Human anatomy- 3 credit hours
Anatomy and Physiology I and II are accepted for this requirement; they are not accepted for physiology prerequisite.
Human physiology (must be upper level)- 3 credit hours
Pathophysiology does not fulfill this requirement.
Microbiology- 4 credit hours
Must have an accompanying lab
Biochemistry (must be upper level)- 3 credit hours
Organic Chemistry does not satisfy this requirement.
Developmental psychology (life span)- 3 credit hours
The course must cover the entire life span- from birth to death. Introduction psychology courses do not meet this requirement. This course may also be called Human Growth and Development or Human Development.
Introductory statistics- 3 credit hours
Must contain descriptive analysis and inferential methods.
COVID-19 Grade Considerations
Considering the recent decision of many Universities which allows students to change the grading of courses to Credit/No Credit for Spring 2020, the WMU Physician Assistant Admissions Committee has approved the following for Spring 2020 (January start date) ONLY:
•Credit/No Credit or Pass/Fail grades, as long as the minimum grade required for credit or a pass grade is a C or higher.
•We highly recommend that students earn a grade for their course if possible.
WMU's Physician Assistant Program requires prerequisite coursework be assessed at a “C or 2.0” grade or higher, we would kindly ask that your home institution (registrar or course instructor) provide written verification that the Passing, Satisfactory or Credit grade meets this standard.
Please note that this policy DOES NOT apply to other programs offered at Western Michigan University. Please note that although a Credit or Pass course does not have a negative impact on your GPA, it does not have a positive impact either.
additional information
- Knowledge-based testing does not satisfy any of the required prerequisites, e.g., USMLE. All prerequisites must be stand alone courses.
- A degree in health sciences is helpful but not necessary as long as the required prerequisite courses are completed with a C or better. Consequently, an art major could qualify for admission as long as the required prerequisites are in place at the time of admission, and the student has an understanding and dedication to the PA role and mission.
If you still need to take prerequisite courses and have already earned a bachelor’s degree, please apply as a graduate non-degree student to WMU. Click here to begin the application. If you have not used this application system previously, please click the Sign Up button on the bottom right. If you have previously used this application system, please enter your username and password and click Sign In.