Pre-Physician Assistant Advising

Physician Assistants have become an integral and unique component of health care. Physician Assistants (PAs) are health-care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. PAs conduct physical exams, provide preventative care, diagnose and treat illnesses, assist in surgery and can write prescriptions. It takes about 28 months to complete a physician assistant graduate program.

Any major may apply to physician assistants graduate school, but the programs expect applicants to have taken specific prerequisite courses.

If you have questions, contact a William & Mary Pre-Physician Assistant advisor, [[aeeverhardt, Prof. Ashleigh Queen]].

Prerequisite Courses for PA Graduate School

The exact prerequisite courses vary slightly for some graduate schools. It is important for you to research potential graduate schools during your sophomore or junior year. This will give you time to complete these courses. Most physician assistant graduate schools have a minimum GPA requirement around 3.0 out of 4.0. However, our observation indicates that you must have a William & Mary GPA near 3.25 to be a competitive applicant. The list below contains the most common prerequisite courses

Biological Sciences

You should take a total of 16 credits in the biological sciences:

8 credits of College Biology. We recommend
- BIO 203 + Lab - Introduction to Molecules, Cells, Development/Lab
- BIO 204 + Lab - Intro to Organisms, Ecology, Evolution/Lab
4 credits of Human Anatomy
- KINE 303: Human Anatomy
- KINE 314 or 315: Human Anatomy Laboratory
4 credits of Human Physiology
- KINE 304/305: Human Physiology/Laboratory
Microbiology or Cell Biology
- BIOL 306: Microbiology OR KINE 310/311 if approved by the individual institution

Chemistry

You should take 8 credits of Chemistry, including laboratories.

General Chemistry I with lab
- CHEM 103/103L: General Chemistry I/Lab
Organic Chemistry I with lab
- CHEM 206/206L, Organic Chemistry I/Lab
Some institutions may require Biochemistry instead of or in addition to Organic Chemistry

Mathematics

You need 3 credits of mathematics. Credits must include trigonometry, precalculus, calculus, or the equivalent.

Statistics

You need 3 credits of statistics in addition to the other math course. We recommend

KINE 394: Statistics and Evaluation
PSYC 301 and 302: Elementary Statistics and Experimental Methods, or
MATH 106: Elementary Probability and Statistics

Psychology

You should have at least 6 credits of psychology.

Introduction to Psychology
- PSYC 202: Introduction to Psychology as a Social Science
Developmental Psychology
- PSYC 310: Developmental Psychology
Abnormal Psychology (recommended)
- PSYC 318: Abnormal Psychology

Some graduate schools accept substitute courses for some of the prerequisite courses. Contact the admissions office of prospective programs for specific information.

GRE Test Requirement

Applicants to physician assistant graduate school must take the Graduate Records Exam (GRE). This is normally taken at the end of the junior year or beginning of the senior year. It is best to complete all of the required biology, chemistry and physics by that time.

Internship Requirement

In addition to the course work described above, students must complete at least 960 - 1000 hours of internship. These hours must be in a position where the student has direct patient care experiences. These include being an EMT, clinical nurse assistant, respiratory technician, cardiac technician, phlebotomists, or other patient care positions.

William & Mary and EVMS Early Assurance Program (EAP)

Qualified William & Mary rising seniors may gain early assurance of acceptance into the EVMS PA Program. This program program will allow up to five highly qualified students from William & Mary to be admitted in the PA Program each admissions cycle. For otherwise qualified students, transfer credits for prerequisites through the Verto Education program may be approved by the EAP Program Advisor.

To be eligible to apply to the EAP, you must:

Be enrolled at W&M from the freshman year on (this program is not available to transfer students).
Meet all institutional and degree requirements to continue as a student in good standing.
Maintain an overall (cumulative) GPA of 3.25 or better. (A realistic GPA for the EAP is 3.7 or above).
Complete 7 of 8 of the prerequisite courses by the time of application. All prerequisite courses must be taken at William & Mary with a B- or better. You may not repeat courses for poor performance.
Have no academic or conduct code violations.
500 hours of clinical experience by September 1 of year of acceptance.

EVMS Prerequisite vs Acceptable W&M courses
EVMS Prerequisite	Acceptable W&M course(s)
Anatomy	KINE 303: Human Anatomy
Physiology	KINE 304: Human Physiology
General Chemistry	CHEM 103: General Chemistry I
Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry	CHEM 206: Organic Chemistry I CHEM 414: Biochemistry
Microbiology or Cell Biology	BIOL 306: Microbiology BIOL 310: Molecular Cell Biology KINE 310/311: Microbes in Human Disease
General Psychology	PSYC 202: Introduction to Psychology as a Social Science
Upper Level Psychology	PSYC 310: Developmental Psychology PSYC 318: Abnormal Psychology
Math	BIOL 327: Introduction to Biostatistics KINE 394: Statistics & Evaluation PSYC 301: Elementary Statistics PSYC 302: Experimental Methods MATH 106: Elementary Probability & Statistics

https://www.evms.edu/education/masters_programs/physician_assistant_program/admissions_information/early_assurance_program/college_of_william__mary/

Details/Apply

Physician Assistant Organizations and Websites:

U.S. Department of Labor Description
American Academy of Physician Assistants
Central Application Service for Physician Assistants
The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) represents PA educational programs.
The Physician Assistant History Society charts the history of the PA profession