Program Requirements

• A Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree from an accredited institution of higher education prior to matriculation into the Program.
• The minimum cumulative and science GPA required for admissions is 2.50. Successful candidates into the program typically have an overall and a science GPAs above 3.00.
• Graduate Record Exam (GRE) examination taken within 5 years of the time of application. 
  • The General Examination is sufficient to meet this requirement.   
  • This requirement is not waived under any circumstance and no other standardized assessment examination may be substituted for this requirement.
  • There is no minimum score for the GRE requirement.  Successful candidates typically have scores above the 50th percentile in all 3 areas of the exam.
  • GRE scores are not sent to CASPA, but must be sent directly to Rosalind Franklin University from the Education Testing Services (ETS).  The University’s Site Code # is: 1117.  Contact ETS for more information regarding the GRE examination.
• Prerequisite courses completed in an accredited institution of higher education prior to matriculation into the Program.   
  • All prerequisite course grades must be “C” or higher and must have been taken within the last ten years, but recommended within the last five years.
  • A minimum of three (3) semester hours or four (4) quarter hours is required for each course:
    • Biochemistry – 1 course
    • Human Anatomy – 1 course
    • Human Physiology – 1 course
    • Introduction to Psychology – 1 course
    • Microbiology (with lab preferred) – 1 course
  • Note: The Human Anatomy and Human Physiology requirements can be met by taking a combined Human Anatomy &Physiology I and Anatomy & Physiology II course sequence over 2 terms.  A single combined Human Anatomy & Physiology course alone will not meet the prerequisite requirements.
  • No substitutions for these prerequisite courses are accepted.
  • Applicants may have a maximum of 3 prerequisite courses left for completion at the time of application to the PA Program.  If a candidate is selected for admission into the program with outstanding prerequisite courses, it is a provisional acceptance and the student must provide proof of successful completion of the course with a grade of “C” or higher prior to matriculation into the PA program.
• The following courses, while not required, are strongly recommended: Statistics, Research Design, Technical Writing, Medical Terminology, Medical Ethics, and a second, higher level Psychology course (such as Child Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, etc.)
• An official course evaluation for equivalence report if you attended a foreign educational program.  The evaluation should be sent directly to the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) admissions service (see Foreign Transcript Evaluation for more information).
• Prior direct patient-care related medical experience and/or shadowing PAs in clinical practice is strongly recommended. Patient care experience and shadowing PAs in practice strengthens awareness of the demands of medical practice and helps candidates affirm their desire to pursue a career in the Physician Assistant profession. We believe the emphasis is on the quality of the experience, not just the number of hours attained.  Successful candidates into the program typically have 800 or more hours of direct patient contact and PA shadowing experience.
• Applicants must submit a minimum of 2, up to a maximum of 3, letters of reference. At least one of the letters submitted should be from either an instructor who can attest to the applicant’s scholastic aptitude, or a health care professional with whom the applicant has worked. Recommendations from relatives and personal or family friends do not weigh as strongly in the review process.
• Proof of verbal and written English proficiency, if English is not your native language. Official results of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam should be sent directly to the CASPA admissions service from Educational Testing Service (ETS) at www.ets.org/toefl.This requirement is waived if you have attended a minimum of two consecutive years of college study or higher in the United States for, or you are a permanent US resident.
• Other Program Skills and Requirements:
  • Proficiency in basic computer skills– word-processing, Internet searches, e-mail – is expected of all entering students
  • All applicants must meet the minimum technical standards for the PA Program (see Technical Standards). 
  • Proficiency in medical terminology is expected of all students at the time of matriculation. All students accepted into the program must demonstrate proficiency in medical terminology by passing, with a score of 70% or better, a written examination which will be given at the start of the first quarter of the program. Details of this examination will be discussed during Orientation.