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ADMISSIONS
Department of Physician Assistant Medicine 


Application to the Weber State University (WSU) Physician Assistant (PA) Program will be done through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) system. The CASPA application cycle opens at the end of April each year.

The WSU PA program application cycle closes July 15th at 11:59 pm ET. 

Applications must be fully verified through CASPA by August 15th at 11:59 pm ET. Once applications are verified by CASPA, they will qualify for screening and review by the admissions committee. We strongly encourage candidates to apply early.

Please see our admissions process and required technical standards for more information.
 

REQUIREMENTS & RECOMMENDATIONS  

  • Degree Requirements

    Applicants must be awarded a bachelor's degree (or higher) from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher education prior to enrollment.

  • GPA Requirements

    A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a science GPA of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) are required.

  • Prerequisite Coursework

    Required Courses (required grade of B- or higher)

    • Human Anatomy with lab (4)
    • Human Physiology with lab (4)
    • Microbiology with lab (4)
    • General Chemistry I & II with lab (8)
    • Psychology (3)
    • Statistics (2)
    • Medical Terminology (1)

     

    Recommended Courses (required grade of C or higher)

    • Pharmacology
    • Organic Chemistry
    • Biochemistry
    • Technical Writing
    • Pathophysiology
    • Spanish
    • Immunology
    • Genetics


    Click here for WSU Course Equivalents

    The PA Program reserves the right to change its prerequisites following closure of our admissions cycle on July 15th. 

    For information about WSU course equivalencies, please see the following resources: 


     

  • Terms & Conditions for Prerequisites 

    Coursework Completion

    All prerequisite coursework must be completed at a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher learning prior to application to the program.

    Expiration of Prerequisite Courses

    Students with prerequisite coursework taken more than seven years prior to the application deadline are required to take the PA-CAT (Physician Assistant College Admission Test). Additional information about the PA-CAT and reporting your scores is provided below.

    Transcripts

    Prerequisite coursework must be verifiable through official transcripts. Due to the number of applications received, we are unable to review transcript content for prospective applicants. All course requirements and prerequisites are published on this website. 

    Pass/Fail, Online Courses

    Prerequisite courses must be taken for a letter grade. Online prerequisite science courses are not accepted. 

    Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, courses taken in the years 2020 and 2021 as pass/fail or online will be considered by the Admissions Committee on a case-by-case basis. 

    Substitutions

    Students granted admission must fulfill all application requirements; no substitutions for prerequisite coursework will be accepted, including but not limited to the following: advanced placement, international baccalaureate (IB) courses, credit for experiential learning, courses completed as part of a professional degree, and/or college-level examination program (CLEP) test. 

  • Clinical Healthcare Experience

    A minimum of 500 hours of clinical healthcare experience must be accrued at the time of application and recorded as part of the official CASPA application. Experiences in inpatient settings and/or those in positions requiring autonomous, high-level, medical decision-making (as listed below) are scored highest. Hours obtained observing or shadowing, or as part of an educational program will not be counted towards the 500 hours. 

    Healthcare hours and clinical experience are subject to verification, and the program reserves the right to contact supervisors to confirm reported hours.

    Examples of acceptable clinical healthcare experience include, but are not limited to:

         Limited-Level

    • Phlebotomist
    • PT Assistant
    • Laboratory Technician
    • Pharmacy Tech
    • Medical Interpreter
    • Research Assistant
    • EKG Tech
    • Psych Tech
    • ED Tech
    • Medical Scribe

    Moderate-Level

    • CNA or CMA
    • Dental Hygienist 
    • Licensed Clinical Social Worker
    • Speech Language Pathologist
    • EMT
    • LPN
    • Radiology Tech
    • Occupational Therapist
    • Ultrasonographer
    • Med Tech
    • Exercise Physiologist

        High-Level

    • Paramedic
    • RN
    • Respiratory Therapist 
    • International Medical Graduate
    • Medic/Corpsman
    • Pharmacist 
    • Athletic Trainer
    • Dietician
    • Perfusionist
    • Midwife
    • Physical Therapist

  • PA-CAT

    To ensure students matriculate into the program with equivalent academic preparation, students whose coursework is older than seven years must either retake prerequisite courses or score, at minimum, in the 3rd quintile on the PA-CAT to demonstrate readiness for the curriculum.  

    • To learn more about how and where to take the exam, go to the Exam Master PA-CAT website.
    • PA-CAT scores are good for two years.
    • To report scores, select Weber State University PA Program in your Candidate Score Portal.
    • Applicants must complete the PA-CAT by the end of June in order for scores to be reported by the program's application deadline of July 15th.
    • Scheduling the PA-CAT exam may take up to three weeks; please plan accordingly. 

    • The Admissions Committee considers both composite and quintile scores when evaluating performance.

COMPETITIVE CANDIDATES

competitive candidates will have evidence of the following  

The program aims to select candidates whose background and interests align with our mission, goals, and values. Candidates who fulfill three or more of the following criteria will receive additional review and scoring by the Admissions Committee:

Criteria include:

  • WSU students, alumni, faculty, and staff
  • Science GPA >3.5
  • >9 credit hours or more of recommended coursework
  • Graduate degree from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher education
  • PA-CAT composite scores in the top two quintiles
  • Paid clinical healthcare experience in an inpatient or hospital setting
  • >100 hours of community service
  • Service in a leadership role for > 8 months
  • Diverse backgrounds: underrepresented minorities in medicine (Black/African American, Native American, Latinx), economically disadvantaged (Pell Grant recipient), history of military service, first-generation college students

Each of the above criteria are evaluated and weighted individually. Completion of a graduate degree, academic strength, and quality and quantity of healthcare, leadership, and community service hours will be weighted at a higher level on an ascending scale during the application screening and review process. Candidates with higher scores are more likely to be invited for an interview. 

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

we welcome ALL students at WSU 

Candidates are considered for admission to the Weber State University PA Program without regard to their country of origin. For purposes of admissions and financial aid, U.S. permanent residents are considered equivalent to U.S. citizens.

  • DACA

    Deferred Action Childhood Arrivals

    Students with DACA status are currently eligible to apply for and obtain a license to practice as a physician assistant in Utah. Prospective applicants should consult the requirements of the licensing authority in any state in which they consider practicing to determine qualifications for licensure. 

    Information concerning licensure in Utah can be found at the Utah Department of Professional Licensing. Information about other states can be found on the NCCPA website. 

  • International Applicants

     

    International applicants are welcome to apply if they meet our admissions requirements. Applicants with international medical degrees are ineligible to apply unless they also hold a qualifying degree (bachelor’s or higher) from a regionally accredited U.S. institution of higher education prior to matriculation. We do not provide waivers or exceptions for applicants without a qualifying degree. 

    It is the responsibility of international applicants to maintain their F-1 student status while in the United States. For more information, please refer to the current section of the WSU International Student and Scholar Center (ISSC).

  • TOEFL

    Test of English as a Foreign Language

    Applicants for whom English is a second language must submit their TOEFL scores with their application. The test must have been taken within the two years prior to the July 15th application deadline for an applicant to be considered for an interview.

    Minimum required TOEFL iBT proficiency level scores must be "high-intermediate".

    Weber State University Educational Testing Services (ETS) code for submitting your TOEFL score to CASPA is 4941.

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