Pa Schools In Texas Requirements

Our accredited Master of Physician Assistant Studies program provides classroom, laboratory, simulations, and clinical rotations that prepare graduates for careers as physician assistants.

Pre-Physician Assistant Course Requirements

Understand the course requirements for the Pre-Physician Assistant pathway.

Course Requirements Overview

This is a guide to common pre-physician assistant studies course requirements.

Additional Notes:

• Individual schools may require or recommend additional courses.
• It is recommended that all science pre-requisite courses are taken in person. Some schools may not allow online coursework. (UT Health San Antonio does not allow online science coursework.) See individual schools for COVID exceptions.
• All prerequisites must be completed with a letter grade of C or higher.
• Schools vary on Credit-By-Exam (AP/IB/CLEP) policies and preferences for prerequisites. Please see “Can I Claim AP/IB Credit?”

School requirements can change. See individual school websites and admissions guides under Research Physician Assistant Schools Before You Apply

Recommended Pre-PA Courses

To prepare for most physician assistant studies, students study the following subjects.

(PA Prerequisite Course Timelines and a PA Science Courses Flowchart are available at the bottom of this page.)

We strongly recommend taking courses in the following areas.

• Ethics
• Analytical problem-solving
• Critical thinking
• Writing, interpersonal communications, and presentation skills
• Cultural studies
• Spanish and other language studies relevant to your career goals

UT Austin courses are typically taken to fulfill requirements.

Science courses:

See individual school requirements for Biology lab.

UT Austin prerequisite for this course: BIO 325 or BIO 325H AND CH 301 or CH 301H AND [either] SDS 302, or 328M OR M 408C, 408K, or 408N.

UT Austin prerequisite for this course: BIO 311C AND BIO 325 or BIO 325H AND CH 301 or CH 301H AND [either] SDS 302, or 328M OR M 408C, 408K, or 408N.

UT Austin prerequisite for this course: BIO 325 or BIO 325H AND CH 302 or CH 302H.

• BIO 226L

• CH 301 + CH 302 OR
• CH 301H + CH 302H (honors) OR

• CH 301C + CH 302C (for Chemistry majors)

• CH 204 OR
• CH 104M + CH 104N (for Chemistry majors)

• CH 320M + CH 320N OR
• CH 328M + CH 328N (for Chemistry majors)

• CH 120K(may not be available until Spring 2025) OR
• CH 220C(registration for CH 320N required for this lab) OR
• CH 128K [+ CH 128L] (for Chemistry majors)

Other remaining prerequisites:

• SDS 302F OR
• SDS 320E OR
• EDP 371 OR.
• PSY 418

• RHE 306 OR
• RHE 309K OR
• Any Writing Flag course in RHE Dept.

• E 316L OR
• E 316M OR
• E 316N OR
• E 316P OR
• Any Literature course in English Dept.

• PSY 301 AND

• PSY 333D OR
• PSY 352P

• Sociology
  • SOC 302
  • ANT 302
  • CC 306M

  Physician Assistant School Prerequisite Course Timelines

  Completing the pre-PA courses and extra-curricular activities generally requires six semesters or longer, regardless of the student’s age or year in college. Your personal timeline may differ from these samples. Work with your academic advisor to incorporate these courses into your degree plan.

  • 4-Year Plan
  • 5-Year Plan Including Bridge Year
  • Pre-Physician Assistant Science Flowchart

  Important Note: Timelines do not include all course options and details. To be sure that you are fulfilling all requirements, see individual school websites. School links are provided on another page. See: Research PA schools before you apply!

  Additional Course Information

  • Currently a UT student and thinking of taking courses away from UT? (This may not be applicable if you are not yet enrolled at UT.)
  • Are Extension Courses Okay for Physician Assistant Pre-Reqs?
  • Other Pre-Health non-science courses of interest

  Master of Physician Assistant Studies

  Our accredited Master of Physician Assistant Studies program provides classroom, laboratory, simulations, and clinical rotations that prepare graduates for careers as physician assistants.

  The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued to UT Health San Antonio’s Physician Assistant Program sponsored by the University of Texas.

  

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  Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
  • Complete program prerequisites by application deadline
  • Overall GPA 3.0
  • Overall Science GPA 3.0
  • Health care experience, observation, shadowing and community service hours are strongly recommended
  • Two reference letters – submit directly to CASPA
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  San Antonio Campus

  The university is a comprehensive academic center that trains the doctors, dentists, nurses, research scientists and other health care providers of tomorrow. UT Health San Antonio is a respected and internationally recognized biomedical research university promoting the discovery, development and dissemination of biomedical solutions

  The University of Texas Education and Research Center at Laredo

  As a regional campus of the University of Texas Health Science at San Antonio, the campus offers students training opportunities in health careers through local instruction, community-based research, and distance education technology. Numerous outreach educational programs concentrate on fostering a healthy community