Shared Content Block:
CHA/PA Styles
CHA/PA Program Prerequisites
General 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.
Note: Health care experience is not required.
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 Spring 2020 and Summer 2020 courses 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.
- 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 BIO prerequisite coursework.
- See the FAQ section for information on nutrition courses and courses offered in the Health Science department.
- 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.
To be completed PRIOR to the APPLICATION DEADLINE
| Prerequisite | Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry | 8 semester hours (or 10-12 quarter hours) | General Chemistry or above as required for science majors. One chemistry course must include a lab. |
| Biology | 14 semester hours (or 20 quarter hours) including 6 semester hours of upper division biology credit, 3 semester hours of Anatomy, and 3 semester hours of Physiology* | 14 semester hours (or 20 quarter hours) of general biology or above as required for science majors. One biology course must include a lab. Nursing, Kinesiology, or Exercise Science courses are not acceptable. Courses must be related to the
medical and animal sciences.
Upper division: At least 6 semester hours (or 8-9 quarter hours) of the above requirement MUST BE upper division coursework completed within the last five years of the application deadline. Upper division credits are most commonly 300 or 3000 level or above. To ensure that your coursework satisfies our upper-division course recommendation, please verify that your course is classified as upper division by your institution. Community colleges do not offer upper division credit. Anatomy and Physiology: |
* The Chemistry and Biology requirements must be completed prior to application to the program. The remainder of the requirements must be completed prior to matriculation. If you are unable to complete physiology or anatomy prior to application but have completed 14 semester hours of biology including 6 semester hours of upper division hours, we will allow you to complete anatomy and physiology after application.
To be completed PRIOR to MATRICULATION (Starting the program)
| Prerequisite | Requirement | Details |
|---|---|---|
| General Genetics | 3 semester hours (or 4 quarter hours) | This course may not fulfill biological science or upper division biological science hours. The course must be designed for science majors. General or human genetics is required. Molecular genetics may not be used toward this requirement. |
| Psychology | 6 semester hours (or 8-9 quarter hours) | Recommended courses include general psychology, abnormal psychology, and developmental psychology. |
| Statistics | 3 semester hours (or 4 quarter hours) | May be taken in any department. |
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:
- 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: 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
Study Abroad Courses
Study abroad is defined as courses that are 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 do not appear on the student's U.S. transcript, a WES evaluation is required if the student is accepted.