Physician Assistant Admissions Information

The Saint Joseph’s University Admissions Committee will be accepting applications through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) from April 2024 until October 1st, 2024 for the Class of 2027 cohort matriculating in the Fall of 2025. Admission to the program is on a rolling basis and so applying early is suggested.

CASPA will collect and summarize all applicant data. In addition to the CASPA general application procedures, Saint Joseph’s University requires the completion of custom questions and two essay questions within the CASPA application. The application contains a number of inquiries, including pandemic-related impact on undergraduate studies; online coursework; whether any prerequisite courses were taken pass/fail; and copies of your college or university’s pass/fail policy.

The CASPA application also requires submission of three letters of recommendation within the following parameters:

• 1) One letter from a science professor 
• 2) One letter from a supervisor or manager, preferably from the supervisor or manager of your direct patient care experience
• 3) One letter from someone of the applicant’s choice

Further details regarding standards, requirements and the remainder of the admissions process can be found below.

Applicants must meet the following academic standards to be considered for admission to the Physician Assistant program:

• Minimum 3.20 overall GPA
• Minimum 3.20 overall science GPA
• Completion of all prerequisite courses (see below) with a final grade of a C or better
• 350 hours of direct patient contact experience (see below)
• Bachelor’s Degree 

If any courses, degree completion or healthcare experience hours are in progress at the time of application, they must be completed by matriculation. Documentation will need to be submitted as requested by the program. Applications incomplete or missing this information may be delayed during the review process. Students with more than 3 required prerequisite courses that are outstanding or incomplete at the time of application are encouraged to apply in the next year's admission cycle. SJU Pre-PA students may have an in-progress degree at the time of matriculation if all requirements of the Pre-PA phase are met. Please see the preferred candidates section below for more information.

Prerequisite Coursework

Prerequisite courses must be completed within 10 years of matriculation. All prerequisite coursework must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university. Online courses and labs will be accepted. 

It is not required that all prerequisite courses or bachelor’s degree programs be completed at the time of application. All prerequisite coursework and bachelor’s coursework must be completed before matriculation into the program. However, if you have 3 or more prerequisites incomplete or outstanding at the time of your application, it is recommended that you apply in the next year’s admission cycle. 

• General Biology I + II with lab (8 credits)
• General Chemistry I + II with lab (8 credits)
• Organic Chemistry with lab or Biochemistry with lab (4 credits)
• Microbiology with lab (4 credits)
• Statistics (3 credits)*
• Psychology (3 credits)**
• Human Anatomy and Physiology I + II with lab (8 credits)***
• Medical Terminology (1 credit)

* An introductory statistics course (3-credits) is preferred. However, a biostatistics course is also acceptable.

** An abnormal psychology or developmental psychology course (3-credits) is acceptable for the general psychology prerequisite.

*** An upper-level Human Anatomy course with lab (4-credits) and separate Physiology course with lab (4-credits) is acceptable.

Please email healthprofessions@sju.edu with any other inquiries regarding prerequisites. 

Direct Patient Contact Hours

A minimum of 350 hours of volunteer or paid direct, hands-on patient contact hours must be documented as part of the CASPA application. The following list contains examples of roles that qualify as patient contact. Please email healthprofessions@sju.edu with inquiries regarding other roles that may qualify.

• Athletic trainer
• Cardiac bypass technician
• Cardiovascular perfusionist
• Dental Assistant
• Dental Hygienist
• Dietician
• Certified Nursing Assistant
• Clinical Nutritionist
• Clinical Research Assistant with direct in-person patient contact
• Community Health Worker with direct patient contact
• Emergency Department Technician
• EKG Technician
• EMT
• Exercise Physiologist (cardiac rehab)
• Foreign Medical Graduate (physician)
• Healthcare-Related Technician
• Home Healthcare Aide (not housework or personal assistant)
• Laboratory Assistant with direct patient contact
• Medical Assistant
• Medical Corpsman
• Medical Scribe 
• Military Medic
• Nurse (RN or LPN)
• Nurse Midwife
• Nurse Anesthetist
• Nursing Assistant 
• Occupational Therapist 
• Occupational Therapy Aide 
• Orthopedic Technician 
• Paramedic 
• Phlebotomist
• Physical Therapist
• Physical Therapy Aide
• Prosthetist
• Radiographer/Radiologic Technologist
• Respiratory Therapist
• Speech Therapist
• Surgical Technician (OR Tech)
• Ultrasound Technician

Saint Joseph’s University undergraduate Pre-PA students who have completed all components of the Pre-PA phase are guaranteed an interview. These students are not guaranteed admission. In some instances, this may include the ability to apply the credits of the first semester of the graduate PA Program towards their academic credit requirements for their bachelor’s degree. 

The admissions committee considers all information provided on the CASPA application, including required components and other components, in a holistic review of all applicants. Please see details of the pre-screening process, faculty screening, applicant interviews, and committee selection below for more information regarding preferential considerations for applicants.

The Graduate Office of Admissions receives all applications from CASPA and completes an objective pre-screening. At this time, the application is reviewed for required components. Required components to move beyond this phase includes review of Overall GPA, Overall Science GPA, patient care experience, and letters of recommendation. Applicants will be denied at this point if they do not meet the minimum admission requirements. Please note that it is not required to have all prerequisite courses completed at the time of application. CASPA will prompt applicants to provide a plan for prerequisite completion.

In addition to the required components, this screening includes highlighting whether or not the applicant has a graduate degree and whether or not applicants have at least 100 hours of shadowing. Neither of these screening components are required but are utilized in the subsequent holistic review of the application.

All applications that meet the minimum requirements of the pre-screen phase are assigned to a PA faculty member for a second review of minimum requirements and a review of the CASPA application in its entirety. The review of the CASPA application includes review of both required components and other submitted information within the application. For example, while the GRE is not required, the committee is not blinded to submitted scores. Other examples of this include shadowing and community service.

The faculty screening process considers the entire application holistically, with careful consideration for Overall GPA, Overall Science GPA, direct patient healthcare experience, letters of recommendation, and the personal essay submitted in CASPA. While the following are not required, the holistic review process also carefully considers whether or not the applicant has a graduate degree, shadowing experience, community service hours, military status, veteran status, Peace Corp experience, and outstanding prerequisite course requirements.

At the conclusion of the in-depth holistic review of the application, the faculty member determines whether or not the applicant is invited to interview with the Saint Joseph’s University PA Admissions Committee.

Applicants who are invited to interview with the Saint Joseph’s University PA Admissions Committee will be offered both in-person and virtual interview options. The committee does not have a preference for whether an applicant chooses to interview in-person or virtually, as we understand that the decision to choose one or the other is multifactorial and does not indicate the preparedness or dedication of the applicant. Both options are not guaranteed to be available at all points in the process. Due to the rolling nature of the admissions process and how quickly interview day slots are filled, it is suggested that applicants invited to interview schedule an interview day as early as possible. After admissions decisions are communicated to applicants, applicants are invited to participate in a tour of campus. These are scheduled to allow for virtual applicants to visit the campus before accepting a seat in the program if they have not yet had the opportunity, but are also available to those who attended in-person interviews as well.

The interview day will consist of applicant and program introductions, program information presentations, a campus tour, dedicated time with current students, an opportunity to ask any questions pertaining to the application process, an individual interview with a member of the Saint Joseph’s University PA Admissions Committee, the completion of two written essay prompts, a problem-solving group activity with other applicants. See below for information on the use of the interview day in the selection process. Lunch will be provided at in-person interview days.

Within approximately two weeks of the conclusion of the interview day, the Saint Joseph’s University PA Admissions Committee convenes to holistically review all applicants. All information discussed above in the screening process is considered, in addition to outcomes related to the personal interview, writing assignments at the interview day, and participation in the interview group activity. Outcomes of the applicant selection process will subsequently be communicated to the applicant by the Office of Graduate Admissions. If offered acceptance, the applicant will have 10 days to submit a $1,000 deposit to reserve a seat in the program. Applicants placed on the continuing candidate list will be reviewed in subsequent committee meetings and will be informed of any status updates as applicable.

Careful attention is paid to the requirements listed above and the interview day which works to assess an applicant's ability to work as a team member, ability to problem solve, written communication skills, cultural awareness, awareness of the profession, personal development, motivation for the profession, academic ability, interpersonal skills, critical thinking abilities, verbal communication, and professionalism.