Prerequisites

The Physician Assistant (PA) Studies Program will be open to all qualified applicants. Veterans with medical military backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

**GI BILL BENEFITS ARE NOT APPROVED FOR THIS PROGRAM**
PLEASE note that this program is not approved for GI Bill education benefits. The program applied for approval and anticipates a response by the end of 2018. This is very important to the program since our mission-in part-is focused on veterans and military medical experience.

All applicants must meet the minimum requirements for admissions:

Prerequisites

All prerequisites must be completed by the application deadline to be considered a complete application. All academic prerequisites must be completed from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States. Currently, foreign degrees and/or coursework (including equivalency evaluations) do not satisfy the academic prerequisites.

  • Bachelor's degree (any major) from a regionally accredited institution of higher learning in the United States
  • 2.75 GPA minimum, overall
  • 2000-hour minimum paid, direct hands-on clinical patient care
    • All forms of clinical patient care experience are considered (see a list of examples below)
    • Student practicum or shadowing experience is NOT considered toward meeting the 2000-hour requirement
    • Health care hours are subject to verification; the program may contact supervisors to confirm reported hours
  • Anatomy and Physiology, 2 semesters (lab preferred)
    • Must be human anatomy; animal or comparative anatomy courses are not accepted
  • General Biology, 1 semester (microbiology with lab strongly recommended)
  • General Chemistry, 1 semester (biochemistry recommended)
  • General Statistics, 1 semester (quarter accepted)

Students must earn a B- or better in each prerequisite course, and the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine Physician Assistant Studies Program strongly recommends that prerequisite courses be taken within the last 5-7 years.

Recommended additional coursework for academic preparation: Pharmacology, Genetics, Medical Terminology, Spanish, Abnormal Psychology, Development Psychology, Aging and Disabilities, Public Health, Technical Writing, Communications.

All academic prerequisites are measures in semester hours — see the conversion table.

Prerequisites conversion table: semester hours to quarters
Semester Hours Quarters
0.33 0.5
0.67 1
1 1.5
1.33 2
1.67 2.5
2 3
2.33 3.5
2.67 4
3 4.5
3.33 5
3.67 5.5
4 6
4.33 6.5
4.67 7
5 7.5
5.33 8
5.67 8.5
6 9
6.33 9.5
6.67 10
7 10.5
7.33 11
7.67 11.5
8 12

Example courses

The below courses are NOT required, rather examples of courses from the UNR Course Catalog (including Upper-Level Courses) that would satisfy the above listed prerequisites:

Biology

  • BIOL 224A: Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lecture
  • BIOL 224L: Human Anatomy and Physiology II Lab
  • BIOL 300: Principles of Genetics
  • BIOL 315: Cell Biology
  • BIOL 395: Laboratory in Genetics and Cell Biology

Microbiology

  • MICR 276: Introduction to Microbiology
  • MICR 276L: Introduction to Microbiology Laboratory
  • MICR 300: Medical Microbiology and Immunology
  • MICR 350: Microbial Genomics and Genetics

Chemistry

  • CHEM 121A: General Chemistry I
  • CHEM 121L: General Chemistry Laboratory I
  • CHEM 122A: General Chemistry II
  • CHEM 122L: General Chemistry Laboratory II
  • CHEM 220A: Introductory Organic Chemistry Lecture
  • CHEM 220L: Introductory Organic Chemistry Laboratory

Organic Chemistry

  • CHEM 241: Organic Chemistry I
  • CHEM 242: Organic Chemistry II
  • CHEM 341: Organic Chemistry for Scientists and Professionals I
  • CHEM 342: Organic Chemistry for Scientists and Professionals II
  • CHEM 345: Organic Chemistry Laboratory
  • CHEM 347: Laboratory Techniques of Organic Chemistry I

Statistics

  • APST 207: Practical Statistics
  • APST 270: Introduction to Statistical Methods

Examples of health care experiences that could fulfill the "clinical patient care" requirement:

  • Athletic Trainer
  • Dietitian
  • EKG/EEG Technician
  • Emergency Room Technician
  • Medical Assistant
  • Medical Scribe
  • Mental Health/Behavioral Health
  • Military Medic or Corpsman
  • Nursing Assistant (CNA) or Aide
  • Nurse
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Occupational Therapy Assistant or Aide
  • Paramedic / EMT
  • Patient Care Technician
  • Pharmacist
  • Phlebotomist
  • Physical Therapist / Physical Therapy Assistant or Aide or Tech
  • Respiratory Therapist
  • Social Work: clinical focus
  • Surgical Technician or Assistant