Minimum Requirements for Preferred Admission to the MMS Degree (Physician Assistant)
Prerequisite courses must be taken through the appropriate department, e.g. Biology, Chemistry or Psychology.
Requirements for Students Who Begin Their Undergraduate Education at Arcadia University as Freshmen
- Students must have completed the following prerequisite courses at Arcadia University. Exceptions to the rule will be handled on a case-by-case basis. Students who choose to take classes outside of Arcadia University are still encouraged to apply but may not be considered for preferred admission.
- Biological Sciences: five courses with labs.
- BI 101 General Biology 1
- BI 102 General Biology 2
- BI 205 Human Anatomy or BI 211 Comparative Anatomy and Physiology
- BI 206 Human Physiology
- BI 323 Microbiology
- Chemistry: three courses with labs
- CH 101 General Chemistry 1 or CH 111 Conceptual Chemistry 1
- CH 102 General Chemistry 2 or CH 112 Conceptual Chemistry 2
- CH 201 Organic Chemistry
- Statistics: one course
- Psychology: one course
NOTE: Students may have only one prerequisite course outstanding by time of application.
2. Students must have a minimum 3.4 overall GPA and a minimum 3.4 overall GPA in prerequisite courses. A grade of “C” or better must be earned in each prerequisite course. (A grade of “C–” is unacceptable for prerequisite credit.) When calculating the prerequisite GPA, the University includes all courses in the various areas. Courses taken in prerequisite areas that were graded on a pass/fail basis will not be calculated into the prerequisite GPA.
3. Students must have knowledge of the profession through work or volunteer experience in a clinical setting. A minimum of 200 hours of patient care experience is required. (see FAQs for examples of patient care [1] [JH2] )
4. Students must obtain three letters of recommendation. Ideally, one should be from a professor and one from a practicing licensed physician or physician assistant.
5. Students must meet the Minimum Technical Standards for Admissions, Continuation and Graduation.
Requirements for Students Who Enter Arcadia University as Transfer Students
Transfer students are also considered for preferred admission provided that they meet all the criteria for freshmen as well as the following:
Students must complete a minimum of 15 credits per semester and no fewer than 64 credits over the last four semesters of work at Arcadia University, excluding summers.
Students must earn a bachelor’s degree from Arcadia University.
Students must have a minimum 3.4 overall GPA and a minimum 3.4 overall GPA in prerequisite courses. A grade of “C” or better must be earned in each prerequisite course. (A grade of “C–” is unacceptable for prerequisite credit.) When calculating the prerequisite GPA, the University includes all courses in the various areas. Courses taken in prerequisite areas that were graded on a pass/fail basis will not be calculated into the prerequisite GPA.
Transfer students must complete the same prerequisite courses as first years.
- Biological Sciences: five courses with labs to include Microbiology, Anatomy, and Physiology. Candidates may take either a full semester of anatomy and a full semester of physiology OR A&P I and A&P II.
- Chemistry: three courses with labs to include a minimum of one semester of Organic Chemistry.
- Psychology: one course.
- Statistics: one course.
- NOTE: Students may have only one prerequisite course outstanding by the time of application.
- NOTE: Transfer students must take at least five of prerequisite science courses listed above at Arcadia (non-transferred courses) to be eligible for preferred admission. If all five prerequisite science courses are not completed at Arcadia, students will still be considered under our general admissions process.
- NOTE: Depending on whether a student’s transferred courses are deemed equivalent to Arcadia sections, students may have to complete additional courses to be eligible to take upper-level biology and chemistry courses at Arcadia (example: the equivalent of Arcadia’s BI 101/BI 102 must be completed prior to taking BI 206 Human Physiology. If a student’s priorly completed courses transfer in as biology electives (BI 185/186/187), the student would need to take BI 101 and BI 102 at Arcadia to be eligible to complete additional upper-level courses).
- NOTE: Please be aware that transfer students may have difficulty meeting the preferred admission requirements if they only attend Arcadia for a minimum of four semesters.
Students must have knowledge of the profession through work or volunteer experience in a clinical setting. A minimum of 200 hours of patient care experience is required (see FAQs for examples of patient care).
Students must obtain three letters of recommendation. Ideally, one should be from a professor and one from a practicing licensed physician or physician assistant.
Students must meet the Minimum Technical Standards for Admissions, Continuation and Graduation. [2]
Students whose credentials do not meet requirements for preferred admission to the Master’s program are welcome and encouraged to apply for admission into the PA program as a general pool applicant.
While an interview is not required for acceptance to the program, we do offer several opportunities for accepted students to speak with faculty and current students in person or virtually prior to the deposit deadline.
