Prerequisites and Other Courses

Applicants must complete all preprofessional prerequisite courses at colleges or universities accredited by one of the six regional accrediting bodies. To determine if a college or university is regionally accredited, visit the following website: http://www.chea.org/search/default.asp

Prerequisites Courses

All applicants must complete the following PREPROFESSIONAL PREREQUISITE COURSES with a grade of C or better by the end of the fall semester before the Program’s academic year begins in late June. Preference is given to applicants whose prerequisites are no older than 5 years at the time of application:

  • Human* Anatomy & Physiology, including labs: 6-8 semester hours (To meet this requirement take Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 with lab PLUS Human Anatomy and Physiology 2 with lab –OR– take Human Anatomy with lab PLUS Human Physiology) Human Anatomy and Physiology courses must cover all organ systems. Applied Anatomy and Physiology courses that do not will not be recognized as fulfilling the prerequisite course requirement.
  • Microbiology** including lab: 3-5 semester hours (preference is given to those with higher level Microbiology)
  • General (Inorganic) Chemistry, a complete sequence (i.e. Chemistry 1 with lab PLUS Chemistry 2 with lab) geared toward science majors (appropriate as a first-level course for a Chemistry major), including labs: 8-11 semester hours
  • Statistics, including statistical tests and analysis: 3 semester hours
  • Medical Terminology: must be at least 1 semester hour

 

*Comparative, Survey, Elementary, Mammalian, Vertebrate, and/or Functional Anatomy; Exercise, Applied, Advanced, Survey, Vertebrate, and/or Mammalian Physiology courses CANNOT replace the Human Anatomy and/or Human Physiology requirements.
**Preference is given to applicants who have completed a General Microbiology course over those with Clinical, Medical, Introductory, or Survey Microbiology courses. Many of the Clinical, Medical, Introductory or Survey Microbiology courses will not meet our prerequisite requirement. 
CLEP or Advanced Placement Courses – CLEP examination or advanced placement credit may not be used to meet any of the School’s requirements. Experiential learning is also not an acceptable substitute for prerequisite requirements.
 Applicants who have attended Florida colleges and universities can find a list of approved prerequisites at the following link:

http://pap-a2.sites.medinfo.ufl.edu/florida-schools-prerequisite-table/

***Applicants completing courses at non-Florida institutions can send a fax or email of the course description and content to the UF School of PA Studies Admissions Office for review to determine whether a course fulfills a prerequisite requirement.***

Recommended Additional Courses

Additional chemistry, biology, and social science courses beyond the minimum requirements will strengthen an application, especially if the additional courses are highly correlated with medicine. If an applicant has completed the minimum preprofessional courses listed above and is searching for electives, the following areas would strengthen an application.

Medically-related Sciences, including such courses as:

Biochemistry (prerequisites: Organic Chemistry 1 and 2)
Biostatistics
Cell Biology
Cell Physiology
Embryology
Epidemiology
Genetics
Histology
Immunology
Molecular Genetics
Organic Chemistry
Parasitology
Pathogenic Bacteriology
Virology

Non-medically-related Sciences, including such courses as:

Physical Chemistry
Physics
Quantitative Analysis

Social and Behavioral Sciences, including such courses as:

Abnormal Psychology
Death and Dying
Developmental Psychology
Human Growth and Development
Human Sexuality
Marriage and the Family
Medical Ethics
Psychology
Sociology

Writing, including such courses as:

Expository Writing
Technical Writing

Humanities/Liberal Arts, including such courses as:

Communications
Humanities