Pre-Physician Assistant

General Guidelines

You can prepare for a career as a physician assistant at Lewis-Clark State College. Physician Assistants first earn a bachelor’s degree, generally in a major that provides a strong foundation in biological and physical sciences, and they then complete physician assistant school. 

Getting into physician assistant school is a challenging and highly competitive process, but like other LC State graduates who have been admitted to physician assistant school, you can meet the challenge by working with your advisor, taking required and recommended courses, earning good grades, doing well on the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), completing a certain number of hands-on clinical/health care hours, and participating in certain service activities.

Prerequisites or Admission to Physician Assistant School

Pre-requisites are what you need to complete as an undergraduate to apply for admission to physician assistant school. 

Recommended Major: BA/BS in one of the following:

The majors above provide a strong foundation in the sciences, but students who major in a liberal arts degree such as English, communication arts, or a social science are also successful in getting admitted to physician assistant school, provided they incorporate the required and recommended coursework below into their degree plans. 

Required Coursework:
In order to be admitted to most physician assistant schools, you will need to complete a bachelor’s degree, including the following courses:

  • One year of anatomy and physiology
  • One year of general chemistry
  • One semester of organic chemistry
  • One year of introductory biology
  • Microbiology
  • One year of English

Recommended Coursework (varies by program to which you seek admission; some may be required):

  • Biochemistry
  • Statistics         
  • Sociology
  • Abnormal Psychology
  • Literature
  • Medical Terminology
  • Physics
  • Pre-Calculus 

Other requirements for applying to Medical School:

  • Completion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
  • Strong GPA
  • 1000-2000 documented hours of hands-on clinical/health care experience
  • Personal statement
  • Essay
  • Letters of recommendation 

Recommended Extra-Curricular Activities:

  • Join clubs or organizations that allow you to develop and document leadership experience 
  • Participate in community service

Get Started

To begin your path toward a career as a physician assistant, contact a pre-physician assistant school advisor today:

  • Jacob Hornby, Professor, Natural Sciences & Mathematics, 208-792-2799 or jmhornby@lcsc.edu