Shared Content Block:
CHA/PA Styles
Prerequisite Worksheet
Use the Prerequisite Worksheet to determine which requirements you meet and the courses you need to take.
CHA/PA Program Prerequisites
Experience Hours
CHA/PA does not require medical experience, but it will strengthen your application. See the Admission Statistics webpage for average hours of accepted students. You must classify your experiences according to CASPA's guidelines. See CASPA's website for details.
Academic Information
- All prerequisites must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university. We accept courses from schools accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), Higher Learning Commission (HLC), New England Commission on Higher Education (NECHE), Northwest Commission on College and Universities (NWCCU), Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC-ACSCU). Community college courses are generally acceptable for lower division coursework requirements.
- To be considered for admission, applicants must have a minimum cumulative and science GPA of 3.0 on a scale of 4.0. Applicants who are offered interviews commonly have cumulative and science GPAs in the higher range. See our Admission Statistics webpage for full details on average GPAs of accepted students. Applicants with GPAs of less than 3.0 for either the cumulative or science GPA will not be considered.
- A Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution is required to be completed prior to matriculation to the program. Applicants from all academic disciplines are welcome to apply, provided they meet the prerequisite course requirements.
Course Requirements
- All prerequisite courses must have a grade of "C" or higher to be accepted. Pass/Fail grades are not accepted toward prerequisite courses.
- We will accept Pass/Fail grades for courses completed in 2020 only. Letter grades are strongly preferred.
- Online courses and labs are accepted.
- Advanced Placement credit (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) credit are not accepted to fulfill the prerequisite course requirements.
- All science courses must be intended for science majors ONLY. Nursing, allied health, kinesiology, exercise science, and nutrition courses are not accepted. No exceptions.
- Research, thesis, teaching assistant, independent studies, and experiential courses are also not accepted to fulfill prerequisite courses. Students must request approval to use any courses with general titles such as “Special Topics of Biology”, "Senior Seminar," or “Techniques of Biological Science” toward the upper division biology prerequisite coursework.
- Use the Prerequisite Worksheet to determine what courses you have completed and what courses are yet to be completed.
- If you are doing undergraduate work in Colorado or Wyoming, see our list of advisors who may be able to assist you in course planning.
The Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology, and Upper Division Biology requirements must be completed before you submit your verified CASPA application.
| Prerequisite | Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | Two courses (7 semester or 12 quarter credits) | General Chemistry or above as required for science majors. One chemistry course must include a lab. Examples of Accepted Courses:
|
| Anatomy and Physiology | Two courses (6 semester or 8 quarter credits) | This can be completed as one anatomy course and one physiology course or two combined anatomy & physiology courses. Upper division courses with labs are recommended. Gross human anatomy and human physiology are preferred. Comparative A&P, Kinesiology, or Exercise Science courses are not accepted. |
| Upper Division Biology | Two courses (6 semester or 8 quarter credits) | Upper division biology coursework must be completed within five years of the application deadline. Upper division credits are most commonly 300 or 3000 level or above. Community colleges do not offer upper division credit. University of California Extension X400 level courses are typically not accepted towards this requirement. To ensure that your coursework satisfies our upper-division course recommendation, please verify that your course is classified as upper division by your institution. Nursing, Kinesiology, or Exercise Science courses are not accepted. Courses must be related to the medical and animal sciences. Examples of Accepted Courses:
|
Converting Credit Hours: CASPA calculates all GPAs in semester hours. Courses that were completed in quarter hours are converted to semester hours. The conversion ratio is 1.0 quarter hour = 0.667 semester hours.
The Psychology, Statistics, and Baccalaureate Degree requirements must be completed before you start the program.
| Prerequisite | Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | Two courses (6 semester or 8 quarter credits) | Sociology, communications, career development, animal behavior courses are not accepted. Examples of Accepted Courses:
|
| Statistics | One course (3 semester or 4 quarter credits) | May be taken in any department. |
Study Abroad Courses
Study abroad is defined as any course that is taken through a foreign institution while the student is currently enrolled at a U.S. institution. If you have attended a study abroad program sponsored by a U.S. institution and all courses, hours, and grades appear on the U.S. transcripts, these courses should be entered as instructed on the CASPA application. We do not require transcript evaluation for these courses. For courses taken at a foreign institution that does not appear on the student's U.S. transcript, a WES evaluation is required if the student is accepted.
International Students and Degrees Abroad
International students and students with credits from outside of the United States (including foreign medical graduates)
The following are required of international students or students receiving degrees outside of the United States:
- Prerequisites: Completion of all prerequisite requirements as prescribed on the website. Science prerequisites must be completed at a college or university in the United States. Science courses completed at Canadian Institutions will be evaluated on an individual basis.
- Transcripts: We will accept degrees that are completed outside of the U.S. if WES indicates that the degree is equivalent or higher to a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Only accepted students need to submit WES evaluations. If an accepted student studied abroad for a semester or longer and the study abroad program was not affiliated with a US school or program of study that provides credits and grades according to the US system, he/she must submit official foreign transcript reports from World Education Services (www.WES.org). The service may take several weeks to process your foreign transcript. If an applicant studied abroad by a sponsoring US sending school and the credits and grades for that study appear on the US sending school transcript, and are included in the number of total credits and the cum GPA, a WES evaluation is not required. An official copy of the transcript and official transcript evaluation must be mailed from the evaluating agency directly to the CHA/PA Program. The transcript must be in English. The World Evaluation Services organization at www.wes.org is the preferred evaluation organization.
- English Proficiency Testing: Students whose native language is not English OR who have not completed a degree at an institution where English was the language of instruction must demonstrate language proficiency by submitting scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) given by the Education Testing Service (www.ets.org). The following minimum TOEFL scores are required for consideration of admission to the UCDHSC Child Health Associate/Physician Assistant Program:
- Internet Based Testing (iBT): 85 with a minimum of 20 in each section
- Computer Based Testing (CBT): 230 or higher
- Paper Based Testing (PBT): 570 or higher