Yale PA Program Prerequisites: A Complete Course Mapping- exactly which courses Yale’s Physician Associate Program requires, the rules that trip applicants up, and how each requirement maps to an accredited online course you can complete on your own schedule.
THE QUICK ANSWER
Yale’s Physician Associate Program requires just five course areas: (1) Statistics or Calculus, (2) Human Anatomy, (3) Human or Animal Physiology, (4) Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, and (5) Microbiology. Each is one semester (3–5 credits). There is no general chemistry or general biology requirement, a minimum 3.0 science GPA is required, and prerequisite courses do not expire.
Online courses from regionally accredited institutions are explicitly accepted, and a maximum of one prerequisite may be in progress when you apply. Always confirm current requirements on Yale’s official prerequisites page.
Yale is the most-searched PA program brand in the country, and for good reason — its Physician Associate Program is one of the oldest and most respected in the profession. If you’re targeting Yale, the first thing to understand is that its prerequisite list is shorter and more distinctive than most programs’, but it carries some specific rules that quietly disqualify courses applicants assumed would count.
This guide maps Yale’s prerequisites course by course: what each requirement actually demands, the exclusions that trip people up, and which accredited online courses satisfy each one. Every requirement below is drawn directly from Yale’s published prerequisites page — always the authoritative source, and worth checking yourself before you enroll in anything.
One important clarification up front: Yale runs two PA programs — the on-campus Physician Associate Program (the focus of this guide) and a separate PA Online Program. They share the Yale name but are distinct programs. This article covers the admissions prerequisites for the Physician Associate Program, which is what most “Yale PA prerequisites” searches are after.
Here is the complete required course list, with Yale’s stated duration for each:
| Requirement | Duration | Key Rule |
| Statistics OR Calculus | 1 semester / 3–5 credits | May be from psychology, biology, or math departments. |
| Human Anatomy | 1 semester / 3–5 credits | Gross human anatomy. Lab strongly recommended, not required. NOT neuroanatomy-only, histology, or animal anatomy. |
| Human or Animal Physiology | 1 semester / 3–5 credits | Lab not required. NOT pathophysiology or cell biology. |
| Organic Chemistry OR Biochemistry | 1 semester / 3–5 credits | Either course (or a combined O-chem/biochem semester) satisfies it. |
| Microbiology | 1 semester / 3–5 credits | Lab not required. NOT a single bacteriology course. |
Note: Anatomy and Physiology can alternatively be satisfied together with a combined two-semester Anatomy & Physiology I & II sequence (6–10 credits). Requirements reflect Yale’s published page as of May 2026 and can change between cycles.
Compared with the typical PA program — which often wants two semesters of general chemistry, general biology, and a full anatomy-and-physiology sequence — Yale’s list is striking for what it doesn’t require:
The flip side of a short list is that each course carries specific content rules, and Yale is explicit about courses that will not count. That’s where applicants lose cycles — so the next section walks through each requirement and its exclusions.
Yale wants foundational quantitative reasoning. A statistics course should cover probability, variables and distributions, confidence intervals, group comparisons, regression, and ANOVA/chi-square. A calculus course should cover limits and continuity, differentiation and its applications, and integration. Importantly, the statistics option can come from a psychology, biology, or mathematics department — so a stats course you took for another major may already satisfy it.
This must be a gross human anatomy course covering the upper limb, lower limb, head and neck, and thorax/abdomen/pelvis. A lab is strongly recommended but not required. Watch the exclusions: Yale states this requirement cannot be satisfied by a single neuroanatomy course, by histology, or by animal/mammalian anatomy. (Anatomy can alternatively be met as part of a combined two-semester A&P I & II sequence.)
An introductory physiology course covering homeostasis, cell structure, and cardiac, respiratory, renal, and endocrine physiology, plus digestion, energy utilization, and reproduction. Animal or mammalian physiology is acceptable. No lab is required. The key exclusion: it cannot be satisfied by a course in pathophysiology or cell biology.
You can satisfy this with either one semester of organic chemistry (chemical bonding; alcohols, esters, phenols, aldehydes, ketones; proteins; enzymes; carbohydrates and energy production; fats and lipids) or one semester of biochemistry (enzymology; cellular communication; DNA/RNA structure and synthesis; energy and carbohydrate metabolism; amino acid and protein synthesis; digestion and hormonal control). A combined organic/biochemistry semester course also works.
A microbiology course covering microbial morphology and physiology, bacterial metabolism, microbial genetics, and classification of microorganisms (bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic). No lab is required. The exclusion to note: a single bacteriology course does not satisfy the microbiology requirement.
Yale’s coursework guidelines contain several rules worth committing to memory:
Because Yale accepts online courses from regionally accredited institutions and requires labs only as a recommendation, its list maps cleanly to self-paced online coursework. PrereqCourses.com delivers courses through Upper Iowa University, which is regionally accredited by the HLC — satisfying Yale’s accreditation baseline. Here’s how each Yale requirement lines up:
| Yale Requirement | Mapped Course | Notes |
| Statistics or Calculus | Elementary Statistics (MATH 220) | Satisfies the statistics option. |
| Human Anatomy (+ Physiology via combined sequence) | A&P I (BIO 270)A&P II (BIO 275) | Combined two-semester A&P I & II satisfies both anatomy and physiology. |
| Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry | Organic Chemistry I (CHEM 251)Biochemistry I (CHEM 330) | Either course satisfies the requirement. |
| Microbiology | Microbiology with Lab (BIO 210) | Lab not required by Yale, but included here. |
Always confirm that a specific course satisfies a specific Yale requirement before enrolling. Yale’s published page and admissions office are the authoritative sources; this mapping is a planning aid, not a guarantee.
A note on the combined A&P route: because Yale allows anatomy and physiology to be met together with a two-semester A&P I & II sequence, completing A&P I and A&P II can satisfy two of Yale’s five requirements at once. That’s often the most efficient path for an applicant building a Yale-specific plan from scratch.
Coursework is only part of a Yale application. The program recommends (but does not strictly require) at least six months of full-time healthcare employment or 1,000 total hours of hands-on patient care experience and/or healthcare-setting community service, with preference for roles requiring training and direct patient contact — EMT, paramedic, RN, medical assistant, CNA, ER tech, PT aide, medical scribe, and similar. For one recent entering class, applicant experience ranged from 1,000 to nearly 11,000 hours, so competitive applicants tend to have well beyond the recommended minimum.
Yale also uses rolling admissions, and explicitly favors applicants who complete everything early — a verified CASPA application, official score report, three reference letters, the supplemental application, and no more than one prerequisite in progress. PA shadowing is encouraged but does not count as patient-care experience. As always, confirm the current cycle’s specific requirements on Yale’s official pages.
What are the prerequisites for the Yale PA program?
Yale’s Physician Associate Program requires five course areas: Statistics or Calculus, Human Anatomy, Human or Animal Physiology, Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry, and Microbiology — each one semester (3–5 credits). There is no general chemistry or general biology requirement, and a minimum 3.0 cumulative science GPA (calculated by CASPA) is required.
Does Yale’s PA program require general chemistry or biology?
No. Yale does not require general chemistry or general biology. It goes directly to organic chemistry or biochemistry for the chemistry requirement, and its biology-adjacent demands are met through anatomy, physiology, and microbiology. This is unusual compared with many PA programs.
Does Yale accept online prerequisite courses?
Yes. Yale’s published guidelines state that online courses from regionally accredited institutions are acceptable. Labs are only recommended (for anatomy) rather than required, which makes online completion more straightforward at Yale than at programs mandating in-person labs. Audited courses are not accepted.
Do Yale PA prerequisites expire?
No. Yale states that prerequisite coursework taken at any time in the past is considered and does not expire — a notable difference from programs with 5- or 10-year recency windows. An older science course still counts toward Yale’s requirements.
Can I apply to Yale with a prerequisite still in progress?
Yes, but only one. A maximum of one prerequisite may be in progress when you submit your CASPA application, and it must be completed by December 31st with a grade of B or better, with an official transcript sent directly to the Yale PA Admissions Office.
How many patient-care hours does Yale recommend?
Yale recommends (but does not strictly require) at least six months of full-time healthcare employment or 1,000 total hours of hands-on patient care and/or healthcare-setting community service. Competitive applicants typically have well beyond that — a recent class ranged from 1,000 to nearly 11,000 hours.
Is the Yale PA Online Program the same as the on-campus program?
No. Yale runs two distinct programs that share the Yale name: the on-campus Physician Associate Program (covered in this guide) and a separate PA Online Program. They have different structures and application processes, so confirm which program you’re applying to and check its specific requirements.
Yale’s PA prerequisite list is short — five courses — but precise, and the exclusions are where applicants stumble. Map your existing coursework against the five requirements, watch the content rules (no neuroanatomy-only for anatomy, no pathophysiology for physiology, no single bacteriology course for micro), and take advantage of the rules that work in your favor: courses don’t expire, online courses are accepted, and labs are largely optional. When you need to complete a requirement, PrereqCourses.com offers accredited, self-paced courses through a regionally accredited university — and the combined A&P sequence can knock out two of Yale’s five requirements at once.
Complete Your Yale Prerequisites Online
PrereqCourses.com delivers self-paced prerequisite courses through Upper Iowa University (HLC-accredited) — meeting Yale’s regional-accreditation requirement. Map your gaps against the five Yale requirements above, then complete what you need on your own schedule. Verify each course against Yale’s official page before enrolling.
This guide reflects Yale’s published prerequisites as of May 2026 and is for general planning only. Yale’s requirements can change between cycles. Always verify prerequisite, experience, and application requirements directly with the Yale Physician Associate Program and with CASPA before enrolling in any course.
