Michigan State University

PA Medicine
Physician Assistant Program College of Osteopathic Medicine

Pre-Requisite Courses

Each of the following pre-requisite courses must be completed with a minimum 3.0 on a 4.0 grade point scale or a B letter grade or higher. B- grades are not accepted.

Applicants may have outstanding pre-requisites at the time of application, but it is suggested to have all courses completed at the time of application. The submission deadline for pre-requisite courses is December 31st, 2023 for the 2023-24 application cycle.

Prerequisite Course

Notes

Human Anatomy
  • Combined A&P classes are acceptable, but must be a minimum of 6 credits in total to fulfill both

Human Physiology

Microbiology WITH lab
  • Lab may be taken separately

General Chemistry
  • Organic chemistry is also accepted to fulfill this requirement

Biochemistry
  • Must be a general biochemistry course, specialized topics in biochemistry will not meet the requirement

Developmental Psychology
  • Intro to Psychology courses will not meet requirements, must be a developmental course

English Composition
  • AP credit is accepted (must be able to provide proof)
  • Designated writing courses are accepted where more than 50% of the course is based on writing

Statistics
  • AP credit is accepted (must be able to provide proof)
  • Statistics may be taken in any department

Other information about pre-requisite courses:

  • The pre-requisite courses are foundational experiences used to assist the MSUCOM PA Medicine Admissions Committee in identifying students who are able to meet the rigor and pace of coursework in the program. Because of this:

o   Applicants may only have up to two repeated pre-requisite courses (A repeat is defined as any course repeated for a grade below 3.0/B).

  1. If you have any repeated pre-requisite courses, we strongly advise emailing us at admissions@pa.com.msu.edu to ensure eligibility

o   No pre-requisite course may be repeated more than once for the purpose of obtaining an eligible grade

  • There is NO cumulative GPA requirement.
  • There is NO overall science GPA requirement, however we do give preference to candidates with a higher science GPA and/or those who have demonstrated academic grit.
  • There is no requirement around how recently your pre-requisite courses were taken. For example, a candidate who completed the pre-requisite courses 10 years ago is still eligible to apply.
  • We do not accept narrative evaluations in place of grades.

o   NOTE: pass/fail grades are NOT the same as narrative evaluations. (for more information, see Admissions FAQ section)