Physician Associate Academic Preparation
PA School Academic Preparation
These courses meet the requirements for most physician assistant schools/programs. PA schools/programs generally do not accept AP credit or on-line courses for these required courses. Be sure to check each school’s requirements.
No PA school/program requires a science major, nor are science majors given extra consideration in the admission process. Becoming a competitive PA school/program applicant also requires more than a solid GPA. Be sure you are meeting regularly with your HPAO advisor.
One year General Chemistry with Labs
CHEM 200 General Chemistry (5)
Prerequisites: Knowledge of introductory chemistry as demonstrated by completion of CHEM 100 with a grade of C or better, or satisfaction of the Entry-Level Mathematics requirement and qualification on the Chemistry Department Placement Examination.
CHEM 201 General Chemistry (5)
Prerequisite: CHEM 200 or 202 with grade of C or better
One year Organic Chemistry with Labs (required by some schools)
CHEM 232/232L Organic Chemistry (4)
Prerequisites: CHEM 201 with grade of C or better and credit or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 232L
CHEM 432/432L Organic Chemistry (4)
Prerequisites: CHEM 232 with a grade of C or better and credit or concurrent enrollment in CHEM 432L
One year of Biology with Labs
BIOL 203/203L Principles of Cell & Molecular Biology (4)
Prerequisite: Credit/ concurrent registration in CHEM 200 or 202 and satisfaction of the English placement test requirement
BIOL 204/204L Principles of Organismal Biology (4)
Prerequisite: Satisfaction of the English placement test requirement. Recommended completion of BIOL 203/203L
One semester of Microbiology
BIOL 350 General Microbiology (4)
Prerequisites: Biology 203, 203L, 204, 204L; Chemistry 232, 232L
OR
BIOL 211 AND 211L Fundamentals of Microbiology (4)
Prerequisites: Biology 100 or 203 and 203L; or a grade of B or better in high school biology. Credit or concurrent registration in Chemistry 100 or 102 or 130.
One semester of Physiology with Lab
BIOL 261 Human Physiology (4)
Prerequisites: Biology 212. Credit or concurrent registration in Chemistry 102 (or Chemistry 100 and credit or concurrent registration in Chemistry 130).
OR
BIOL 336 Principles of Human Physiology
BIOL 436 Human Physiology Laboratory (5)
Prerequisite (336): Completion of the General Education requirement in Foundations of Learning II.A.2. Life Sciences.
If a biological sciences course is not taken to satisfy General Education II.A.2. Life Sciences, a college course in
biological sciences is required.
Prerequisite (436): Credit or concurrent registration in Biology 336 or 590
OR
BIOL 590 Physiology of Human Systems
BIOL 436 Human Physiology Laboratory (6)
Prerequisites: Biology 366, Chemistry 365, Physics 180B, 182B
One semester of Anatomy with Lab
BIOL 212 Human Anatomy (4)
Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in Biology 100, 203, or 211.
One semester of Genetics (required by some schools)
BIOL 351 Genetics (3)
Prerequisites: Biology 203, 203L, 204, 204L, 215.
One semester of Statistics
Generally any statistics course except business statistics. Be sure to check each course’s prerequisites.
STATS 119 or STATS 250 or ECON 201 or PSY 280 or BIOL 215
Psychology
PSY 101 Introductory Psychology (3)
Mathematics
Requirements vary by program (generally satisfied by completing through Algebra).
MATH 140 College Algebra (3)
Highly Recommended (required by some schools)
BIOL250A Pre Professional Topics: Topics in Medicine (1)
SPAN 101 Introduction to Spanish 1 (Required by USC) (4)
SPAN 102 Introduction to Spanish 2 (Required by USC) (4)
Prerequisite: Spanish 101 or two years of high school Spanish
MEDA110 Medical Terminology (not offered at SDSU) (3)
