Physician Assistant
Recommended courses at OBU for entry into PA programs.
Applicants must have a degree. The typical applicant will major in Biology. A science
major is not required as long as the prerequisites are met. UAMS prerequisites are
in bold; recommended courses are in italics. Harding has more flexibility, but the listed courses will also cover Harding's requirements.
Texas PA programs vary slightly in requirements. All prerequisite courses require
a C or higher. CLEP is not accepted for prerequisite courses (unless non-prerequisite
higher courses are taken in addition). Either a B.A. or a B.S. degree will suffice.
See links below.
First Year
BIOL 1014 General Biology I
BIOL 1024 General Biology II
MATH 1003 College Algebra*
*or higher Math course as prerequisite to Elementary Statistics
Second Year
CHEM 1004 General Chemistry 1
CHEM 1014 General Chemistry 2
BIOL 2014 Anatomy & Physiology 1
BIOL 2024 Anatomy & Physiology 2
MATH 2063 Elementary Statistics
PSYC 1013 General Psychology
Third Year
BIOL 4053 Genetics
BIOL 4064 Cell & Molecular Biology
CHEM 3004 Organic Chemistry I
CHEM 3104 Organic Chemistry II
PSYC 3093 Abnormal Psychology
SOCI 1003 Introduction to Sociology
Fourth Year
BIOL 3014 Microbiology
BIOL 3064 Neuroscience
NSCI 4002 Medical Terminology
BIOL 4013 Histology & Microtechniques
SPCM 1003 Fundamentals of Public Speaking
Physician Assistant programs vary in their admission requirements. Some require little
or no patient work experience; other require quite a lot of patient experience. For
example, the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) PA program requires 500 hours of patient care. While shadowing is important, it does not count
toward patient care hours. Click here for a detailed list of UAMS requirements. Harding PA program requires at least 100 hours of patient care and does count shadowing. Click here for a detailed list of Harding requirements. Texas PA programs can be accessed here; Texas Tech does not require an undergraduate degree.
