Master of science in physician assistant studies menu
As a candidate for admission to the physician assistant program you must meet the following requirements:
- A bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution within the United States is required.
- A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale is required in order to be considered for the physician assistant program. All prerequisite courses must be taken at regionally accredited institutions (or foreign equivalents). No grade lower than a C will be accepted for prerequisite coursework. CLEP credits, AP credits and P/F credits will not be considered for prerequisites.
Required courses
Biology: 16 semester hours
- A semester each of human anatomy, physiology, microbiology and genetics.
- Physical education and exercise science courses are not acceptable.
- Labs are required, when available, for all biology courses.
Chemistry: 16 semester hours
- A semester each of inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry and biochemistry.
- Labs are required, when available, for all chemistry courses.
English: 6 semester hours
- Including one course of English Composition and one course of speech.
Psychology: 9 semester hours
- Including one course of abnormal psychology.
Statistics or biostatistics: one course
Medical terminology: one course
Practical experience requirements
As an applicant you must have completed at least 750 hours of direct patient-care experience as an employee or volunteer in a medical office, hospital, or extended-care facility. Shadowing a physician assistant is required. Your experiences may be combined, but all acceptable clinical experiences must involve hands-on care of patients. You may apply to the PA program prior to completing the patient-care experience hours, but must indicate a plan for completion on your application.
GRE
All applicants must complete the GRE and send their scores to Des Moines University before they will be considered for an interview. DMU’s CASPA GRE code is 0447. You can find more information about the GRE here.
Technical standards
Please see our technical standards page.
Other
Accepted students will be required to complete a criminal background check prior to matriculation.
Permanent residents
Applicants who are legal permanent residents of the U.S. will be required to provide a copy of their permanent resident card (“green card”) prior to admission.
Note: Permanent residency status “pending,” is not eligible for admission.
Non U.S. citizens
Applicants who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents should review the information for international students.
*We do not allow for advanced standing, regardless of previous graduate work in healthcare. All incoming students must complete the entire PA curriculum.