PA · Wichita, Kansas · public
Wichita State University Physician Assistant Program prerequisites
What Wichita State 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
3 credits
"Biology (1 semester or minimum 4.5 quarter hours): Core Science Prerequisite must be completed at time of application. General Biology or higher-level biology that covers human systems. Lab is NOT required." One semester only, and unusually the laboratory is optional.
- General chemistry with labrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Chemistry (3 semesters total) ... Must have a total of 3 semesters of Chemistry. Introduction to Chemistry cannot be used to fulfill the Chemistry requirements." Two of those three are "General Chemistry I with Lab" and "General Chemistry II with Lab," both with the laboratory required; the third is the organic chemistry or biochemistry semester recorded separately.
- Organic chemistry with labrecommendedextra here
3 credits
The third chemistry semester reads "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry (1 semester or minimum 4.5 quarter hours): Either Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry is sufficient. Lab is NOT required." So the semester is required but organic chemistry specifically is not, and no laboratory comes with it. Organic chemistry beyond the prerequisite is on the strongly recommended list.
- Biochemistryrecommendeddiffers
1 semester · 3 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.
One of two ways to fill the third chemistry semester: "Either Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry is sufficient. Lab is NOT required." Biochemistry beyond that prerequisite is separately listed as strongly recommended.
- English or writing-intensivenot required here
No English, composition or writing course appears among Wichita State's core science prerequisites, its other prerequisites, or its recommended lists.
- Statisticsrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Statistics (1 semester or 4.5 quarter hours): Elementary Statistics or higher-level statistics. A wide variety of statistics courses are accepted. May be outstanding at time of application but must be completed prior to beginning the Program." One of the three non-core prerequisites you can still be finishing when you apply, and one of three where AP credit with a score of 3 or higher is accepted.
- Psychologyrequired
1 semester · 3 credits
"Psychology (1 semester or minimum 4.5 quarter hours): General Psychology or higher-level psychology. May be outstanding at time of application but must be completed prior to beginning the Program." Abnormal psychology appears separately on the recommended list.
- Geneticsrequiredextra here
1 semester · 3 credits
"Genetics (1 semester or minimum 4.5 quarter hours): Core Science Prerequisite must be completed at time of application. A wide variety of genetic courses are accepted including general and advanced, human, and non-human. Lab is NOT required." Non-human genetics counts here, which several other programs do not allow.
- Anatomy and physiologyrequired
2 semesters · 8 credits · lab
"Human Anatomy with Lab & Human Physiology (8 credit hours/ 12 quarter hours) ... Lab must accompany anatomy but is not required for physiology. Must emphasize human body systems rather than animal. All anatomy and physiology prerequisites must be less than 10 years old. May be taken as combined or separate courses." The credit count rose recently and the page flags it: "Attention: Starting with the 2026 application cycle 8 credit hours or 12 quarter hours of Human Anatomy with lab & Human Physiology will be required!" This is a core science prerequisite, so it must be finished and graded before you submit.
- Microbiologyrequired
1 semester · 4 credits · lab
"Microbiology with Lab (1 semester or minimum 4.5 quarter hours): Core Science Prerequisite must be completed at time of application. Must include lab components." One semester, graded, before you submit the application.
- Medical terminologyrequireddiffers
1 credits
Most PA programmes ask for 1 credits and list it as recommended.
Required, not optional: "Medical Terminology (1-3 semester credit hours or minimum 1.5 quarter hours): A wide variety of courses are accepted. May be outstanding at time of application but must be completed prior to beginning the Program." As little as one credit hour answers it, and AP credit with a score of 3 or higher is accepted.
Experience hours
- Patient care experiencerecommendeddiffers
500+ hours
Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.
No number and no requirement: "Direct patient care experience is expected, but not required. Experience listed on your application will be verified." Accepted roles include athletic trainer, dental hygienist, dialysis aide, EMT, medical assistant, medical technologist, military corpsman, nurse and nurse aide, paramedic, phlebotomist, PT and OT and assistants, respiratory therapist, scribe and X-ray technologist. Explicitly not patient care: "Caring for a family member," "Experience which is part of a healthcare training program (i.e., clinical rotations, field work, or internships)," "Medical records personnel or clerical worker in a medical office/hospital," "Pharmacy technician/clerk," "Providing first aid as a coach, scout leader, etc." and "Shadowing or observation of any kind." The exclusion of clinical rotations from a training program catches applicants who assume nursing or paramedic school hours count.
- Healthcare experiencerecommended
500+ hours
Wichita State publishes no healthcare experience number and no separate bucket for it. Under the heading "Health Care Experience" the page says only "Direct patient care experience is strongly preferred, but not required," and it files clerical medical office work and pharmacy technician roles among activities that are not direct patient care rather than crediting them elsewhere.
- PA shadowingrecommended
20+ hours
"Shadowing is expected, but not required. Shadowing is advantageous because it can help you better understand the role and responsibilities of a PA." No hour count is published, and shadowing cannot be counted as patient care experience.
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.
No letter is assigned to a category. "Three (3) letters of recommendation must be submitted directly to CASPA by September 1," and on who should write them the program says only that "the strongest letters of recommendation come from people who know you well and have worked with you in a health care setting or from professors. Letters should not come from family members." The verified application "will not be evaluated until all letters of recommendation are received."
- Supervisor letterrecommendeddiffers
1 letter
Most PA programmes publish no minimum.
Not required as a category. Someone who has "worked with you in a health care setting" is one of the two writer types Wichita State names as making the strongest letters, the other being professors.
Also on the school’s page
Wichita State splits its prerequisites into two tiers and the distinction decides when you can apply. "All CORE SCIENCE PREREQUISITES must be complete with grade on official transcripts when application is submitted and verified by CASPA," with no planned or in progress courses accepted: anatomy and physiology, three semesters of chemistry, biology, microbiology, genetics, and from the 2028 cycle pharmacology. The other three, medical terminology, statistics and psychology, "May be outstanding at time of application but must be completed prior to beginning the Program." Everything needs a grade of C minus or higher, and "A minimum GPA of 3.00 (4.0 scale) is required for both overall coursework and science course work." On testing the program is explicit: "Pre-Admission Standardized Tests: We do NOT require the GRE or PA-CAT." The recency window is narrow in scope and firm in effect, "All anatomy and physiology prerequisites must be less than 10 years old," while "All other prerequisites do not have a time limit." Community college and online prerequisites are accepted, including labs. Pass/fail is accepted only for Spring 2020 courses, and AP credit only for medical terminology, psychology and statistics with a score of 3 or higher. Strongly recommended beyond the list: pharmacology, A&P beyond the required hours, pathophysiology, and organic chemistry and biochemistry beyond the prerequisites; recommended: abnormal psychology, epidemiology, gerontology, health care policy and medical ethics. A bachelor's degree is required before matriculation, the CASPA deadline is September 1, and roughly 145 of more than 750 verified applicants interview for 48 seats.
Check your transcript against this list
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