The successful candidate for admission to the Physician Assistant Program will have:
- A Bachelor's Degree (any discipline) from an accredited institution
- An overall GPA and science GPA equal to or higher than 3.0
- Completed General/Inorganic Chemistry—6 credits (2 courses)
- Completed Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry—3 credits (1 course)
- Completed Human Anatomy & Physiology—8 credits (2 courses with labs). Kinesiology, Environmental Engineering, and Exercise Science will not be accepted
- Completed four semester hours (1 course with lab) of Microbiology
- Completed three additional semester hours (1 course) of Biological Science. Acceptable courses are: General Biology, Zoology, Human Genetics, Histology, or Cell/Molecular Biology
- Completed at least six semester hours (2 courses) in Behavioral or Social Sciences. Only Psychology, Sociology, Human Growth and Development are accepted towards the behavioral science prerequisite. Anthropology, Humanities, and Criminology courses are not accepted.
- Taken the Graduate Record Examination (GRE); the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) may not be substituted for the GRE. Applicants whose GRE scores are more than 5 years old from matriculation must re-take the GRE and submit more recent scores. GRE scores must to be sent directly to the university by ETS to institutional code 5053, program code 0634 before the application is submitted. Applications without official GRE scores will remain in pending status until they are received. GRE scores must be submitted no later than 30 business days after receipt of notification from Admissions Office.
- Submitted official college transcripts from all institutions to CASPA for verification (prerequisite credits that are more than ten years old will not be considered);
- Submitted three letters of recommendation, (from clinical work supervisors or clinical coworkers, and academicians);
- Evidence of prior experience in health care is highly recommended;
- Met the Program Technical and Professional Standards.
Applicants are required to have all prerequisite coursework completed with a C grade or higher prior to application submission. Any submitted applications with pending prerequisite coursework (including labs) will not be considered. There are no deviations or waivers permitted for the prerequisite science requirement, regardless of educational background or professional experience.
An interview is required for acceptance and is extended only at the invitation of the Admissions Committee. The Committee strongly recommends that all documentation be complete prior to the interview.
FOREIGN-BORN NON-U.S. OR NON-CANADIAN CITIZENS MUST:
- Applicants with foreign transcripts or non-grade transcripts must submit a degree equivalent evaluation (an original sealed report from a transcript evaluation service). The Foreign Credential Evaluation Report (with GPA calculation). A list of transcript evaluation service providers may be found at www.naces.org. Foreign evaluations need to have a GPA provided.
- Have attended a college or university in the United States for a minimum of one year prior to application;
- Submit test scores for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), be able to express themselves clearly to others in spoken English, and have the ability to understand rapidly spoken colloquial English.
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
As part of an agreement with the University Partnership Center at St. Petersburg College, up to four students per year, who graduated from St. Petersburg College and who are admitted into the program in St. Petersburg, will receive a tuition discount of 20%.
ADVANCED STANDING, TRANSFER, AND DEFERRAL POLICY
Due to considerable variation in physician assistant programs throughout the United States, students of other PA programs will not be accepted for transfer into the Program. In addition, applicants to the Program may not receive "advanced standing" based upon previous education or credits taken. Foreign medical graduates must complete the Program in its entirety. Deferral of acceptance to future years is not permitted.