It is your responsibility to ensure all requirements for the pre-admissions courses are met. All of the following pre-admission courses must be completed by the appropriate deadlines and fulfill all associated requirements in order to be considered for admission.

  1. Human anatomy
  2. Human physiology
  3. General chemistry with lab
  4. Organic chemistry with lab or biochemistry with lab
  5. Microbiology with lab
  6. Lifespan psychology
  7. Statistics 

Notes on Pre-Admission Courses

  • College or University

    All pre-admission courses must be taken at a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S. Online courses from these institutions are acceptable.

  • Grades

    All pre-admission courses (including associated labs) must be completed with a minimum grade of "B-". Grades for repeated courses are not averaged. If your institution uses a combined letter grading scale (such as "AB" or "BC"), all pre-admission courses must be "A", "AB" or "B". If your institutions uses a numerical system, pre-admission courses must have a grade of at least "2.7". No pre-admission course may be taken as "credit/no credit", "pass/fail", "advanced credit" or credit by exam such as CLEP or AP, as a grade must be assigned.

  • Credit Hours

    All pre-admission courses must consist of at least three semester credit hours. For those enrolled at institutions that use a quarter credit hour system, quarter credit hours will be converted to semester credit hours as follows: five quarter hours = three semester hours.

  • Completion Deadlines

    At least five of the seven pre-admission courses (including associated labs) must be completed at the time of application. This includes the grades appearing and being verified on the CASPA application. All seven required pre-admission courses must be completed by June 1 of the year entering the program (e.g., June 1, 2024 for those starting the program in Sept. 2024).

    Each pre-admission course must be successfully completed within 10 years prior to September enrollment. For example, for those applying to start the program in September 2024, all pre-admission courses must be completed more recently than September 2014. All pre-admission courses must fall within this time frame.

  • Specific Course Information

    Human anatomy and physiology

    May be taken as separate anatomy and physiology courses each being at least three semester credits hours or two semesters of a combined anatomy/physiology course (combined at least six semester credit hours or more) as part of anatomy and physiology I and anatomy and physiology II (must be taken at the same institution). A substantial portion of these courses must focus on humans and encompass virtually all body systems. Taking a lab is recommended, but not required. Contact us about anatomy and physiology courses that do not fit into the notes above.

    General chemistry

    Requires a lab and lecture. These may be combined as one course (and thus one grade) or taken separately (lecture course, lab course). Only one semester is required if the course is at least three semester credit hours and includes a lab.

    Organic chemistry with lab or biochemistry with lab

    May also be taken as a combined organic/biochemistry course with lab. The lecture with lab may be combined as one course (and thus one grade) or taken separately (lecture course, lab course). Only one semester is required if the course is at least three semester credit hours and includes a lab.

    Microbiology

    Requires a lab and lecture. These may be combined as one course (and thus one grade) or taken separately (lecture course, lab course).

    Lifespan psychology

    Must focus on psychology across the entire lifespan (birth to death). Common, accepted courses include developmental psychology and lifespan psychology. Courses such as introduction to psychology, general psychology, abnormal psychology or child psychology are not accepted. Contact us if developmental psychology or lifespan psychology are not the titles for the course intended to fulfill this requirement.

    Statistics

    May be taken from a variety of departments, including math, psychology or sociology. The main focus must be on statistical analysis and methods with direct content or correlation to using statistics in research studies. Generally, statistics is part of the course title.

  • Course Waiver, Advanced Placement or Testing Out

    Every pre-admission course must be taken according to the information on this page. The program does not allow pre-admission course waivers, testing out or getting credit for personal experience or work history for pre-admission courses. Advanced placement courses/credits are not accepted.

  • Course Level

    The course level requirement for each of the pre-admission courses must be at the college/university level. We don't accept courses geared toward moving students from remedial (high school) levels to the college/university level. Graduate or doctoral courses are accepted as long as an appropriate grade was received (see "Grades" above).

  • Transfer/Course Equivalency

    Pre-admission courses do not transfer into the EMU PA program but successful completion of all pre-admission courses fulfills one of the minimum requirements necessary to matriculate into the EMU PA program. The EMU PA program makes the final determination as to whether a pre-admission course requirement has been met. Applicants are cautioned that transfer equivalency lists do not reflect the EMU PA program's acceptable pre-admission courses. See notes below regarding contacting the EMU PA program to determine if a course qualifies as an EMU PA program pre-admission course.

Will my course qualify?

To determine if your courses qualify, follow the guide below:

Example: Human physiology

  • Was it taken at a regionally-accredited college or university in the US?
  • Was it be completed within 10 years of your start date according to the guidelines above?
  • Is the course title "Human Physiology"? Does it mostly focus on humans and encompass virtually all body systems?
  • Was a grade of "B-" or better achieved?
  • Is the course at least three semester credit hours?

If the answers to all of these questions are "yes," the course is likely to meet requirements. If you aren't sure if a course qualifies, email [email protected] and include: 

  • College or university name
  • Course number, title and credit hours (must designate: semester hour, quarter hour, etc.)
  • Date completed/will be completed
  • Grade on transcript (if completed)
  • Active link to the website of the specific course in the course catalog or a copy of the course syllabus

Questions?

Contact us at [email protected] or 734.487.2843.

The PA program admissions requirements are subject to change without advanced notice.

Explore this Program

About the Program

Discover the mission, vision and goals of the physician assistant program.

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Admissions Information

Learn about the steps to apply including requirements.

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Pre-Admissions Courses

Find out what courses you'll need to apply to the PA program.

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Admissions Process

Get information on the application process for entering the PA program.

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