high financial need, are first generation college students, or are enrolled in a federally recognized tribe. A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution is required. Prospective applicants may email unofficial transcripts to the program for a prerequisite review, but "We are not able to review transcripts or conduct advising appointments once your application has been submitted."
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