PA · Morgantown, West Virginia · public
West Virginia University Division of Physician Assistant Studies Program prerequisites
What WVU 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.
Coursework
- Biology with labrequiredextra here
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Biology with lab - 4 credits," listed separately from the anatomy and physiology sequence rather than folded into it.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
The two-semester sequence with lab. Around a fifth of programs want only one semester or skip general chemistry entirely and start at organic or biochemistry.
- Biochemistryrequireddiffers
4 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.
"Organic or Biochemistry with lab - 4 credits." Either subject satisfies the line, but the laboratory is required whichever you take. This sits on top of the full 8 credit general chemistry sequence.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing course appears in WVU's 33 credit prerequisite list, and the program states there are no waivers or exceptions to the list as published.
- 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
General psychology. Many programs fold it into a broader social or behavioural science block that sociology or anthropology also satisfies.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequireddiffers
7 credits · lab
Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.
Split into "Human Anatomy with lab - 4 credits" and "Human Physiology - 3 credits," 7 semester hours rather than the usual 8. "Combined Anatomy and Physiology courses are accepted; however, an applicant must take two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology with labs to fulfill the Anatomy and Physiology requirements; mammalian anatomy lab will be acceptable, but human anatomy lab is preferred." Subject to the 10 year recency window.
- Microbiologyrequireddiffers
3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.
"Microbiology - 3 credits." WVU marks lab requirements explicitly on the courses that carry them and microbiology is not one of them, so a lecture only course satisfies this line.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
"Medical Terminology - 1 credit." Required outright at WVU, not recommended, and it must be graded college credit within the 10 year window; work experience does not substitute and there are "no waivers or exceptions."
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
WVU publishes no separate hands-on patient care minimum, but it ranks the type of experience on the selection rubric "in order of increasing preference": no hands-on patient care (shadowing), scribe, hands-on care with limited need for professional judgment (patient care aid, medical assistant, PT assistant), care involving assessment and some professional judgement (EMT, respiratory therapist, dietician), and care with independent decision-making (paramedic, registered nurse). "Applicants logging more than the minimum of 80 hours will not receive additional preference," so at WVU the kind of hours outranks the count of them, which is the reverse of most PA programs.
- Healthcare experiencerequireddiffers
80+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.
"Complete 80 hours of experience in a clinical setting (paid or unpaid)." WVU does not split patient care from healthcare experience for this minimum: shadowing a physician or PA counts toward the same 80 hours as working as "a patient care aid, medical assistant, respiratory/occupational/physical therapist, paramedic, emergency medical technician, or scribe," so the number is recorded here rather than as a patient care figure. "Health care experience obtained to meet requirements for any course or degree program may not be counted toward the 80 hours," and "all healthcare experience must have been obtained no earlier than the freshman year of college." Transportation aide, patient sitter and dietary aide do not count.
- PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
No shadowing number is published. Shadowing a physician or PA does count toward the required 80 clinical hours, but it sits at the bottom of the experience preference ladder as "no hands-on patient care."
Letters
- Science faculty letternot required here
The faculty letter WVU asks for is from "a college or university professor who instructed you in a course," with no science requirement, so it is recorded on the any-discipline faculty key instead.
- Faculty letter (any discipline)requiredextra here
1 letter
Three letters total: "one from a college or university professor who instructed you in a course, one from a supervisor of the clinical experience including evidence of how the student contributed to the delivery of care, and a third from either of the two preceding categories." The professor letter is this line; WVU does not say the professor must teach science, so any discipline answers it. The third letter may be a second professor or a second clinical supervisor.
- PA letternot required here
WVU names no PA letter. A practicing PA can only fill the clinical supervisor slot, and only if that PA actually supervised your clinical experience.
- Supervisor letterrequireddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum and list it as recommended.
"One from a supervisor of the clinical experience including evidence of how the student contributed to the delivery of care." The evidence clause matters: a letter that only confirms attendance does not answer what WVU asked for.
Also on the school’s page
WVU publishes a nine line prerequisite list totalling 33 semester hours: biology with lab 4, general chemistry with lab 8, organic or biochemistry with lab 4, human anatomy with lab 4, human physiology 3, microbiology 3, psychology 3, statistics 3, medical terminology 1. Every prerequisite needs "a grade of C or higher" and the program requires "a minimum cumulative undergraduate and prerequisite grade point average of 3.2", with the caution that "applicants who are offered admission will often have academic records which exceed the published minimum standards." Recency window: "Prerequisite courses must be completed at a regionally accredited 2-or 4-year U.S. college or university within the 10 years prior to the date of matriculation." Advanced placement credit is not accepted, no more than two prerequisites may be outstanding or in progress at application, and "there will be no waivers or exceptions to the requirements." On testing, the GRE is required, "Submit GRE test scores (Institution Code 4275)", with no minimum score published; verbal and quantitative are scored for the interview screen and verbal, quantitative and analytical writing on the final selection rubric. The PA-CAT is not mentioned anywhere in the admission pages. Applications go through CASPA and must be completed and verified by the August 1 deadline. West Virginia residency is scored on the Admission Selection Rubric and is the first tie breaker; "interviews will usually be offered to West Virginia residents and graduates of WVU who meet the minimum GPA requirements." A bachelor's degree in any discipline from an accredited U.S. institution is required. The class is 25 students and matriculates in January rather than the usual summer start. ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Continued status, next validation review approximately June 2034. Prerequisite detail read at https://medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/physician-assistant-studies/admission/prerequisite-courses/ and selection detail at https://medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/physician-assistant-studies/admission/selection-process/.
Check your transcript against this list
Cyclios keeps this list beside your coursework and tells you what WVU still needs from you.
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