Accreditation

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Rutgers University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Rutgers University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2026. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at: http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-rutgers-university/. See the Rutgers University PA Program ARC-PA Student Attrition Table.

State Authorization and Professional Licensure Disclosure:

The Rutgers School of Health Professions MS Physician Assistant meets the professional licensing requirements of the following states: AL, AK, AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY, PR

Data on our outstanding pass rates can be found here.

We are extremely proud of our class of 2024 for achieving a 100 percent ultimate pass rate.

Where are our alumni now?
You can find our alumni working in various specialties including dermatology, cardiology, critical care, emergency medicine, family medicine, gastroenterology, hematology/oncology, internal medicine, neurology, occupational medicine, pediatrics, physical medicine/rehabilitation, various surgical sub-specialties, and more.

Many of our graduates continue to live and work in New Jersey, but we also have alumni who represent our program in various other states including California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Virginia.

Mission Statement

Foster excellence in humanistic patient care through dynamic PA education, scholarship, and service in a supportive and collaborative environment.

Vision

Recognized as an inclusive leader of exemplary education and healthcare delivery.

To meet our mission and achieve our vision, the Rutgers University Physician Assistant Program emphasizes the following values:

• Excellence in teaching and mentorship
• Service to the community
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion
• Academic and professional integrity
• Personal and professional wellness

Revised 2022

Provide broad-based, high-quality education to graduate PAs who are well-prepared to work in a variety of settings.

The intense curriculum includes 114 credits across three years (33 months), with a full year of clinically-focused basic science preparation. Clinical rotations are offered in nine disciplines: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Emergency Medicine, Intensive Care Medicine, Psychiatry, Ambulatory/Family Medicine, and a Medical Sub-specialty. In addition, students choose two electives.

Graduates of the Program work in all types of settings, including inpatient units, emergency departments, rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, community health centers, freestanding surgical centers, solo physician practices, single specialty physician practices, and multi-specialty physician practices.

Goal #1: Graduates of the program will successfully pass the PANCE with a first-time pass rate above the national mean and an ultimate pass rate of 100%.

Outcome: The Class of 2024 achieved a first-time pass rate of 98% and an ultimate pass rate of 100%. The National Exam Pass Rate for 2024 was 92%.

Foster humanistic care with an emphasis on beneficence.

The Program includes a threaded humanities curriculum, including opportunities for self-reflection. Students evaluate clinical sites on their ability to develop skills in providing humanistic care.

Goal #2: Greater than 90% of clinical sites surveyed by students will provide them with the opportunity to develop their skills in delivering humanistic care.

Outcome: 94.81% percent of clinical sites were evaluated by the Class of 2024 as either Strongly Agree or Agree with the statement: “The clerkship provided me with an opportunity to develop my skills in providing humanistic patient care.”

Promote a culture of diversity.

The student body includes diverse individuals from across the country representing various ethnic and racial groups. The Program consistently continues to focus recruitment efforts on identifying applicants from underrepresented groups.

Goal #3: The percentage of students of color will exceed the national mean for each cohort as reported by PAEA.1

PA Education Association, By the Numbers: Student Report 6: Data fromthe 2022 Matriculating Student and End of Program Surveys, Washington, DC: PAEA; 2024. doi: 10.17538/ SR2022.0006

Outcome: The percentage of students of color for the past five cohorts is listed below and compared to the national mean:

• • Class of 2022: 42%; National Mean: 17.1%
  • Class of 2023: 39%; National Mean: 19.7%
  • Class of 2024: 44%; National Mean: data not yet available
  • Class of 2025: 56%; National Mean: data not yet available
  • Class of 2026: 52%; National Mean: data not yet available
  • Class of 2027: 45%; National Mean: data not yet available

Foster the value of service to the community and the profession

Students are required to participate in a wide range of community service activities, and many surpass the minimum requirements. Program faculty demonstrate the importance of community service and to the profession in various capacities on the local, state, and national levels.

Goal #4: Students will have completed at least 30 hours of community service by program completion.

Outcome: The Class of 2024 completed over 3,789 hours of community service, ranging from 30 to 963 hours and a mean of 75.8 hours

The Rutgers University Physician Assistant Program is committed to the ideals of excellence in fostering an enriching learning community of students, faculty and staff from a broad spectrum of nations, cultures, and historical perspectives.  Diversity is an integral component of the human experience, and encompasses but is not limited to issues of race, ethnicity, culture, social class, national origin, gender, age, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation.  Our goal is to create a consciousness of diversity reinforced with equity and excellence through our policies and practices at the Physician Assistant Program.

Rutgers PA Program Committee on Inclusion and Diversity (CID) distributes monthly emails to members of the program to highlight various cultural celebrations and educate peers on the significance of these days. CID hosts several events throughout the year, including an annual international potluck. Other events that the program has celebrated include Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Mardi Gras, Holi, and World Hijab Day. Check out our Facebook page (Rutgers Physician Assistant Program) to see pictures from our events!

The 2025-2026 admissions cycle, for Fall 2025 entry, will open in April 24, 2025 on  CASPA: https://caspa.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login.

• Applications for Fall 2026 entry must be complete and verified by CASPA by Auguste 1, 2025. As per the CASPA website, it is suggested that applicants complete their application in CASPA 6-8 weeks prior to the program’s deadline to ensure that they meet the deadline. Please use the CASPA Quick Start Guide for more information regarding complete versus verified applications.
• A complete application includes three letters of recommendation, all supporting materials (including all post-secondary transcripts), and a $50 supplemental fee. Once the application is marked complete by CASPA, it must be verified by CASPA prior to the application being sent to the PA Program for review. The program does not make exceptions for applications completed, but not verified by the deadline; applicants are encouraged to submit their application based on CASPA’s guidelines.

Please note that the $50 supplemental application fee is non-refundable.

Prerequisite Coursework

Applicants are required to complete all prerequisite coursework and earn a letter grade of C or better by the end of the spring semester prior to their start of the program. It is preferable that applicants complete all the required prerequisites prior to applying to the program; however, applicants with incomplete prerequisites may apply. Competitive applicants will not have more than two outstanding science prerequisite courses at the time of application submission.  Applicants with outstanding prerequisites must state how they will satisfy the prerequisites by the end of the spring semester prior to the start of the program.

We accept CLEP credit for our General Psychology (CLEP course: Introductory Psychology) and English Composition (CLEP course: College
Composition). Applicants must earn a score of 50 or higher for credit.

Please click here to view our guidelines for prerequisite coursework.

Course Prerequisites for the 2025-2026 Admissions Cycle:

• General Psychology (3 credits)
• English Composition (3 credits)
• Statistics (Preferably Applied Statistics or Biostatistics from the Psychology, Biology or Math Depts.) (3 credits)
• Human Anatomy (3-4 credits)*^
• Physiology (3-4 credits)*^
• Microbiology (3-4 credits)
• Biochemistry (3 credits)
• Additional upper-level biology coursework (6-8 credits)

* Applicants may either take Human Anatomy and Physiology as two separate subjects or take a two-semester sequence of Anatomy & Physiology I and Anatomy & Physiology II.

Please click here for additional examples of courses that may fulfill our additional upper-level biology requirement.

If an applicant has not taken any coursework within the previous 10 years, refresher courses, specifically in the biological sciences, are recommended. When considering which courses to choose, we suggest the following: genetics, microbiology, immunology, cell biology, and biochemistry.

Essay

A well written, grammatically correct essay is expected.  The personal narrative is the applicant’s opportunity to share background information that is not readily evident in other sections of the CASPA application.  Individuals are encouraged to discuss any of the following that might apply:

• Motivation to become a PA
• Unique experiences, hobbies, or passions that shaped their life
• Change of profession or military experience
• Success in overcoming adversity
• Experience leadership roles or teamwork
• Positive attributes they bring to the PA program and, ultimately the PA profession

Letters of Recommendation

Three Recommendation Forms must be completed through CASPA.  Applicants should seek recommendations from individuals who are thoroughly familiar with their academic ability, their work ethic and professionalism, and their general characteristics.  Examples may be an instructor, a previous employer or volunteer supervisor, a community leader, etc.  Many of our more highly competitive applicants have recommendations by healthcare providers such as physicians and PAs.

Patient Contact Experience:

Patient contact experience is required. The program has not established a minimum number of hours of health care experience, but the most competitive applicants will be able to document experience working directly with patients. Examples of the types of experiences that are recommended include, but are not limited to, medical assistants, nursing assistants/aides, nurses, EMTs, patient care technicians, physical therapy assistants, and hospice volunteers.

PA Shadowing

It is important that applicants spend time with PAs to ensure a sufficient understanding of the PA role in the delivery of healthcare. Therefore, applicants to the PA Program must be able to demonstrate familiarity with the PA profession through direct experience, which is best done through shadowing.

There are no minimum-hour requirements for healthcare experience, patient care experience, PA shadowing, or volunteer work. The objective of accruing hours is not necessarily to obtain specific skills, but rather to ensure the applicant has had adequate exposure to healthcare, patients, and the role of the PA. When the Admissions Committee considers volunteer work, we seek applicants who have shown consistent commitment to serving the community. To get an idea of the number of hours accrued by the most competitive applicants, please refer to the FAQ section to view the data from one of our recent matriculated classes.

Transfer Credits and Advanced Placement

Transfer credits from domestic, graduate courses are rare and are determined on a case-by-case basis. Students must provide documentation of courses taken to ensure equivalency to the courses that the Rutgers PA Program provides. We do not consider these requests until after the applicant has received an admissions offer and secured a seat in the class through deposit.

After deposit, students interested in advanced placement should submit a letter of request to the PD, who, in consultation with the Course Director (CD) and the Director of Didactic Education (DDE) will evaluate and decide on all requests. Written and/or oral exam(s) may be required of the student as recommended by the CD prior to rendering a decision on advanced placement. Advanced Placement may consist of exemption from all or part of a course.

Domestic Students who Studied Abroad

Please see the following guidelines for applicants who attend(ed) a U.S. institution, and studied abroad for one or more semesters:

The following situations do not require a foreign transcript evaluation:

• The transcript student’s home institution includes the grades and credits from each course taken during the semester abroad.
• The student took fewer than 3 non-prerequisite science courses while studying abroad.

Foreign transcript evaluations are required if one or both circumstances are met:

• The student took a science prerequisite course while studying abroad.
• The student took 2 or more semesters abroad.

The following circumstance is handled on a case-by-case basis:

• The student took 3 or more non-prerequisite science courses while studying abroad.

International Students:

Rutgers PA program accepts the TOEFL iBT Test. TOEFL Essentials will not be acceptable in the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

Please click here to view the PA program’s TOEFL Policy.

All foreign transcripts must be evaluated by an evaluation agency and submitted to Rutgers University PA Program in support of your application. Applicants may use any agency that is recognized by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (hyperlink: https://www.naces.org/members). World Education Services, Inc. is recommended.

As per the CASPA Applicant Help Center, some Canadian schools do not require a foreign transcript evaluation. Please click here for further guidance.

In addition the the criteria listed in the Admissions for those with a Baccalaureate Degree (above), applicants must also complete the criteria below for the MS/MPH. The program allows students to complete both their graduate Physician Assistant studies and Master of Public Health degree in four years (including summers).

• Students must apply to both programs separately and gain admission to both programs.
• Applicants should contact the MPH program to determine if they are required to submit GRE scores with their application.
• Students accepted into this dual-degree track would attend the Physician Assistant program part-time for two years, while attending the MPH program part-time.
• Students may begin this program in the summer prior to beginning the Physician Assistant program or in the first fall semester.
• During the third and fourth years, students attend the Physician Assistant program full-time and complete their fieldwork for the MS and MPH. There are multiple concentrations available for MPH students to choose from. Please contact the School of Public Health for more information.
• In addition to applying to CASPA, you must also apply to the School of Public Health through the Schools of Public Health Application Service (SOPHAS)

Undergraduates in partner schools have an opportunity to enter the PA Program prior to earning a Bachelor’s degree. Designed as “3+3” program, the first three years are spent as an undergraduate at a partner school, and the last three years are spent in graduate school in the PA Program. 

Rutgers Physician Assistant program accepts 3+3 applications from the following institutions: Rutgers University SAS-NB and New Jersey Institute of Technology. Rutgers University SAS-NB should contact the Health Professions Office for more information.

Attention Rutgers-SAS 3+3 applicants: As per the Degree Tracking Sheet on the 3+3 application, you are required to obtain a signature from your 3+3 Advisor from the Health Professions Office. Therefore, you should contact the Health Professions Office to schedule a meeting with Dr. Elizabeth Vogel to discuss the application process: hpo@dls.rutgers.edu.

3+3 applicants:

• 3+3 applicants apply to Rutgers PA program in the summer before their junior year using CASPA, which opens in April each year.  The opening date for the 2025-2026 application cycle, for Fall 2026 entry, will open on April 24^th, 2025.  The deadline for complete and verified applications is August 1^st, 2025.
• All 3+3 students are encouraged to apply to the CASPA Fee Assistance Program.
• 3+3 applicants will follow the same instructions as traditional applicants, with up to two exceptions:

1. All 3+3 applicants are required to submit a signed Degree Tracking Sheet to the Documents section in CASPA.  Instructions are included in the CASPA application portal.
2. 3+3 applicants who took the SAT and/or ACT must submit their official score reports to the Documents section in CASPA.  Instructions are included in the CASPA application portal.

• 1. • Learn how to obtain SAT scores
     • Learn how to obtain ACT scores

• Within the supplemental application, there is a question that asks if the applicant is a 3+3 applicant. It is essential that 3+3 applicants answer “yes” to this question.

• Competitive applicants will be selected to interview.  Applicants who are accepted after the interview have the following contingencies: minimum 3.2 GPA, meets all requirements for the undergraduate degree before the beginning of the fourth year, and completion of all prerequisite coursework by the end of their spring semester of junior year.
• Following junior year, accepted 3+3 students start their first year of the PA program in August.  3+3 students transfer credits to their undergraduate institution after they complete the first year of the PA program to accumulate enough credits to graduate with their baccalaureate degree.

Course Prerequisites for the 2025-2026 Admissions Cycle:

• General Psychology (3 credits)
• English Composition (3 credits)
• Statistics (Preferably Applied Statistics or Biostatistics from the Psychology, Biology or Math Depts.) (3 credits)
• Human Anatomy (3-4 credits)*^
• Physiology (3-4 credits)*^
• Microbiology (3-4 credits)
• Biochemistry (3 credits)
• Additional upper-level biology coursework (6-8 credits)

Please click here for additional examples of courses that may fulfill our additional upper-level biology requirement.

* Applicants may either take Human Anatomy and Physiology as two separate subjects or take a two-semester sequence of Anatomy &
Physiology I and Anatomy & Physiology II.

^Rutgers New Brunswick School of Arts & Sciences 3+3 applicants only: As per the PA program’s agreement with Rutgers-NB SAS,  01:119:116 General Biology II will fulfill the Physiology requirement if the applicant takes a separate Human Anatomy course.

We schedule two Information Sessions per year and we participate in the PAEA Virtual Fair.  We highly encourage prospective students to attend one of these sessions.  We will post the dates of our events on our website as soon as we determine them.  We provide campus tours to applicants during the interview session.

We ask prospective applicants to thoroughly review the program website and the FAQs, which will answer most of the commonly asked questions. If you still have specific questions after the website review, you may call the program 732 235-4445 and make an appointment to speak to a member of the faculty prior to applying to the program.

Applications for Fall entry must be complete and verified by CASPA by August 1st of the prior year. 

As per the CASPA website, it is suggested that applicants complete their application in CASPA 6-8 weeks prior to the program’s deadline to ensure that they meet the August 1st deadline. Please use the CASPA Quick Start Guide for more information regarding complete versus verified applications.

A complete application includes three letters of recommendation, all supporting materials (including all post-secondary transcripts), and a $50 supplemental fee. Once the application is marked complete by CASPA, it must be verified by CASPA prior to the application being sent to the PA Program for review.

The program does not make exceptions for applications completed, but not verified by the deadline; applicants are encouraged to submit their application based on CASPA’s guidelines.

There is no one “thing.” We practice holistic admissions, which means that we look at all aspects of the application that demonstrate that the applicant is well-rounded.  We do our best to consider an applicant’s capability to thrive academically.  In addition, we assess how his/her background and professional goals align with our program’s mission and core values.  The most competitive applicants have a high GPA, strong science background, quality patient care experience, and evidence of serving their community, ideally in a leadership capacity.

We accept applicants with varied backgrounds and experiences, provided they demonstrate strong science course work and meet our other requirements.  We have students who enrolled in the program directly from their undergraduate studies but we also have students who are on their second and even third career.

Yes, we consider every applicant who meets our minimum requirements.  When reviewing the academic preparation section of the application, the Admissions Committee considers the number and rigor of science courses the applicant took and the grades the applicant earned in those courses.

While enrolled in the didactic part of the PA Program curriculum, matriculated students take a minimum of 18 credits of graduate level science each semester. Therefore, the most competitive applicants have an academic history of achieving high grades while taking several upper level classes at the same time. The Admissions Committee suggests that prospective students take more than one science class at a time to prepare for the academic rigor of the program.

There are no minimum-hour requirements for these categories. The objective of accruing hours is not necessarily to obtain specific skills, but rather to ensure the applicant has had adequate exposure to healthcare, patients, and the role of the PA. When the Admissions Committee considers volunteer work, we seek applicants who have shown consistent commitment to serving the community.

To get an idea of the number of hours accrued by the most competitive applicants, please view the table below for data of a recent class of matriculated students. Note that the quantity of hours is evaluated with the quality of hours, and that these components are just part of the application which undergoes a holistic evaluation process.

Class of 2020

The program requires patient care hours to ensure that the applicant is familiar with what it is like to care for patients.  The Admissions Committee considers direct hands-on experience to be more desirable; for example, an EMT is more hands-on exposure than a transport volunteer.

It depends on the tasks that the scribe performed.  The Admissions Committee would not consider scribing to be direct patient care if the scribe is simply transcribing the history that another provider elicited.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to fully explain their role for each health care experience so that the Admissions Committee can make an informed assessment.

It is important that applicants demonstrate an understanding of the PA role. This can be accomplished either by working alongside a PA in a clinical setting or via shadowing. Ideally, shadowing of PAs in various specialties would provide the applicant with a breadth of experiences.

The Admissions Committee also considers the applicant’s background in relation to the PAs that he/she shadows.  For example, if the applicant’s patient care hours are as a physical therapy aide, he/she would be a stronger applicant if he/she shadowed a PA who works in a field other than orthopedics.

One of the core values of the Rutgers PA Program is selflessly giving back to the community.  The most competitive applicants are those who demonstrate consistent involvement within their community, not only for their own accumulation of medical experience, but rather for the good of their community.

Volunteering after disaster relief, tutoring special needs children, assisting in a house of worship, having a leadership role in a sorority, organizing a fundraiser for battered women, and donating time at a homeless shelter or a food bank are all examples of serving the community.

We do accept coursework completed more than 10 years ago but there are a few reasons why it is recommended to update your knowledge with more recent information. First, recent coursework demonstrates an applicant’s current aptitude to excel in rigorous science courses which is particularly helpful for those applicants whose past GPA and performance do not reflect their highest academic potential.

Second, scientific information changes over time. Enrolling in courses that are more current helps to prepare applicants for the rigorous basic science year where baseline knowledge is expected upon entry into the program. When considering which courses to choose, we suggest the following: genetics, microbiology, immunology, cell biology, and biochemistry.

We will accept online prerequisite coursework that is from a regionally-accredited institution. Please click here to check your school’s accreditation status:  (select ‘Regional Accrediting Organizations’ under ‘Accreditor Type’).

We wish that we could take every qualified applicant but unfortunately, with only 50 seats and up to 1,500 applications each year, we cannot accept everyone who meets our requirements. Here are a few suggestions to consider:

• Complete our Applicant Self-Assessment Questionnaire.
• Review the GPA, patient care, PA shadowing, and volunteerism information about our accepted class (in Preparing to Apply section above).
• To improve your GPA, consider taking upper level science courses, preferably at a 4-year university.
• Consider the quantity, quality, and variation of your hands-on patient care experience.
• Consider doing more to serve your community if you have limited non-medical volunteerism.
• Consider applying to more PA programs for the next admissions cycle to increase your chance of being accepted to one.
• If you choose to reapply to our program for the next admissions cycle:
  • Reflect on the Applicant Self-Assessment Questionnaire.
  • Update your application including your essay, new letters of recommendation, etc.
  • Make it clear to the Admissions Committee what you have done to improve your application from the prior year.
  • Review our website again. We reserve the right to change our admissions criteria from year to year.

Rutgers School of Health Professions (SHP) awards several scholarships. By completing the SHP Online General Scholarship Application, applicants are considered for each of the scholarships which they are deemed eligible for. Some scholarships may require an additional personal statement (i.e. SHP Alumni Association Military/Veteran Appreciation scholarship and the PA Judith Yannariello scholarship). Click here to learn more about scholarship opportunities within SHP.

There are also external scholarships available including, but not limited to: PA Foundation Scholarships (through AAPA), National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship Program, Indian Health Service Scholarship Program and scholarships through the armed services. As students approach graduation, there are loan redemption/loan forgiveness programs available through the NHSC and Primary Care Loan Redemption Programs.

Many scholarships are based on financial need and it is highly recommended that applicants complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Please contact Rutgers Office of Financial Aid for more information: (732) 235-4689

It is important for our applicants to understand that the Rutgers PA Program does not spread out a typical 24-27 month PA curriculum over 33 months.  We have a very rigorous curriculum. Our program offers extensive basic science coursework over the first year, which we believe prepares our graduates well for clinical practice. Other reasons for a robust 33-month program include longer rotations for some specialties and vacation time during both the didactic and clinical phases.

Most classes are for only physician assistant students, provided by doctorally-prepared scientists and clinical experts (physicians, PAs, etc.) in their medical specialty. In addition, students participate in interprofessional education groups including medical students, and students from nursing, pharmacy, physical therapy, and other health professions.

Our program offers academic tutoring, cognitive skills instruction, and confidential behavioral health counseling at no cost to the student.  Upon the start of the program, we match first-year students with second-year students, who serve as peer mentors.

Please click here to learn more about campus housing.  We send incoming students a housing questionnaire and redistribute the information that we receive from the questionnaire to our students, so that they can network and find housing together if they are interested in doing so.

Yes, participation is required in many off-campus activities. In addition, many of our clinical sites are not accessible by public transportation. All students must have reliable personal transportation.