Admissions

Your baccalaureate degree must be completed at an institution of higher education accredited by a TUC-approved accrediting body (See Institutional Accreditation Requirement below).

 A 3.0 minimum cumulative GPA for all college-level coursework completed.

A 3.0 minimum combined science GPA from all colleges attended. All Biology, Chemistry and Physics grades are utilized to calculate science GPA or “BCP Total” as it appears on the CASPA application.

Prerequisite Coursework

In addition to having a baccalaureate degree, an applicant must have the 52 credits of required prerequisite courses listed below with grades of “C” or better* from an institution of higher education accredited by a TUC-approved accrediting body (see Institutional Accreditation Requirement below).

An applicant may apply to the program with prerequisite coursework in progress, but all prerequisite coursework and baccalaureate degree must be completed at least one full semester prior to the start of the program. Pending coursework may delay review of the candidate's application.

Distribution of 52 credits of specific prerequisites:

+ Applicants must provide catalog descriptions for English courses not taught by an English department (e.g. through a core curriculum or honors program) if requested by the Office of Admissions.

Please note:

• All prerequisite science courses must be designed for science majors. Consideration of science courses designed for non-science majors, e.g., liberal arts, nursing, respiratory therapy, is at the discretion of the Admissions Committee.
• Applicants whose sciences prerequisites are more than 10 years will be required to take refresher courses unless exempted by the Admissions Committee.
• The PA program does not award academic credit for experiential learning.
• Meeting the minimum requirements listed above does not guarantee an interview or admission to the program.
• All incoming students are required to have a personal computer for daily instructional and testing purposes

All applicants are required to pay a $25 supplemental application fee using the payment instructions provided through CASPA. The payment transaction number must be included on the supplemental application forms before they are uploaded to CASPA. Separate supplemental application documents and a separate fee will be required for each Touro location that you choose to apply for through CASPA.

Three (3) letters of recommendation. One of the letters of recommendation must be from a physician assistant. In order to confirm applicants have a clear understanding of the working relationship between physicians and physician assistants, the letter of recommendation from a PA cannot be substituted with a letter from another health care provider (i.e. RN, NP, paramedic)

You need to submit verification of a minimum of 200 hours of direct patient contact.

Verification of a minimum of 200 hours of direct patient contact health care experience, either volunteer or paid, must be documented on the Patient Contact Form and uploaded through CASPA. We recommend retaining a copy of this completed form for your records. It may be used if you are applying for a separate Touro location or a future admissions cycle. Direct patient contact hours must involve interaction with patients and can be obtained in a number of ways and may include either paid or volunteer positions. Some examples include, but are not limited to: volunteer in an Emergency Department transporting patients, volunteer in a doctor's office performing height and weight, vital signs, etc medical assistant or nurse's aide phlebotomist Licensed Practical Nurse or Respiratory Therapist EMT or Paramedic.

PA shadowing is recommended but not required (documentation forms can be found in the Supplemental Application on CASPA).

If you choose to shadow a PA, the best way to acquire shadowing hours is to find a hospital that employs PAs that also has a volunteer program and sign up as a volunteer. While working as a volunteer, it is then often possible to shadow a PA in the facility. Many private offices that employ PAs will also allow a student to shadow the PA.

(see CASPA(opens in a new tab) application for guidelines)

When possible, updated transcripts should be submitted to CASPA during the established academic update windows. Transcripts for courses completed after the CASPA academic update window has closed may be submitted electronically to the Office of Admissions (tuc.admit@touro.edu).