Mission Statement

The Marshall University Physician Assistant Program is dedicated to providing high-quality medical education to develop a competent physician assistant workforce to meet needs in primary and specialty care. Graduates of our program will contribute to the quality of life in their communities and regions through excellent health care. Building upon this foundation, we strive to fulfill the need for care in rural underserved areas and to engage our physician assistants in lifelong learning in an academic community that promotes diversity.

Prospective Students

For additional information, please visit our website.

The Physician Assistant program at Marshall University is a non-thesis, 28-month graduate-level program awarding the Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant (MMS PA) degree upon completion.

Applicants will be evaluated using the applicant’s academic record, Casper assessment, recommendations, entrance exam, personal statement and interview. Consistent with our mission, applicants who are West Virginia residents will be given additional points in the admission rubrics.

Marshall University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, physical or mental disability, marital or family status, pregnancy, veteran status, service in the uniformed services (as defined in state and federal law), religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity or gender expression in the administration of any of its educational programs, activities or with respect to admission or employment.

Rolling Admission

Admission is selective and operates on a rolling admission cycle. Therefore, it will benefit applicants to complete their applications early. All applications verified (by CASPA) prior to the October 1 deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Please note that although an application may be verified by CASPA, Marshall's PA program has additional requirements as outlined on its website (i.e. three letters of recommendation, Casper scores, and official entrance exam scores). Applications that are not verified by CASPA by Marshall’s Physician Assistant program admission deadline will NOT be considered. Decisions to reject or offer an interview to the applicant will be made using a rubric designed to be objective.

Applicants who are offered an interview will receive notice via email to the email address listed on the CASPA application. Interviews will be scheduled on a rolling basis. Rejection notices will be sent via mail to the applicant's current address listed on the CASPA application. Invited applicants will be given an interview date, provided a Marshall University supplemental application and questionnaire to be completed as well as a technical standards document to review and sign.

Advanced Placement

No advanced placement is granted in the program. All courses must be taken in the Marshall University Physician Assistant Program.

Application Deadline – October 1, 2024

Applicants who wish to join the cohort in January 2025 must have their CASPA application verified by October 1, 2024.

Prerequisites

Baccalaureate degree from an accepted accredited U.S. institution: no specific major is required so long as the prerequisites are successfully completed.

Required minimum overall GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale) overall, as calculated by CASPA
Required minimum science GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale), as calculated by CASPA
Required minimum prerequisite coursework GPA of 3.0 (4.0 scale), as calculated by Marshall University’s PA Program 

Prerequisite coursework. All prerequisite coursework should have been taken within the last 10 years. No Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or College Level Examination Program (CLEP) coursework will be accepted in lieu of taking the courses themselves. All courses must be taken for a letter grade and be passed at the C or better level; a C minus is not acceptable. Applicants who are currently enrolled in required undergraduate prerequisite courses, or obtaining their bachelor’s degree, may apply for preliminary admission. Once all required courses are successfully completed, prior to the designated start term of the application and as evidenced by an official transcript from the sending institution, those applicants may be regularly admitted to the program.

The credit hours (cr) of the following prerequisites are considered equivalent to semester hours. Please take this into consideration if you are taking courses using a different system. Quarter hour system prerequisite courses must equal the listed semester hour requirements. To calculate semester credit hours, multiply the number of quarter hour credits by 0.667.

Prerequisite coursework notes:

• Combined Human Anatomy and Physiology courses are accepted in lieu of separate Human Anatomy with lab and Human Physiology courses. However, applicants must take two semesters of Anatomy and Physiology with associated labs (totaling 8 cr).
• All prerequisite courses must have an assigned letter grade and not Pass/Fail or CR/NC.
• While the program encourages in-person labs, both in-person and virtual labs will be accepted.
   

Recommendations. Three recommendations are required, and these recommendations are used in the application evaluation process. They must be submitted through CASPA and be from recommenders who can attest to the applicant’s abilities to succeed, such as the capacity to learn, work ethic, and/or educational or professional goals. Recommendations should NOT be from family members or friends.

Entrance exam – Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The MCAT may be substituted for the GRE. GRE/MCAT scores must be less than five years old at the time of application. There is no minimum score required, and the GRE/MCAT is not weighted heavily within our application process, but preference is given to applicants who rank in the higher 50% on their entrance exam. Official scores must be submitted electronically to CASPA directly from ETS using Marshall’s CASPA code—4752. Visit the CASPA Official GRE Scores webpage to learn how to submit your official GRE scores. Visit the CASPA Official MCAT Scores webpage to learn how to submit your official MCAT scores.

Personal statement. This statement is required and must be submitted through CASPA. Personal statements are utilized in the application review process, and preference is given based on content and structure. (CASPA has added an optional “Life Experiences Essay” which is NOT required by our program and is therefore not utilized within the application review process.)

Official transcripts. Official transcripts from all institutions of higher learning attended are required and are to be submitted through CASPA.

CASPA and supplemental application. Complete both the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) application and Marshall’s PA program’s supplemental application; this includes the non-refundable supplemental application fee ($40 for domestic applicants and $150 for international). The supplemental application will be completed only by applicants who are invited for and accept an interview. Interviewees will be expected to complete and submit their supplemental application at the time of their interview.

Casper assessment. All applicants applying to the Marshall University Physician Assistant Program are required to complete the Acuity Insights (Casper test only) for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

Casper, through Acuity Insights Assessments, is a standardized, multi-part online assessment that measures different competencies and attributes that we believe are important for successful students and graduates of our program. The Casper assessment will complement the other tools that we use for applicant review and evaluation. By implementing the Casper assessment, we are trying to further enhance fairness and objectivity in our selection process.

Acuity Insights Assessments consists of:

• Casper: 90-110 minute online, open-response situational judgment test
• Duet: 15-minute value-alignment assessment

NOTE: Duet is not required to apply to our program. 

You will register for the Casper assessment using code CSP-10101-U.S. Professional Health Sciences. Visit https://acuityinsights.app/ to create an account, access the Acuity Insights assessments, and for test dates and requirements.

Marshall University’s PA program strongly encourages applicants to take the assessment early as there is a limited number of slots for each day the exam is offered, and their application cannot be considered complete until the exam is taken and scores are received.

An applicant does not need to wait until their CASPA application is completed and/or verified to take the Casper assessment. Since our program utilizes a rolling admissions cycle, it is advantageous to complete your application as early as possible. Casper scores are utilized in the application review process, and preference is given to those with higher scores on this assessment.

Casper assessment results are only valid for a single admissions cycle and must be taken again if an applicant is reapplying. Since there is a cost associated with Casper, if there is a financial hardship that would otherwise prevent an applicant from taking the test, please contact reach out through paprogram@marshall.edu. 

PA shadowing. Shadowing a current physician assistant in the field is encouraged, but not required. Shadowing can help an applicant better understand the role of a physician assistant. If invited for an interview, the applicant will be expected to briefly discuss the role of a physician assistant.

Basic computer skills. Skills must include the use of email and web-based and electronic searches.

Patient care experience. Not required.

Accreditation

At its June 2023 meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) placed the Marshall University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Marshall University on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review in June 2025.

Probation accreditation is a temporary accreditation status initially of not less than two years. However, that period may be extended by the ARC-PA for up to an additional two years if the ARC-PA finds that the program is making substantial progress toward meeting all applicable standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance.

Probation accreditation status is granted, at the sole discretion of the ARC-PA, when a program holding an accreditation status of Accreditation - Provisional or Accreditation - Continued does not, in the judgment of the ARC-PA, meet the Standards or when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened.

Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements in a timely manner, as specified by the ARC-PA, may be scheduled for a focused site visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn.

Specific questions regarding the Program and its plans should be directed to the Program Director and/or the appropriate institutional official(s).

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-marshall-university.