Medical College of Wisconsin Physician Associate Program Admissions Information

All applicants must submit a completed application to the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). A secondary application may be required. Determination of the timeline for applications is currently underway.

The program is in the planning phase and will be applying for provisional accreditation with ARC-PA. The program is currently not accredited and will not matriculate its first class of students until provisional accreditation is granted.

Baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution in the United States is required.

Recommended minimum cumulative GPA is 3.0 as calculated in CASPA.

If an applicant’s GPA is lower than 3.0, it’s recommended they contact the MCW PA program prior to applying.

Required Pre-Requisite Courses

• Anatomy- 1 semester with lab is required.
  If Anatomy & Physiology are combined, 2 semesters of Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab are required.
  Mammalian, vertebrate, or animal anatomy or physiology do not fulfill this requirement.  
• Physiology- 1 semester with lab is required.
  If Anatomy & Physiology are combined, 2 semesters of Human Anatomy and Physiology with lab are required.
  Mammalian, vertebrate, or animal anatomy or physiology do not fulfill this requirement.
• Biology- 2 semesters are required; at least one with lab.
• Chemistry- 2 semesters with lab are required.
  Chemistry for Science majors is preferred.
  Chemistry lab is required, even with AP credits.
  AP credit is accepted for one semester only.
• Organic Chemistry- 1 semester is required; with lab recommended.
• Biochemistry- 1 semester of upper-level Biochemistry is required.
• Statistics- 1 semester is required.
  AP credit is accepted.
• Microbiology- 1 semester with lab is required.
• Psychology- 1 semester is required.
  AP credit accepted.
• English-  2 semesters of English composition or literature are required.
  AP credit is accepted for one semester only.
• Medical Terminology-  1 course (at least 1 credit) is required.
  Online courses or 100-level courses from community and/or technical colleges are accepted.

The MCW PA program will accept online coursework from regionally accredited institutions.

Applicants applying to the MCW PA program may have only two outstanding prerequisite courses at the time of the application submission. For the outstanding courses, the candidate must pass all pre-requisite courses as stated above. The recommended minimum cumulative GPA is 3.0, as calculated in CASPA, will include the outstanding prerequisite courses.

Recommended Pre-Requisite Courses
The following courses are recommended to equip an applicant with the additional knowledge fundamental to being a PA student. These courses are not required and will not substitute for any required courses listed above.

• Advanced Biology- 2 semesters of biological sciences are highly recommended.
  Examples include advanced biology, neurology, genetics, endocrinology, immunology, and zoology.
• Physics- 1 semester is recommended.
• Writing- 1 semester of a scientific, technical, or healthcare-focused writing course is recommended.
• Scientific Inquiry/Research Course- 1 semester is recommended.

All applicants are encouraged to spend 16 hours shadowing a Physician Assistant/Associate to ensure they have knowledge of the PA profession and the role of the PA on the health care team.

All applicants must have a minimum of 800 hours of patient contact and health care experience. All hours must be documented in CASPA. Health care shadowing does not count toward clinical hours.

Examples of patient contact hours include but are not limited to: Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Community Health Worker, Dietitian, EMT, Emergency Room Technician, Home Health Aide, Laboratory Tech, Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)/Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN), Medic/Corpsman, Medical Assistant, Medical Scribe, Midwife/Doula, Paramedic, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomist, Physical Therapy Assistant, Respiratory Therapist, and Surgical Technician.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the MCW PA program if they are unsure whether their health care experience will qualify.

All applicants will be required to submit a personal statement in CASPA.

All applicants must submit one letter of reference from each of the following people:

1. PA/NP/Physician
2. Educator/academic advisor
3. Character reference

Letters should speak to the applicant’s ability to be a successful student and future clinician. The character reference should describe overall character qualities that are essential to academic success in the PA program such as: integrity, honesty, resilience, determination, and empathy. 

No letters of reference from relatives will be accepted.

Individual interviews will occur before an applicant is accepted into the program.

All applicants are encouraged to spend time volunteering in their community. These hours can be entered into CASPA.

GRE, PA-CAT, and MCAT are not required for admission, but applicants can submit scores.

The MCW PA program is not accepting transfer or international students. There are no opportunities for advanced placement – no pre-requisite coursework completed by students prior to enrollment in the MCW PA program will substitute for content in the didactic or clinical phase of the curriculum. During the first cycle, MCW will only accept applications from US Citizens, US Permanent Residents, and DACA recipients.