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Admission to the Physician Assistant Program is very competitive. Our admission practices reflect our goal to select candidates that have the best chance of success in meeting the program鈥檚 goals. Each applicant is evaluated on his/her individual merits. Decisions are based on academic record, references, personal statement, interviews, level of healthcare experience, and non-cognitive traits.
Students will apply to the program via a centralized application system operated by the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (). Applications will be accepted through CASPA beginning April 25th and must be verified by November 1, 2024, for the tenth cohort starting in May 2025.
COVID-19 Admission Policy
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Please make sure the following has been completed by January 15, 2025:
Minimum of 500 clinical hours of direct, hands-on patient care Minimum grade of "C" or better in the following courses:
No time limit:
Seven-year time limit (any of these courses taken before Fall 2018 will not be accepted). Applicants that have taken all the prerequisite coursework with a grade of 鈥淐 or above鈥� but have not met the seven-year recency requirement may take the PA-CAT (pa-cat.com) examination to be considered in the application process. Please note that the application will not be considered until the score report is received.
*Courses completed on a quarter or unit system will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
**We do not accept Pass/Fail courses without a grade. Please see the COVID-19 Admission Policy for any exceptions.
***Online courses are accepted. However, on campus courses are looked at more competitively. Please see the COVID-19 Admission Policy for any exceptions.
Degree Prerequisite
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution or an equivalent institution must be awarded prior to matriculation into the program. A baccalaureate degree is a minimum requirement. Therefore, a master's or doctorate-level degree awarded in lieu of a baccalaureate degree will meet this requirement.
The academic standard for admission is a 3.0 Overall GPA, 3.0 Science GPA and 3.0 BCP GPA calculated by CASPA. All of the above courses must be completed with grades of "C" or above. Please note that a "C-" will not be accepted. All prerequisites must be completed prior to January 15, 2025.
Submission of:
Letters of Reference
Three letters of reference must be received in order for an application to be complete. Please note, we will only review three references. One reference needs to be from a Physician or Physician Assistant and another reference must be from a supervisor associated with the applicant's direct patient care experience. Please do not submit any personal references.
Resume/CV
Please upload a copy or your resume/CV to your CASPA application. 听
Pre-Admission Clinical Experience
Clinical experience that includes direct patient care is required. In order to be considered, an applicant must have a minimum of 500 hours of hands-on patient care experience by January 15, 2025. Examples include, but are not limited to, EMT, paramedic, nurse, medical assistant, CNA, ER tech, physical therapy aide, phlebotomist, etc. Experiences such as "shadowing," laboratory testing with no patient contact, non-clinical research, lifeguard, or clerical work are not accepted as clinical hours.
Clinical experiences with higher levels of decision-making are viewed more competitively. Please review the relevant examples in our pre-admission clinical experience document. Please note, we do not count any patient care hours where you were given academic credit.
Note: meeting the pre-requisite courses and the minimum number of clinical hours does not guarantee an interview or acceptance into the program.
Priority Admission
Prior to matriculation, the following submissions are required:
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Graduated Classes
Class of 2022
Class of 2023
Class of 2024
Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA)
60
Entering class size
48
52
54
Graduates
47
49
* Attrition rate
2%
6%
4%
**Graduation rate
98%
94%
96%
**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.
*Attrition rate calculation: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.
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Admission to the Physician Assistant (PA) Program is highly competitive. Our admission practices reflect our goal to select candidates who have the best chance of success in meeting the program鈥檚 goals and learning outcomes in a rigorous, fast-paced environment. Each applicant is evaluated on their individual merits. Decisions are based on academic records, references, personal statements, interviews, level of healthcare experience, and non-cognitive traits.
To be considered for admission to the PA Program, applicants must:
The minimum academic standard for admission is a 3.0 Overall GPA, 3.0 Science GPA and 3.0 Biology, Chemistry, Physics (BCP) GPA calculated by CASPA. All of the above courses must be completed with grades of "C" or above. Please note that a 鈥淐-" or below will not be accepted. All prerequisites must be completed before January 15, 2027.
Please note that applicants not meeting the minimum GPA criteria will not be considered
Minimum grade of "C" or better in the following courses:
The courses listed below must be completed recently, within seven years (Fall 2020 semester or more recently). A minimum grade of "C" or better in the following courses:
Notes on types of coursework:
If an applicant completed the above courses with a 鈥淐鈥� or better but not within seven years, they may take the PA-CAT () examination in place of the recency requirement. Please note that the application will not be considered until the score report is received.
Applicants need to submit additional documentation if their education occurred outside the continental United States:
A minimum of 500 clinical hours of direct, hands-on patient care is required at the time of application submission.
Experiences including shadowing, laboratory testing with no patient contact, non-clinical research, lifeguard, secretarial, front-office, or clerical work are not accepted as clinical hours.
Clinical experiences with higher levels of decision-making are viewed more competitively. Please review the relevant examples in our pre-admission clinical experience document. Please note that we do not count any patient care hours where academic credit was earned.
Please upload a copy of your resume/CV to your CASPA application.
Three letters of reference must be received for an application to be complete. Please note that the program will only review three references. One reference must be from a Physician or Physician Assistant/Associate, and another must be from a supervisor associated with the applicant's direct patient care experience. Note that if the Physician or PA is the supervisor of the direct patient care experience, that satisfies both conditions, and two additional letters are still needed.
Personal references will not be considered.
Students will apply to the program via a centralized application system operated by the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (). Applications will be accepted through CASPA beginning April 30th and must be verified by October 1, 2026, for the eleventh cohort starting in May 2027.
A baccalaureate degree from an accredited or equivalent institution must be awarded prior to matriculation into the program. A baccalaureate degree is a minimum requirement. Therefore, a master's or doctorate-level degree awarded in lieu of a baccalaureate degree will meet this requirement.
Note: meeting the prerequisite courses and the minimum number of clinical hours does not guarantee an interview or acceptance into the program.
The Marist University Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program welcomes all applicants who meet the minimum program standards to apply. The Admission Committee has a holistic approach to recruiting a diverse cohort. Candidates with the following attributes are considered preferential:
The program does not offer deferral of acceptance to future cohorts, even in the case of extenuating circumstances.
The program does not offer advanced placement.
The program does not offer reconsideration of application status once a final decision is made.
Applicants who do not meet the program's minimum requirements will not be considered and are automatically denied entry into the program.
*The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Marist University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Marist University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be March 2030. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
The program鈥檚 accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at .
Updated: 10/1/2020
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