Pre-Physician Assistant
A candidate for admission to the Physician Assistant Program at the University of
Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, NE, must have successfully completed a Bachelor's Degree and the
following required courses. Scores from the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) must also be
submitted. The following courses will also fulfill
requirements at Union College in Lincoln, NE. Students should check with the specific school(s),
including the University of
Nebraska Medical Center and Union College, to which they intend to apply to ensure that all requirements are
fulfilled. Competition to gain a place in physician assistant school is
intense and cannot be
guaranteed.
- Take ONE of the following options:
- Take 2 courses:
BIOL 225, Anatomy and Physiology - 4 hours
(Prereq: CHEM 145 or
CHEM 150 or
CHEM 160; three years of high school science including
biology and a minimum score of 20 on the ACT or equivalent or a college science course)
BIOL 226, Anatomy and Physiology - 4 hours
OR take 2 courses:
BIOL 215GS, Human Physiology - 4 hours
PE 460, Gross Anatomy of Movement - 3 hours
(Prereq: PE 360, or BIOL 225 and BIOL
226)
- Take 1 course:
- MATH 102*, College Algebra - 3 hours
- *Students with sufficient preparation may enter the mathematics program at a higher level.
- Take 1 course from:
- STAT 241, Elementary Statistics - 3 hours
- PSY 250, Behavioral Statistics - 4 hours
(Prereq: PSY 203GS)
- Take 1 course from:
- BIOL 211, Human Microbiology - 4 hours
- BIOL 400, Microbiology - 4 hours
(Prereq: 8 hours of Biology)
- Take all of the following:
- CHEM 160GS, General Chemistry - 3 hours
(see prerequisites)
- CHEM 160LGS, General Chemistry Laboratory - 1 hour
- CHEM 161GS, General Chemistry - 3 hours
- CHEM 161LGS, General Chemistry Laboratory - 1 hour
- CHEM 250, Elementary Organic Chemistry - 5 hours**
- CHEM 251, Essentials of Biochemistry - 4 hours**
- ENG 101GS, Expository Writing I - 3 hours (Prereq:
ENG 100A or English ACT score of 15 or above)
- ENG 102GS, Expository Writing II - 3 hours
(Prereq: ENG 101GS* or
ACT English score of 30 or above)
- PSY 203GS, General Psychology - 3 hours
- PSY 230GS, Human Development - 3 hours
- PSY 231, Abnormal Behavior - 3 hours
Take one additional non-field biology course with a lab.
Additional electives should be chosen from the humanities and social sciences in areas
such as psychology, sociology, critical reasoning, literature and foreign language.
Strongly recommended:- BIOL 325, Medical Terminology - 1 hour (Prereq:
A college Biology course)
- BIOL 309, Cellular Biology - 4 hours (Prereq:
BIOL 104GS, BIOL 107GS, CHEM 161GS, CHEM 161LGS and CHEM 250)
- BIOL 360, Genetics - 4 hours (Prereq: 8 hours
of college Biology)
- BIOL 401*, Principles of Immunology - 4 hours
(Prereq: BIOL 104GS,
BIOL 107GS and one year of chemistry)
- BIOL 404, Developmental Biology - 3 hours
(Prereq: 8 hours of Biology)
- BIOL 465, Physiology - 3 hours (Prereq: BIOL 107GS, BIOL
309, CHEM 161GS, CHEM 161LGS and organic chemistry)
- FSID 110GS, Introduction to Nutrition - 3 hours
- HSCI 225, Introduction to Hematology - 2 hours
(Prereq: 8 hours of BIOL)
- PSY 313, Physiological Psychology - 3 hours
- PSY 318, Experimental Social Psychology - 3 hours
- PSY 465, Psychopharmacology - 3 hours
- SPCH 100GS, Fundamentals of Speech Communication - 3 hours
*BIOL 401, Principles of Immunology, is highly recommended by the Physician Assistant
program at UNMC.
**Union College requires CHEM 360 and
CHEM 361, Organic
Chemistry, and CHEM 351, Biochemistry, rather than
CHEM 250 and CHEM 251.
Consult with your advisor regarding the chemistry requirements.
Students pursuing a program of study in pre-physician assistant are expected to choose
a major so that they can be working towards a baccalaureate degree concurrently with the
pre-physician assistant program. This requires a major/minor combination or a
comprehensive major as well as completion of the UNK General
Studies requirements and
other degree requirements as set forth in the college catalog. (Students who are accepted
into physician assistant school prior to completing a baccalaureate degree at UNK may be
eligible to receive a BS degree in Health Science if they
have completed all General Studies requirements and have at
least 90 semester hours completed in pre-PA studies.)
