Admission Requirements

Application Process

The Physician Assistant Studies program at MCPHS participates in the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). All applicants are required to apply online through this service. The following items must be submitted directly to CASPA:

• Application with the application fee
• Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended
• Three recommendation letters, two are required for verification. A recommendation from a healthcare professional is strongly encouraged
• Personal Statement

Admission Requirements

• Baccalaureate degree (BS or BA) from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university or recognized international equivalent (external applicants)
• Students with international coursework must submit a course-by-course evaluation from the World Education Service (WES)
• Proof of English language proficiency is required if your degree is earned outside of the U.S. and if English is not your primary language spoken
• Minimum overall CASPA verified GPA of 3.0
• Minimum overall CASPA science verified GPA 3.0
• Minimum prerequisite GPA 3.0
• Minimum 250 hours of patient care experience required (obtained after high school graduation)
• PA shadowing experience (recommended)
• Successful completion of faculty interview (by invitation only)
• Completion of prerequisite coursework (detailed below), completed at a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university

Additionally, the following prerequisite courses must be completed by all applicants:

Linked courses are available through the MCPHS School of Professional Studies.

• General Biology I (3 semester credits)
• General Biology II with lab (4 semester credits)
• Anatomy & Physiology I & II (6 semester credits) (Acceptable substitutions include Anatomy & Physiology I and II or one semester’s equivalent of Anatomy and one semester’s equivalent of Physiology.)
• Microbiology with lab (4 semester credits)
• 3 Semesters of Chemistry (one lab required), minimum 10 semester hour credits. At least one semester must be an Upper Level Chemistry course (3 credits). Acceptable upper level courses include Organic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Biochemistry, or any 200 level or higher Chemistry course.
• Psychology (3 semester credits)
• Statistics (3 semester credits) (Acceptable substitutions include basic statistics, biostatistics, psychological statistics, economic statistics)

Prerequisite courses (as indicated above) must have been completed at a regionally accredited U.S. or Canadian college or university with a grade of C or better. Math and science courses must be taken no more than ten years prior to the anticipated date of matriculation to MCPHS. Any applicant with more than two outstanding (grade not yet earned/course not yet taken) prerequisite courses at the time of application is ineligible for review.

Students with international coursework must submit a course-by-course evaluation from the World Education Service (WES).

Undergraduate students in the Premedical Health Studies track who complete all prerequisites and admission requirements as internal applicants are granted an interview in their third undergraduate year. These applicants compete with the external applicants who have also been granted an interview. If they are offered admission to the program, the first year of the PA program is applied towards their undergraduate degree from MCPHS.

The Master of Physician Assistant Studies- Boston Program does not award advanced placement transfer credit nor allow for advanced placement testing when entering the MPAS program.