PA · Richardson, Texas · private

West Coast University Texas Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

What West Coast Texas asks for in the 2026-27 cycle, as read from the school's own admissions page. 12 lines differ from the standard PA school set, marked below.

Read from the school’s pageCheck it with the school

Coursework

General chemistry with labrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"General Chemistry I and II with lab (6 semester credits or 8 quarter credits)," so the full sequence but counted at 6 semester credits rather than the baseline 8.
Organic chemistry with labrequiredextra here
3 credits · lab
"Organic Chemistry with lab (3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits)." One semester only, but the lab is required and biochemistry is not offered as a substitute anywhere on the page.
Biochemistrynot required here
WCU Texas names Organic Chemistry with lab and offers no biochemistry alternative. Biochemistry does not appear anywhere on the prerequisite list.
English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English or composition prerequisite is listed.
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.
Psychologynot required here
No psychology course appears on the prerequisite list; the only non-laboratory lines are Genetics and Statistics.
Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics (3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits)." The only prerequisite on WCU's list with no laboratory attached, and one many applicants will not already have.
Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
6 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
"Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (6 semester credits or 8 quarter credits) OR Human Anatomy with lab (3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits) AND Human Physiology with lab (3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits)." Six semester credits rather than the baseline eight, and the split anatomy plus physiology route counts equally. Human courses specifically, and the 10 year recency window applies.
Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology with lab (3 semester credits or 4 quarter credits)." Three semester credits rather than the baseline four, lab still required.
Medical terminologynot required here
Not among the six prerequisites WCU names.

Experience hours

Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
"A minimum number of healthcare experience hours are not required for admittance into the program." WCU does not split patient care from healthcare experience for its target and does not publish a patient care floor, so no minimum is recorded here; the combined 500 hour figure sits on the healthcare experience line. "All completed healthcare experience must be listed in the 'Health Related Experience' or 'Patient Care Experience' sections of the CASPA application in order to be included within the application review."
Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
"A minimum number of healthcare experience hours are not required for admittance into the program. However, a point value for paid healthcare experience, shadowing, and volunteerism is assigned during application review. It is to an applicant's best interest to pursue 500 hours or more to be a competitive candidate." This is a competitiveness target, not a minimum, and WCU does not distinguish patient care hours from healthcare hours in stating it, so the number is recorded here rather than against patient care experience.
PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
Shadowing is scored but no number is published: "a point value for paid healthcare experience, shadowing, and volunteerism is assigned during application review."

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.
Three letters are required in total, but no writer type is mandatory. A PA letter is on the accepted list, "medical providers (MDs, DOs, PAs, etc), professors, supervisors/employers, and mentors," so it counts here without being separately required.
Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
"Supervisors/employers" are one of four accepted writer categories for the three required letters, not a mandatory one. Letters must speak to "professionalism, work ethic, ethics and character, and academic preparation," and "must not come from personal contacts such as family members, neighbors, personal medical providers, and religious leaders."

Also on the school’s page

WCU Texas publishes a short six-line prerequisite list, most of it laboratory science: Human Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab (6 semester or 8 quarter credits) or Human Anatomy with lab plus Human Physiology with lab, General Chemistry I and II with lab (6), Microbiology with lab (3), Genetics (3), Organic Chemistry with lab (3), and Statistics (3). Nothing else is named, so there is no biochemistry, psychology, English or medical terminology line here. "Must earn a 'C' or better in all prerequisite courses and they must have been completed within the last ten years," a firm 10 year recency window on every prerequisite. "Baccalaureate degree and prerequisite courses must be completed no later than October 1 of the year prior to matriculation." "For prerequisite courses, pass/credit, advanced placement (AP) credit, CLEP or credit for experiential learning will not be accepted." Prerequisite coursework must come from an accredited U.S. institution, distance education included; "the MPA program does not accept foreign degrees or prerequisite coursework from foreign institutions." Course syllabi may be requested during transcript review. Academically the program asks for a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. institution and "a documented prior earned cumulative grade point average (cGPA) of 3.0 or higher and a Biology/Chemistry/Physics (BCP) grade point average of 3.0 or higher as calculated by CASPA. Competitive candidates exceed the minimum GPA." On testing, the program requires the Acuity Insights Casper assessment, "submit results of CASPer for non-academic attributes and/or people skills," and states that "preference is given to higher CASPer scores." The page never mentions the GRE or the PA-CAT, so neither is recorded. Applications go through CASPA with a $75 WCU fee, personal statements are scored, and applicants who are not U.S. citizens and living in the U.S. "must provide proof of legal U.S. residency prior to any offer of acceptance." Three letters of recommendation are required and are scored; the accepted writers are listed as "medical providers (MDs, DOs, PAs, etc), professors, supervisors/employers, and mentors," and letters "must not come from personal contacts such as family members, neighbors, personal medical providers, and religious leaders."

School

westcoastuniversity.edu/programs/master-physician-assistant/dallas

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