Certificate of Achievement, Pre-Physician Assistant
Huntington Beach, USA
Advanced Certificate
DURATION
2 semesters
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
EARLIEST START DATE
Aug 2026
TUITION FEES
USD 5,953 / per semester *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* $11,906 per year
Key Summary
About: The Certificate of Achievement, Pre-Physician Assistant at Golden West College (GWC) in Huntington Beach satisfies prerequisites for most graduate-level Physician Assistant programmes. It covers foundational and social sciences plus statistics required for Masters degree pathways accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The campus serves diverse students and sits near Huntington Beach.
Career Outcomes: Graduates can apply to ARC-PA‑certified Masters degree programmes and qualify as Physician Assistants; they may work while preparing applications in roles such as clinical research assistant, medical assistant, EMT, phlebotomist, or healthcare administration, gaining clinical experience and practical skills.
The Pre-Physician Assistant certificate satisfies prerequisite coursework for most graduate-level programs in this field. This certificate program offers students the opportunity to complete the required foundational sciences, social sciences, and statistics coursework. The certificate focuses on providing students who want to apply to a master’s degree program certified by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant with the professional credential, Physician Assistant (PA).
Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:
- Name the basic structures of the human body.
- Explain the six criteria that are used to define normal verses abnormal behavior.
- Apply statistical modeling to data sets in the social and behavioral sciences.
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Required Courses | ||
| BIOL G220 | Human Anatomy | 4 |
| BIOL G225 | Human Physiology | 4 |
| PSYC C1000 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| BIOL G210 | General Microbiology | 5 |
| STAT C1000 | Introduction to Statistics | 3-6 |
| or STAT C1000E | Introduction to Statistics | |
| or PSYC G140 | Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences | |
| or SOC G125 | Introduction to Statistics in Sociology | |
| or ECON G160 | Statistics for Business and Economics | |
| Select two courses from the following: | 6-10 | |
| ANTH G100 | Introduction to Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| BIOL G182 | Zoology | 4 |
| BIOL G180 | Cell and Molecular Biology | 5 |
| BIOL G183 | Botany | 4 |
| BIOL G186 | Diversity of Organisms | 5 |
| CHEM G180 | General Chemistry A | 5 |
| CHEM G185 | General Chemistry B | 5 |
| COMM C1000 | Introduction to Public Speaking | 3 |
| SOC G100 | Introduction To Sociology | 3 |
| SPAN G180 | Elementary Spanish 1 | 5 |
| SPAN G185 | Elementary Spanish 2 | 5 |
| Total Units | 25-32 |