- Ryan Donaldson ’15
- Hometown: North Canton, Ohio
- Major: Medical Technology
When I graduated from high school, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. I was interested in becoming a medical technologist, and heard that Mount Union had an outstanding medical technology program.
Admission Requirements
Physician Assistant Studies Program
1. Degree: Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university. Applicants with degrees from any discipline are welcome to apply to the PA Program as long as the prerequisite coursework is complete (see below).
2. GPA: Overall GPA of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 scale and a cumulative 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale in prerequisite coursework. Overall and science GPAs greater than 3.0 are preferred.
3. Prerequisite Coursework:
| Prerequisite Course | Mount Union Course Equivalents |
Semester Credit Hours |
| English Composition | EH 100 OR EH 120 |
3 |
| General Psychology | PY 110 | 3 |
| General Biology I and II with labs or higher level biology courses | BI 140 BI 270 |
8 |
| Anatomy and Physiology I and II with labs* | BI 210 BI 211 |
8 |
| Genetics | BI 240W | 2-4 |
| Inorganic Chemistry with lab | CH 111W | 3-4 |
| Organic Chemistry I with lab | CH 231 | 3-4 |
| Elementary statistics or Biostatistics** | MA 123 PY 201 |
3-4 |
| Microbiology with lab | BI 305 | 4 |
| Medical Terminology*** |
All prerequisite coursework must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. No grade of “C-” will be accepted.
All prerequisite science and math coursework must have been completed within the past 10 years. Coursework older than 10 years will be reviewed on a case by case basis for acceptance.
* One semester of Human Anatomy PLUS one semester of Human Physiology plus labs can substitute for Anatomy and Physiology I and II.
** Elementary Statistics cannot be replaced by any other math (like calculus)
*** Medical Terminology requirement may be met via a proficiency exam given on the day of the interview. Failure of the proficiency exam will require the student to complete and pass a self-directed medical terminology course prior to matriculation.
4. PA Shadowing Experience: All applicants to the PA program must complete 40 hours of shadowing a NCCPA-certified physician assistant prior to application to the program. The applicant is responsible for the arrangement of the shadowing experience. Documentation verifying the shadowing experience must be submitted with the supplemental application to the program. Applicants with more than the minimum 40 hour requirement will be preferred. Click here for shadowing form.
5. Supplemental Application to be submitted to the Mount Union Office of Admissions by the application deadline.
6. Completed application via the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) submitted by the October 1 deadline.
7. Graduate Record Exam (GRE): General Exam. Please designate code 5966 on the GRE registration. Test scores should not be older than 3 years. While there is no minimum GRE score required for admission, the competitive candidate will have scores above the 50th percentile. Combined scores >300 (new scale) are preferred.
8. Ability to meet the Technical Standards of the program: See Technical Standards link for details.
9. Three letters of Recommendation submitted via the CASPA web site: One recommendation must be from a practicing physician or physician assistant.
10. For International Students Only
Foreign Transcripts: All transcripts from an institution in any country other than the United States must have a course-by-course evaluation, plus determination of letter grade equivalence. Either agency listed below may be used for foreign transcript evaluation:
| World Education Services P.O. Box 745, Old Chelsea Station New York, NY 10113-0745 Phone: (212) 966-6311 Fax: (212) 739-6139 Toll Free: (800) 937-3898 Web: http://www.aes-edu.org/ |
Education Credentials Evaluators PO Box 514070 Milwaukee, WI 53203-3470 Phone: (414) 289-3400 Fax: (414) 289-3411 Web: http://www.ece.org/ |
- a. Official TOEFL scores – 550 or above on the paper-based test. 213 or above on the computerized test and 100 or above on the internet test are required for citizens of non-English speaking countries.
- b. U.S. visa information if currently residing in the United States
11. Background Check: Students must request and pay online for a criminal background check prior to program matriculation. Information will be provided upon acceptance.
12. Patient Care Experience: Is not required, but is preferred.
13. Preference: Preference will be given to Mount Union graduates who meet all other admission pre-requisites. Up to 20% of the 25 available seats in each entering class may be granted to Mount Union graduates in a preferential manner, if all other admission requirements are met.
14. Priority Admissions – Mount Union Physician Assistant Studies Program offers priority admissions to some applicants. Please see Priority Admissions section for details.
15. Note: The Mount Union Physician Assistant Studies Program does not offer credit for experience.
16. Note: There is no advanced placement within the Mount Union Physician Assistant Studies Program.
17. Note: The PA Program does not accept transfer credit from a student previously enrolled in another PA program, nor does it accept experiential credit. All students accepted in the PA program must satisfy all requirements of the didactic and clinical years of study.