Admissions Criteria

A baccalaureate degree must be earned prior to matriculation from a regionally accredited university or college. Applicants must have official transcripts submitted directly to the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) at https://portal.caspaonline.org/

Prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of "C" (we do not accept prerequisite courses with a grade of "C-", "D", or "F") or better from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants who have taken prerequisite courses at different regionally accredited colleges or universities must have all official transcripts submitted directly from those colleges or universities to CASPA.

Because of the rapid evolution of the basic sciences and the rigor of the program, it is highly recommended that applicants who have completed the pre-professional basic science prerequisite coursework greater than five years prior to application may want to review materials if accepted into the program.

Strongly recommended additional courses which will strengthen an application include biochemistry, biostatistics, advanced psychology, cell biology, embryology, epidemiology, genetics, histology, immunology, parasitology, pathogenic bacteriology, abnormal psychology, human sexuality, physics, technical writing, advanced chemistry, pharmacology, and quantitative analysis. Applicants who have taken these courses will be given preference.

It is required that the applicant has an overall and science grade point average of at least 2.8. In order to be competitive, most students will have cumulative and science GPAs of at least 3.2.

Advanced Placement (AP) courses (courses approved by a college board for high school students to earn college credit)  may be considered.

The Program does not provide a waiver of required coursework (in whole or in part) included in the curriculum based on prior academic or professional experience. Transfer academic credits are not accepted. All students must complete all components of the curriculum in whole to be eligible for graduation.

Patient Contact Hours: A minimum of 150 hours of verifiable direct patient care must be completed by April 15 in either a volunteer or paid capacity. The admissions committee recognizes direct patient care experience to include: directly taking vitals, taking or recording patient histories, assisting in surgeries, procedures such as drawing labs, giving injections, etc.

Examples of professions for a applicant to obtain their 150 direct patient care contact hours include but are not limited to the following: medical assistant, physical therapist/PT aide/assistant, respiratory therapist, occupational therapist, EMT/paramedic, LPN, RN, RT, MLT, NP, CNA, nurse's aide, phlebotomist, medical corpsman, pharmacist assistant, hospital social worker, psychologist, x-ray tech, ER tech, peace corps volunteer, clinical health education, athletic trainer, hospice (if experience includes direct patient care), dietician, scribe, dental assistant/hygienist, certified pharmacy technician. Others may be considered if emailed with detailed information.

In addition, a minimum of 40 hours of verifiable time must be completed shadowing a Physician Assistant (PA) with at least 20 of those hours spent shadowing a PA in a primary care setting (Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Pediatrics or Emergency Medicine/Urgent Care). If an applicant is working/ volunteering directly with a PA in a primary care setting then the minimum total time that must be completed prior to matriculation is 160 total hours. Though not required, it is strongly encouraged that at least half of the required, aforementioned time be completed by the time of the applicant's interview date. If accepted into the program, all Patient Contact Hours must be completed by April 15.

Applicants who wish to use coursework completed outside the United States must submit their transcripts for evaluation to one of the following services:

World Education Services
P. O. Box 745, Old Chelsea Station
New York, NY 10113-0745
212.966.6311
www.wes.org

Josef Silny & Associates
7101 SW 102 Avenue
Miami, FL 33173
305.273.1616
www.jsilny.com

A course-by-course evaluation is required and all coursework must be designated as undergraduate, graduate or professional. The LMU-SMS PA program will only honor evaluations from one of the above services. The completed evaluation must be sent to CASPA by the applicant after the course work has been evaluated by either one of the above services mentioned.

Applicants must have a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited United States school.

Applicants are also required to submit two required letters of reference which should be submitted to CASPA. References should be as follows: At least one letter/reference must be from a physician assistant (PA). A second letter must be from an additional physician assistant, or physician, dentist, podiatrist, or optometrist, academic advisor, science/mathematics professor, or current/recent employer. If invited to interview, an applicant can only be considered for an alternate and not for full acceptance until letters are received.

An applicant whose native language is not English needs to submit scores from the combined TOEFL and TSE examination unless the applicant is a graduate of a U.S. college or university. The minimum required score for the IBT (Internet Based Testing) is 79 and a minimum score of 26 is required for the speaking component.

Prior to matriculation, students must have a licensed health care provider verify the student’s immunization, tuberculosis screening, and urine drug screening status relative to the requirements listed below. Clinical sites may have additional requirements. Students are responsible for all costs associated with obtaining the Program’s immunization and screening requirements and any additional requirements of clinical sites providing supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) for the student. Students must submit their immunization records, tuberculosis screening results, and urine drug screen results to the online central screening service by the Program’s submission due dates.   

The Program follows the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations for healthcare workers. Click the link below and scroll down to healthcare workers.
Recommended Vaccines for Adults | CDC 

Click the below link to learn about the TB guidelines.
TB Screening and Testing of Health Care Personnel | TB | CDC

The meningococcal vaccination will not be required for students entering the program unless required by a rotation site. Updated 3.26.2024

Students may request a religious or medical exemption to the immunization/vaccination requirements by contacting the Program Director; however, clinical sites that provide supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs) may not allow for exemptions to the above requirements and may have additional requirements.

ARREST/CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK

To ensure the safety of students, faculty, colleagues, and most importantly, patients; the PA profession requires that both students and licensed health care professionals be able to pass criminal background checks. Therefore, prior to matriculation and prior to beginning supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs), students must submit to a criminal background check. Students may be required to submit additional criminal background checks, which may include fingerprinting, based on clinical affiliation agreements with the program’s clinical sites or at the Program Director’s discretion. Students are responsible for all costs associated with criminal background checks. Further information is published in the LMU-SMS-Harrogate PA Program Student Handbook.

DRUG/ALCOHOL SCREEN 

Safe and competent delivery of patient care requires all providers to be free of impairment from drugs and alcohol. Prior to matriculation and prior to beginning SCPEs, students must submit the results of a urine drug screen to the online central screening service by the program’s submission due dates. At times students may be required to submit additional drug and/or alcohol screens. Students are responsible for all costs associated with drug and alcohol screenings. Further information is published in the LMU-SMS-Harrogate PA Program Student Handbook.