Physician Assistant Science Graduate Admissions

CURRICULUM & COURSES

What You’ll Learn in the PA Program

As a leading educator of physician assistant science, our courses are arranged for role concept and knowledge base development.  Your educational experience has been built to meet the high standards that the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) outlines.  These standards encourage excellence in PA education and drive results for our graduates.         

Relevant Links:

• Progression and Technical Standards
• Program Policy Manual
• Clinical Year Handbook

Please note program policies apply to all students, principal faculty, and the program director, regardless of location.

Graduate PA Path: 

MPAS Graduate Admissions Requirements

Eligible students holding an earned baccalaureate degree (by program start date), with the necessary prerequisite coursework (see #6 below) may be admitted to the Master of Physician Assistant Science program based on space availability. Selection for a seat in the 2-year graduate program is highly competitive.

To be considered for admission to the next academic year, an applicant must complete the Centralized Application Process through CASPA between April 2026 and no later than August 1, 2026. Applying early is highly encouraged. CASPA interview dates are October 2026 and November 2026.

Questions about 2-year Graduate PA admissions may be directed to:

Stephanie Eckenrode
814-472-3136
seckenrode@francis.edu

Admissions Requirements

Applicants for Graduate Admission are required to submit all of the following directly to CASPA in order to be considered for admission:

• A completed Application Form (via CASPA) by August 1.
• Evidence of either a completed bachelor's degree or the ability to obtain one prior to matriculation from a fully accredited institution.
  • Official transcripts from each college/university attended indicating an overall Cumulative GPA of 3.2 and a Prerequisite GPA of 3.0 (including international and professional coursework).
  • Foreign graduates must provide credit evaluation(s) from an international credential evaluation agency (i.e., SpanTran of a NACES member-institution).
• Pre-requisite courses:
  • Chemistry - 2 courses with labs, 8 credits
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology - 2 courses with labs, 8 credits
  •  Microbiology - 1 course with lab, 4 credits
  • Psychology - 1 course, 3 credits
  • Medical Terminology - 1 course, 1-3 credits
  • Statistics or Upper-Level Math - 1 course, 3 credits
• Evidence of 100 hours of non-paid health care experience, at least 40 hours of which must be shadowing a physician assistant in clinical practice.  Demonstrated health care experience must be outside of earned academic credit.
• Three letters of recommendation.
• Regardless of citizenship, international applicants - as well as immigrants to the U.S. and U.S. permanent residents - whose native language is not English, are required to submit current TOEFL scores. Please note, however, that students who have received a baccalaureate degree in the United States are exempt from this requirement. Applicants required to take a language proficiency exam must have a minimum of one of the following:
  • IELTS score of 7.0
  • TOEFL scores of 102 on iBT or 607 on PBT

Please note: It is beneficial to have completed at least five of the eight prerequisite courses prior to applying. Any prerequisite course not completed before the interview must be completed prior to the beginning of the didactic year with a grade of “B” or better. All courses must have been completed at a regionally accredited college/university.

Admissions Process

1. Application Submission

• Applicants submit their materials through CASPA by August 1St.
• The application must be VERIFIED by CASPA before the application can be screened for review
• For an application to be reviewed, it must meet the following criteria:
  • A minimum of 3 letters of recommendation must be received
  • Degree must be completed prior to matriculation into the program
  • Prerequisite courses must be complete or on tract to be completed before matriculation

2. Initial Faculty Scoring based on CASPA Metrics

• Applications are evaluated and scored based on:
  • Cumulative GPA
  • Major Collateral Courses GPA
  • Anatomy and Physiology GPA 
  • Healthcare Experience (100 hours nonpaid)
  • Essay Response
  • Recommendations 
• Each of these metrics is assigned to a point value based on pre-determined thresholds. Higher GPAs will be scored higher. The quality and recent timing of Healthcare Experience will be scored higher. The more patient contact and assessment the higher the patient care score. 

3. Interview Ranking and Process

• All applicants are assigned a total point score.
• The top ~80 applicants are invited to interview based on total ranking.
• Applicants will be assessed on:
  • Communication skills
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Collaboration and teamwork
  • Professionalism and suitability for the PA profession
  • Insight into PA role
• Scores from these assessments are added to each applicant’s cumulative score.

4. Final Selection

• Final applicant rankings are calculated based on total cumulative points (including all aspects of the application and interview process)

5. Notification and Acceptance

• Accepted applicants are notified and must respond within 1 week to accept seat.
• A $800 deposit is due within 14 days of acceptance.
• For accepted applicants, the academic year will begin in May 2026.

6. Waitlist

• A waitlist is created, based on scores.
• If offered a spot, waitlist applicants have 2 weeks to accept seat.

Please Note: The program does not give preference to any specific group of applicants.

Additional Admissions Information

Advanced Placement:

• The PA program does not grant any type of advanced placement for didactic or clinical courses.

Healthcare Experience versus Patientcare Experience:

• Healthcare experience is defined as, "Both paid and unpaid work in a health or health-related field where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care, but may still have patient interaction; for example, filling prescriptions, performing clerical work, delivering patient food, cleaning patients and or their rooms, administering food or medication, taking vitals or other record keeping information, working as a scribe, CNA, medical assistant, physical therapist, pharmacy tech and /or dental hygienist."
• Patientcare is defined as, "Experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient's care.  For example, prescribing medication, performing procedures, directing a course of treatment, designing a treatment regimen, actively working on a patient as a nurse, paramedic, EMT, military medic, hospital corpsman, and/or foreign medically-trained physician."

International Applicant Requirements:

International students must complete the following steps in addition to all of the regular requirements necessary to apply for admission:

• Secondary/high school transcripts and bachelor's degree transcripts must be evaluated by an international credential evaluating agency (SpanTran or a NACES member institutions).  All transcripts must be from an accredited institution.
• Foreign transcript evaluation(s) must be submitted with your application.
• International students whose native language is not English MUST submit proof of English language proficiency. TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTs or iTEP exam scores must be submitted.
• Please note that students who have received a baccalaureate degree in the United States are exempt from this requirement. Applicants required to take a language proficiency exam must have a minimum of one of the following:
  • IELTS score of 7.0
  • TOEFL scores of 102 on iBT or 607 on PBT

Not Required:

• GRE

Virtual (online) labs:

• Virtual (online) labs taken after March 1, 2020, will be accepted.