Admission Requirements

Requirements and Criteria
 

Prerequisite Coursework
 

General/ Principles of Biology 1 and 2 with Lab      Human Anatomy with Lab      Human Physiology with Lab      Microbiology with Lab      Medical Genetics/ Genetics      General Chemistry 1 and 2 with Lab      Organic Chemistry 1 with lab      General Psychology      Abnormal Psychology       Biostatistics or Statistics

8 Credits 4 Credits 4 Credits 4 Credits 3 Credits 8 Credits 4 Credits 3 Credits 3 Credits 3 Credits

• All pre-requisite coursework must be obtained from a regionally accredited institution in the US. 

• If Gen Biology 2 is unavailable at the undergraduate institution where you are obtaining your undergraduate degree, General Zoology with Lab or Cell Biology with lab may be substituted.

• A combined full year Anatomy & Physiology 1 and 2 with labs will meet this requirement.

• Only grades of C or higher are acceptable for all prerequisite coursework.

• Anatomy, Physiology and Microbiology must be completed within the last 7 years.

• Candidates may be conditionally accepted with up to two outstanding prerequisites remaining.  All coursework must be completed prior to matriculation with a grade of C or better.

• Candidates may strengthen their application by completing any of the following recommended courses:
  Medical terminology, sociology, pathophysiology, embryology, immunology, histology, endocrinology, bacteriology, virology, neuroscience, cell biology, organic chemistry 2, medical ethics, speech.

Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology 7 Year Requirement
The UAMS Physician Assistant Program has specific pre-requisite courses that are required of all applicants entering into the program.  This requirement is to ensure that all applicants enter into the program with the same general background.  The 7 year requirement for anatomy, physiology and microbiology is to ensure that the knowledge of the applicants is fairly recent.  The PA Program is a very intense and condensed curriculum and expects the students to enter the program with a solid foundational background.  This is to ensure student success in the program and reduce attrition.  While work experience in specific areas will be an advantage to the applicant, it will not substitute for the required coursework.
 

Survey Courses and Online Courses

1. Survey courses do not meet the prerequisite requirements.

2. Online courses are permitted for pre-requisite courses but not for the laboratory component of the course.

Online Laboratory Pre-Requisite Courses
The UAMS Physician Assistant Program has a policy that we do not accept online laboratory courses for the pre-requisite course requirements.  This requirement is not because of concern for quality of the online lab courses.  This requirement is warranted because of the hands-on experience that we want applicants to obtain. The program expects applicants to enter the program with a proficiency in utilizing a microscope, handling a scalpel and acquiring the tactile skills and dexterity needed to perform clinical and lab procedures in the program.  Experience with dissection techniques and laboratory chemicals fosters the importance of understanding laboratory protocols, safety issues, and fosters an understanding of the unpleasant smells and environment that is a part of science and medicine.  For this reason the program does not accept online lab courses and does not grant exceptions to this requirement.  Pre-requisite courses that do not have a laboratory component may be taken online.
 

Advanced Placement/ Transfer Credits

1. No transfer credits are accepted from other degree programs or physician assistant programs.

2. There is no advanced standing permitted in the PA program.

3. Required pre-requisite coursework graded as Pass/ Fail or credit obtained by CLEP Examination or Advance Placement (AP) will not be accepted.

Advanced Standing
The UAMS PA Program does not grant advance standing to any applicant admitted to the program.  No didactic or clinical phase courses will be waived and no transfer credit for any previous coursework will be permitted even though it may be similar or identical to coursework in the PA Program.  All courses in the curriculum are designated as required and must be completed by every student enrolled.
 

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

The GRE must be completed within the last 5 years from the application deadline with verbal, quantitative and analytical writing scores. A combination of scores from separate exam dates may not be utilized.
 

Patient Care Hours
Clinical Experience of 500 hours demonstrating direct patient care is required. The experience does not have to be paid or full-time experience.  Volunteer hours may count towards this requirement.  The following are some accepted categories of experience:
 

* Direct patient care is defined as actively working with patients and having a direct influence of care on a specific patient.  Example activities include eliciting histories, taking vital signs, drawing blood, performing procedures, providing personal hygiene, etc.  While shadowing a PA or physician is highly recommended to gain a better understanding of the medical profession, shadowing cannot count towards direct patient care.
 

Letters of Recommendation
Three letters of recommendation are required for the application.

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