In this blog post, we’re going to make a list of the PA schools in California with their requirements. The one good thing about the PA schools in California is that most of them do not require any of the standardized tests. And interestingly, only one school out of the twenty requires the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).
The list down below will contain the general requirements such as GPA, patient care experience, standardized tests, and prerequisites for each school. This list is meant to be used as a quick reference and should not be used as your main guide. The information listed here may not reflect what is on the school’s website as schools may update their requirements at any time. Therefore, please do your due diligence and always double-check the information before you decide to apply.
A.T. Still University of Health Sciences (Central Coast)
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 2.5 cGPA Min 2.5 sGPA | Recommended (No Minimum) | Recommended (No Minimum) | – |
Prerequisites
- Human Anatomy & Physiology with or without lab
- Microbiology with or without lab
- Chemistry with or without lab
- Statistics
- Medical Terminology
California Baptist University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.2 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA Min 3.0 Prerequisite GPA | 1000 hours paid, volunteer, or a combination of both | At least 20 hours | – |
Prerequisites: Science courses recommended to be taken within 5 years of application
- Human Anatomy & Physiology with Lab
- General Chemistry with Lab
- Microbiology with Lab
- Genetics
- Psychology (General, Developmental, or Abnormal)
- Mathematics (College Algebra, Calculus, Pre-Calculus, Statistics)
- English/Writing
- Social Sciences/Humanities
California State University – Monterey Bay
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 1000 hours of direct patient care 500 hours of community service | At least 8 hours | – |
Prerequisites: Within 7 years of the application deadline
Sciences:
- General Biology with lab
- General Chemistry with lab
- Microbiology with lab
- Human Anatomy with lab
- Human Physiology with lab
Non-Sciences:
- Statistics
- English Composition
- Spanish Language, one year of coursework or the equivalent.
Chapman University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.2 cGPA Min 3.2 sGPA | 1000 hours paid or volunteer | Preferred | GRE |
Prerequisites
Basic Sciences:
- Human Anatomy & Physiology with labs
- General Chemistry with labs
- General Biology with labs
- Microbiology with labs
- Genetics
General:
- Medical Terminology
- English Composition
- General Psychology
- Sociology
- Intro to Statistics
- Pre-Calculus or Calculus
Recommended Courses:
- Medical Ethics
- Medical Spanish
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA Min 3.0 Prerequisite GPA | Preferred 2000 hours or more, paid or volunteer direct patient care experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites: Recommended completion of all courses within 7 years
- General Biology with lab
- Microbiology with lab
- Human Anatomy with lab
- Human Physiology with lab
- General Chemistry with lab
- Introduction to Statistics or Biostatistics
- College Algebra or higher
- English Composition
- Behavioral Sciences (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology)
- Medical Terminology
Dominican University of California
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 last 30 hours of science courses | 500 hours of paid or volunteer | 8 hours | GRE recommended but not required |
Prerequisites
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
- Human Anatomy with lab (Must be completed within 10 years of expected year of matriculation)
- Human Physiology with lab (Must be completed within 10 years of expected year of matriculation)
- Microbiology with lab
- College Algebra
- Statistics
- General Psychology
Keck Graduate Institute
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 1000 hours of direct patient care experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
- Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab
- Microbiology
- Medical Terminology
- General or Inorganic Chemistry with lab
- Organic or Biochemistry
- Statistics
Loma Linda University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 2000 hours of paid patient care experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
Science Courses
- Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab
- Chemistry: Organic or Inorganic
- General Microbiology
General Education Courses
- General Psychology
- General Sociology or Cultural Anthropology
- College-level Algebra
- English Composition
Marshall B. Ketchum University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 2000 hours of direct patient care experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
- Microbiology with lab
- Human Anatomy with lab (must be taken in the last seven years of application)
- Human Physiology with lab (must be taken in the last seven years of application)
- Other biological science
- Biochemistry or Organic chemistry
- Statistics
- General Psychology
Point Loma Nazarene University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 1000 hours of paid direct patient care experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
- Anatomy
- Physiology
- Microbiology
- General Chemistry with lab
- Organic Chemistry with lab
- Biochemistry
- Statistics
Samuel Merritt University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 2.8 cGPA Min 2.8 sGPA | 1000 hours of patient care experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites: Strong preference will be given to those with courses completed within the past 5 years of application
- Human Anatomy
- Human Physiology
- Microbiology
- Biology Elective
- Statistics
- Inorganic/General Chemistry
- Organic Chemistry
Southern California University of Health Sciences
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 2000 hours of healthcare experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites: Must be completed within the last 7 years of application
Core Science Courses
- Chemistry
- Human Anatomy
- Human Physiology
- Microbiology
General Courses
- Mathematics
- Psychology
- English Composition
- Sociology or Anthropology
- Statistics
- Medical Terminology
Stanford University
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| No min | 500 hours of clinical experience recommended | Recommended | CASPer |
Prerequisites: Must be completed within the last 10 years of application
- Anatomy & Physiology
- Chemistry
- Statistics
- Psychology
- Three additional upper-division bioscience courses
- Medical Terminology
Touro University California
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 1000 hours of patient care experience | Not required | – |
Prerequisites
- Biological Sciences
- Chemistry
- Human Anatomy (must be completed within 6 years of matriculation)
- Human Physiology (must be completed within 6 years of matriculation)
- Microbiology
University of California-Davis
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 undergrad GPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 1000 hours of paid or volunteer experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
- Human Anatomy with lab (must be completed within 5 years of application)
- Human Physiology with lab (must be completed within 5 years of application)
- Organic chemistry or biochemistry with lab
- Microbiology or bacteriology with lab
- English composition
- Social sciences
University of La Verne
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | Recommended | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
Sciences
- Human Anatomy with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- Human Physiology with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- General Biology with lab
- General Chemistry with lab
- Microbiology with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
General Education
- English Composition
- Speech Communication
- Philosophy or Religion or Critical thinking
- Psychology: General, Developmental, or Abnormal
- Sociology or Anthropology
- Statistics or Biostatistics
- Medical Terminology
University of Southern California (LA)
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 undergrad GPA Min 3.0 sGPA | Preferred | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites: All science courses must be completed within 10 years of application
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Microbiology with lab
- Human Anatomy with lab
- Human Physiology
- Medical Terminology
- Statistics
- Introduction/General Psychology
- Beginning Spanish Language
- English
University of the Pacific
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA | 1000 hours of paid or unpaid healthcare experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
Science Courses
- General Chemistry
- Biological Sciences
- Human Anatomy
- Human Physiology
- Microbiology
Non-Science Courses
- Math
- Psychology
- English Composition
West Coast University – California
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 BCP GPA | 500 hours of paid or unpaid healthcare experience | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
- Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab
- General Chemistry with lab
- Microbiology with lab
- Human Genetics
- Organic Chemistry with lab
- Biochemistry
- Statistics
Western University of Health Sciences
| GPA | Patient Care Experience | Shadowing | Tests |
| Min 3.0 cGPA Min 3.0 sGPA Min 3.0 prerequisite GPA | 120 hours of community service | Recommended | – |
Prerequisites
- College English & English Composition
- College Algebra
- Human Anatomy with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- Human Physiology with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- Microbiology with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- Human or General Genetics (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- Psychology
- General or Introductory Sociology
- Introductory Statistics
- General or Inorganic Chemistry with lab (must be completed with 7 years of application)
- Humanities
