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MU Home » Academics » School of Graduate Studies » Physician Assistant Program

Admissions Requirements

1. A bachelor's degree from a four-year regionally accredited college or university. No specific major is required. An overall college GPA of 3.0 or higher is recommended.
   
   
2. Satisfactory completion (a letter grade of C or better) in the following medical core prerequisite courses. All coursework must be taken in the United States. A prerequisite GPA of 3.2 or higher is recommended.
   
   

   Course	Semester Hour (s.h.) Requirement
   Microbiology with lab	4 s.h.
   Anatomy and Physiology with lab	4 s.h.
   2 additional animal/human Biology courses*	8 s.h.
   General Chemistry I with lab	4 s.h.
   General Chemistry II with lab	4 s.h.
   Organic Chemistry I with lab	4 s.h.
   Organic Chemistry II with lab	4 s.h.
   Biochemistry**	3 s.h.
   College Algebra or higher	3 s.h.
   Statistics	3 s.h.
   2 semesters of Psychology	6 s.h.
   Medical Terminology	1 semester

   
   *No ecology, botany, nutrition, or physical education courses
   **Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry may not be combined into one class

   Notes about coursework:
   There are no time restrictions on the prerequisite coursework, but if courses were taken more than 5 years ago it is recommended to consider retaking the course(s) as a refresher. Any course with a letter grade of C- or below must be retaken to count.

   Applicants can make application to the program if there are coursework deficiencies. However, to be admissible, applicants must be in progress or have a plan in place to complete the coursework deficiencies by the program's start date in August. There are no substitutions or exceptions for required coursework and applicants must receive a letter grade in each course.

   To benefit the applicant upon matriculation and to make an application more competitive, it is highly recommended coursework be taken at a four-year regionally accredited college or university, or at a community college through a college transfer program. Typically, community college coursework for upper-level biology and chemistry requirements will not transfer into a four year institution, and specifically at MU. Therefore, it is strongly recommended coursework such as upper level Biology, A&P, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry I and II, and Biochemistry be taken at a four institution to ensure the course is being taken at the appropriate level.

   Online courses in math, psychology, and medical terminology have been accepted, but online courses for biology and chemistry requirements are highly discouraged.
   

3. Completion of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). Official scores must be provided to the program to be considered for an interview and scores must be within 5 years of applying. The program recommends a verbal and quantitative combined score of:
   
   • Tests taken prior to August 1, 2011: 1050 or higher
   • Tests taken on or after August 1, 2011: 297-300 or higher
     
     
4. A minimum of 500 hours clinical experience with direct patient contact. Applicants selected must complete all required hours by July 15th of the year planning to enter.
   
   
5. No history of drug abuse or conviction of a felony.
   
   
6. No history of dismissal from another PA, medical, or nursing school for academic or disciplinary reasons.
   
   
7. The program does not grant advanced placement (AP) into the program, accept transfer credit from a student previously enrolled in another PA program, nor does it accept experiential credit. All students accepted in the PA program must satisfy all requirements of the didactic and clinical years of study. AP credit for prerequisite coursework is acceptable.
   
   
8. Applicants who have completed their degree outside the US must follow policies for Foreign Graduates.
   
   
9. Applicants must also meet the program's Technical Standards.

Recommended Additional Courses

The following classes under Biology and Psychology are recommended to fulfill the Medical Core Prerequisites if applicable. These courses are also recommended to further educate and prepare applicants for entrance into the program. Anything taken above and beyond what is required is always beneficial.

If you are interested in taking prerequisite coursework through Methodist University please click here to see the class schedule by semester, date and time. To enroll in Day classes, you must contact the Office of Admissions at (910) 630-7027 or for Evening and Summer classes, please contact (910) 630-7190.

Biology

• Medical Microbiology
• Developmental Biology
• Genetics
• Cell Biology

Psychology

• Physiological Psychology
• Abnormal Psychology
• Developmental Psychology

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