Physician Assistant Program

The Physician Assistant program at Samuel Merritt University participates in the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). The link to the CASPA website is provided for you at the bottom of this page.

Please join us for an Information Session and learn more about the Master Physician Assistant Program at Samuel Merritt University!

When:  Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Time:  5:00 pm
Where:  3100 Telegraph Avenue, Room 4002
              Oakland, CA  94609
RSVP:  FULL.  This event is now full and we will not be able to accept any more RSVPs.

Faculty, current PA students and a representative from the Office of Admission will present and answer your questions.  Space is limited so please RSVP by April 19, 2013.  We look forward to seeing on campus!

Virtual Drop-Ins Now Available - Join a MPA online chat room

We are pleased to offer virtual drop ins to prospective MPA students.  You are welcome to virtually “drop in” and ask quick, general questions of an Admission Counselor.  This is entirely online.  Dates and times are:

• March 19, 10-11 am
• March 27, 3-4 pm
• April 4, 9-10 am
• April 9, 1-2 pm
• April 16, 10-11 am
• April 23, 2-3 pm
• April 30, 2-3 pm
• May 14, 10-11 am
• May 23, 2-3 pm
• May 30, 10-11 am
• June 5, 2-3 pm
• June 10, 11 am - 12 pm
• June 21, 9-10 am
• June 24, 1-2 pm

Please note that all times are Pacific Standard Time (California time zone).

Please click here for more information about the VIRTUAL DROP INS.  After you have reviewed the general chat information and are ready to start the chat (see dates and time above), click here to join the chat.

Admission Requirements
Diversity within the PA profession is greatly valued and the PA department is committed to recruiting a class which is representative of the community in which we operate.

Admission to the PA department is competitive. Each applicant is evaluated based on evidence of potential, knowledge of the culture of health care, personal integrity, motivation and interpersonal skills.

Master Physician Assistant

Fall 2012 Data

* Data is based on enrolled students.

Admission Statistics Admission Statistics about all of SMU's programs are available on our statistics at a glance website.

Applicants must meet the following prerequisite criteria:

• A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution. College seniors are eligible to apply provided they will receive their degree prior to matriculation into the PA program. Applicants coming straight from undergraduate studies may be at a disadvantage because of the likelihood that they will have fewer months of health care than other applicants.
• The preferred standard for applicants is a cumulative all-college GPA of 3.0.
• The preferred standard for applicants is an overall science GPA of 3.0.
• Foreign medical graduates and students educated abroad may apply for admission. Regardless of previous professional training and academic degrees earned, Samuel Merritt's MPA curriculum must be completed in its entirety. The TOEFL is required of all Foreign Medical Graduates. All foreign academic transcripts must be evaluated by a U.S. evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluations Services (NACES) for degree, course content, semester unit equivalencies, and science and cumulative GPAs prior to the application deadline. Information on NACES may be found at www.naces.org. For all applicants educated outside the United States it is strongly recommend that they should complete one semester (15 units) of graduate or undergraduate work at a U.S. college or university. In addition, all other admission requirements must be met.
• Prerequisite courses:
  1. A minimum of 16 semester units of biological sciences are required including human anatomy*, human physiology* and microbiology*. The remaining units can be in any area of the biological sciences.
  2. A minimum of 8 semester units of chemistry* are required. This must include 4 semester units of Inorganic Chemistry and 4 semester units of Organic Chemistry.
  3. Statistics (three semester units)
  *Strong preference will be given to those who have completed these courses within the past 5 years. This recency recommendation is less stringent for those currently working in the health care field. It is preferred that students only have one prerequisite course in progress in Spring.
• The TOEFL is required of all Foreign Medical Graduates and scores should be submitted with the application. The need for a TOEFL for other applicants will be assessed based on information provided by applicants on their application. If required a score of 100 (Internet Based Test) is required and scores should be provided.
• GREs are not required.

Health Care Experience
The MPA program defines health care experience as direct, "hands on" patient contact. This can be gained through paid experience as an EMT, paramedic, health educator, RN, patient care attendant or nurse's aid, clinic assistant, Peace Corps participant or other cross-cultural health care training, technologist, therapist, clinical research coordinator, etc. To a lesser degree, volunteer experience may be considered. Most competitive applicants will have a minimum of 1000 hours of related direct patient contact.

References
Three references are required. References from at least one health care provider with whom you have worked closely are strongly recommended. Relatives and personal friends should not complete the reference forms.

Interviews
Upon receipt of your complete application packet from CASPA, the review process will begin. Approximately one hundred individuals will be invited to interview and a class of thirty-six will be accepted. Academic potential, personal integrity and maturity, interpersonal skills and knowledge of the health care system in the United States are all part of the evaluation process and weigh heavily in the final Admission decision.

Notifications
All candidates are notified of the Admission Committees decision in writing. Candidates who are interviewed are notified as early as two weeks after the interview. Deposits of $350.00 are required to reserve a place in the class. This deposit is non-refundable and is attributed to the first semester's tuition.

Each year an alternate list is generated from the candidates who have interviewed. Should an accepted candidate withdraw from the program prior to the start of classes, the position is offered to the highest ranked candidate on the alternate list.

Applying for Admission
The MPA program at Samuel Merritt University participates in the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). Applicants apply online at www.caspaonline.org

Applications for the upcoming Fall are generally available on the CASPA website beginning May 1st. First consideration will be given to applicants who have submitted all required documents to CASPA by Oct. 1st. Applications submitted to CASPA after Oct. 1st will be considered on a space-available basis and admission will be closed after a suitable cohort has been identified.

For applicants with questions about completing the online application:
CASPA's "Help" contact number is (617) 612-2080
CASPA's e-mail address is apply@caspaonline.org.

For a representative Application/Admission Processing Timeline for fall 2013, please click here.

Use the following mailing address to send your completed material to CASPA: