Physician Assistant Program Prerequisite Requirements
Downloadable check off list (PDF) of prerequisite requirements for the Physician Assistant Program
The following elements are required upon application in order to apply:
- A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution.
- Documented patient care experience.
- All diplomas must be from accredited institutions.
- An overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 or above and a science GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale.
- C- grades or lower are not transferable for credit.
Required Science Courses:
- A complete course of human anatomy and physiology with laboratory covering all organ systems.
- One year of general chemistry with laboratory or its equivalent (inorganic, organic, and biochemistry).
- Microbiology with laboratory
General Education Courses:
- General Psychology
- General Sociology OR Cultural Anthropology
- College-level algebra
- One year of English
Recommended Courses:
- Statistics
- Medical terminology
- Computer literacy
Further Requirements for Admissions
- Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a practicing physician (MD or DO) or a physician assistant (PA).
- A minimum of one year of patient care experience is preferred prior to entering the program. This is interpreted as 2,000 hours of patient care in any health-related discipline. Hands-on patient care is preferred.
- All prerequisite courses and degrees must be from accredited educational institutions for admission to the Department of Physician Assistant Sciences.
Selected applicants will be invited for an interview as part of the selection process.
As a matter of policy, advanced placement for experiential learning is not granted to applicants to the department.
International applicants (non-US citizens and non-US permanent residents) must meet all admission requirements for the chosen program, provide suitable recommendations, meet minimum pre-entrance examination requirements, furnish English evaluations of all official foreign transcripts and credentials, and give evidence of their ability to meet estimated living expenses and all financial obligations to the University during their program.
English competency requirements: Prior to admission and regardless of nationality or citizenship, an applicant whose native language is not English is required to pass either the Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency (MTELP) or the three ETS exams: Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of Spoken English (TSE), and Test of Written English (TWE). If satisfactory results are not achieved on the tests, remedial coursework should be taken and the appropriate test repeated until a satisfactory score is achieved. A personal interview is also encouraged to verify acceptable verbal and written skills.
The minimum MTELP requirements are as follows: undergraduate, a score at the 90th percentile; graduate humanities and social sciences, 90th percentile; graduate science, 85th percentile; professional graduate, 90th percentile.
Minimum TOEFL requirements for clinical programs: a minimum score of 550 on the paper-based examination or 213 on the computer-based examination.
Foreign transcripts must be sent to an approved evaluation centers. See admissions info for more information.
Applicants must file complete records of all studies taken on the college level with CASPA, see "
How to apply" section. The University reserves the right to require of an applicant satisfactory completion of written or practical examinations in any course for which transfer credit is requested. Remedial and high school level courses (except college algebra and calculus) are not accepted for transfer.
