PA · West Chester, Pennsylvania · public
West Chester University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What West Chester asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 14 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
6 credits
"General Biology (2 Courses), 6" minimum credits. Two courses at six credits total, which is a lecture sized figure: the table names no laboratory for this line, unlike the anatomy and physiology lines that carry four credits each.
- General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Chemistry (2 Courses), 6" minimum credits. Two courses but only six credits, and the table names no laboratory.
- Organic chemistry with labrecommendedextra here
3 credits
One of the two ways to answer a single three credit line: "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, 3." Organic chemistry is optional in itself, since biochemistry fills the same slot, and no laboratory is named.
- Biochemistryrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, 3." One three credit line that either course answers, so you owe one of the two rather than both. No laboratory is named.
- English or writing-intensiverequireddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 6 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended, and only one course: "English Composition or Writing Intensive Course, 3." A writing intensive course in any department answers it.
- 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.
- Psychologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 6 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
Double the baseline: "Psychology (Developmental and Abnormal preferred), 6" minimum credits. Two courses, and the parenthetical says which two the program would rather see than a second introductory survey.
- Advanced biologyrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Upper Level Biology (Genetics preferred), 3" minimum credits. Any upper division biology answers it, with genetics named as the preference. This is a named upper level biology line rather than a flexible block of science credit.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
2 semesters · 8 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Two table lines of four minimum credits each: "A & P 1 or Human Anatomy, 4" and "A & P 2 or Human Physiology, 4." Either the combined sequence or separate anatomy and physiology courses works. West Chester does not write "with lab" on either line, so no laboratory is recorded as required, but a four credit A&P course ordinarily carries one and a three credit lecture will fall short of the credit minimum regardless.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology, 3" minimum credits, lighter than the four credit with lab version most PA programs ask for. The table names no laboratory.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required rather than recommended, and the cheapest line on the table to satisfy: West Chester lists no credit minimum at all, only "May be certificate." The single credit shown is a placeholder, not the program's number.
- Social sciences and humanitiesrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Ethics/Humanities, 3" minimum credits. An outright humanities prerequisite is uncommon on the PA path and easy to overlook if you built your transcript around the sciences; a philosophy ethics or bioethics course is the usual answer.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerequireddiffers
400+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.
A real minimum, and lower than most: applicants must "Have completed 400 hours of direct patient care experience in a paid or volunteer capacity at the time of application which must be recorded in the appropriate location in the CASPA application." The FAQ says what counts, "working directly with the patient in a health or medical capacity," and how it is judged: "Students are evaluated by level of education required to perform the profession, the quality of the experience, and the amount of experience. Higher level experiences will be weighted more heavily and considered more favorable than lowel level experiences," with scribe, EMT-B, CNA, paramedic, athletic trainer, social worker, registered dietician, radiology technician, laboratory technician, clinical researcher, respiratory therapist and nurse given as common examples. Hours earned between application and interview "will be considered separately." Patient care experience is also one of the four rubric items deciding interview invitations, so 400 is the floor and not the target.
- 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 shadowingrequireddiffers
4+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours and list it as recommended.
Required, PA specifically, and strikingly small: applicants must "Have completed a minimum of 4 hours of PA shadowing or communicate a plan for completion of shadowing prior to matriculation." More still helps, since "Shadowing hours beyond 4 will be viewed favorably by the program during application review" and shadowing count feeds the interview rubric. Four hours of PA shadowing is also a matriculation condition for anyone admitted with a plan rather than completed hours.
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 letternot required here
West Chester weighs "letters of recommendation" in its holistic post interview review but names no number and no required author anywhere on the admissions page, so no PA letter is required. The program does require four hours of PA shadowing, which is a natural place to ask for one.
- Supervisor letternot required here
Same reason: letters count in the holistic read, but the program specifies no author, so a patient care supervisor letter is not a stated requirement.
Also on the school’s page
West Chester publishes a twelve line prerequisite table in minimum credits and a two stage screen. To be considered for an interview an applicant must "Have obtained a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the time of application" and "a minimum of a 3.0 science GPA at time of application," and must "Have obtained a grade of C or better in all prerequisite courses which must be completed within the 10 years prior to application submission." That ten year window has a documented escape hatch: "Students who have taken additional advanced courses or demonstrate continued utilization of the knowledge gained through this coursework through employment may request review for waiver from the PA program which will be reviewed by the Program Director." Prerequisites need not all be finished at application, only "the majority... and have a plan for completion of remaining courses prior to date of matriculation," and the FAQ accepts online, AP and CLEP credit where it meets the requirement. Neither the admissions page nor the FAQ names a GRE or PA-CAT requirement. The numbers are steep: the program "typically receives an average of 1,000 applicants for the admissions cycle with the matriculation students averaging over a 3.5 or higher GPA" for a class capacity of 27, so the published 3.0 floors are eligibility, not competitiveness. Applications run through CASPA and "must be verified by CASPA by December 1st of the year of desired enrollment," with rolling review from August and interviews typically August through February. Applicants past the minimums are ranked on "a rubric that considers cumulative GPA, science GPA, patient care experience, (and number of shadowing hours)" for the interview invitation, then read holistically on "academic performance and rigor, healthcare experience type and quantity (experience and expertise), letters of recommendation, and alignment of application and interview with the program's mission." Accepted students post a non refundable $1,000 deposit within 14 days.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what West Chester still needs from you.
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