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Physician Assistant Program Admission Requirements

The Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies (PA) program is designed to embody the diverse culture at 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø and educate students to provide community-based healthcare. Committed to educating inclusive leaders to serve diverse patients and their communities, 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø’s PA program will train students to practice evidence-based medicine through a rigorous, cohort-based 24-month curriculum.

The PA program seeks to admit students who complete a competitive application, demonstrate professionalism, dedication, and commitment to patient care. No GRE required for the admission review process.

The 2026 application will open summer 2025. to receive a notification for the application opening.

• Early application submission is highly encouraged.
• Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis.

Admission Requirements

Prior Education Requirement (A3.13b)

3.0 minimum cumulative overall grade point average - AND - 3.0 minimum BCP grade point average. 

The completion of a 4-year bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university is required to enroll in the program.

If a baccalaureate degree is obtained from an institution outside of the United States, then applicants must complete at least one year (30 semester hours) of additional undergraduate or graduate course work at a regionally accredited U.S. institution prior to application.

Applicants with higher GPAs will be more competitive during the admission review.

Advanced Placement (A3.13c)

• Courses for which credit was awarded by examination, such as AP courses, are not accepted toward any of the prerequisite courses.
• Advanced placement, IB, or transfer credit from previous coursework will not be accepted towards this program's degree requirements.

Prerequisite Course Requirements (A3.13d)

Competitive applicants will have successfully completed the following courses within the last ten years.

• Human Anatomy and Physiology w/ laboratory (2 courses)
• General Biology w/ laboratory (2 courses)
• General Chemistry w/ laboratory (2 courses)
• Organic Chemistry w/ laboratory (1 course)
• Additional chemistry or biochemistry (1 course)
• Statistics or biostatistics (1 course)
• Recommended, not required: Microbiology

• Applicants may apply with no more than TWO outstanding prerequisite courses. Exceptions to this requirement include currently enrolled 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø students applying as part of an 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø linkage program. See section below for "Admissions and Enrollment practices favoring specified individuals or groups" for more information.
• All prerequisite courses must be completed by June 15 for admitted applicants to matriculate into this program.
• All prerequisite courses must be completed with grades of “C” or better (not C minus). Classes completed as “pass/fail” will not be considered.
• Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø will accept online lab courses completed between Spring 2020 through Fall 2021. Prior to these dates and beginning Spring 2022, all lab courses must have been completed in-person.

Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements (A3.13d)

• 3.0 minimum cumulative overall grade point average - AND -3.0 minimum BCP grade point average.
  • Cumulative overall GPA and BCP GPA are calculated based on all undergraduate and graduate coursework completed from all post-secondary institutions, whether or not a degree was received from a given institution as verified and calculated by Graduate Admission.

Work Experience Recommendations (A3.13b)

• Prior work experience (e.g. patient contact hours, paid vs volunteer requirements) is not required for admission. Although not required for admission, more competitive applicants will meet the recommended minimum of 1,000 hours of direct “hands-on” patient care experience, completed as either paid or volunteer experience.
  • Experiences considered do not include observation or shadowing, non-clinical research experience, CPR or ACLS instructor, student intern hours, patient transporter, pharmaceutical or medical device representatives, lifeguard, medical secretary, insurance secretary, medical clerical positions, aerobics or yoga instructors, or personal trainers.

Required Admission Materials:

• Complete, verified 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø application (Opening Summer 2025)
• Official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
• Personal Statement
• 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø Supplemental Essay
• Three letters of recommendation
• Resume or Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Application Deadlines and Review Process:

The 2026 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø application will open summer 2025.

• Admission decisions are made on a rolling basis, so early application submission is encouraged for this competitive program.
• Applications are reviewed after the application is submitted and materials are received and verified by the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø Admission team will begin the verification process, which can take 2-4 weeks.

Final Deadline: March 1, 2026

• Deadline definition: The following are the minimum materials that must be received by 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø by the final deadline: complete and verified application. Applications will only be reviewed by the Admission Committee once all remaining materials are submitted and applications are completed and verified by the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø Admission team

Application Review Process

The 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø PA program employs a holistic approach during its rolling admissions process. Applicants are evaluated on how their attributes and life experiences align to the program’s mission and values.

Once an application is verified by Graduate Admission, we follow a multi-step application review process:

1. First, the admission team determines that minimum requirements are met by the applicant, followed by scoring of applicants utilizing a Likert scale rubric.
2. Selected applicants are invited to interview.
3. PA faculty and the director of physician assistant operations conduct a second and third read of the applicant.
4. The interview day process consists of: introduction/orientation; group interview; team activity; campus tour; lunch; writing sample; and one-on-one interview. Interview day evaluators include faculty, director of physician assistant operations, admission staff and community physician assistants.
5. The PA Program then meets to review each applicant and determine a final decision of admit, waitlist, or deny.
   
   

• Applications and application materials will only be considered once submitted, completed and verified through the 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø PA application.
• Selected candidates will be invited for a personal interview, with interviews being held from September 2025 through April 2026.
• Admitted students are required to submit a $500 non-refundable enrollment deposit and undergo a criminal background check* to fully enroll.
  • *Admitted applicants will be responsible for the cost of the criminal background check.
• Due to the competitive nature of the Physician Assistant Program, not all candidates will be offered an interview or admission into the program. Candidates that are offered an interview will be invited to campus.
  

Admissions and Enrollment practices favoring specified individuals or groups (A3.13a)

Wait List 

Some applicants may be offered the option to be on a waitlist. As places in the program become available, students on the waitlist may be offered a place in the program. Once the program is full and the cohort has matriculated, we will communicate this with students on the waitlist. Students on the waitlist that are not offered admission will need to reapply for admission the following academic year.