Physician Assistant Studies

Selection Process

Interviews

Interviews for the program will generally be conducted during the month of August.

Final Selection Process

A total of 25 students will be admitted to each class. 

Points will be awarded on the Admission Selection Rubric and candidates will be selected based upon the following criteria:

  • Cumulative Undergraduate, Prerequisite, and Science GPA
  • GRE scores (Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing) 
  • West Virginia residency status
  • Interview score (average score of two interviewers)
  • Strength of CASPA statement and responses to WVU-specific questions
  • Quality and relevance of health care experience (see detail below)

Preference will be given to individuals based on previous health care experience as follows, and in order of increasing preference:

  • No hands-on patient care (shadowing a physician or physician assistant)
  • Involvement in patient care team as a scribe
  • Hands-on patient care with limited need for professional judgment (patient care aid, medical assistant, physical therapy assistant)
  • Patient care involving assessment and requiring some professional judgement (emergency medical technician (EMT), respiratory therapist, dietician)
  • Patient care with independent decision-making and/or requiring significant professional judgement (paramedic, registered nurse)

In the event of a tie in the Admission Selection Rubric score, the following criteria will be applied in the order below until there is no longer a tie at the 25th position:

  1. West Virginia residency status
  2. Score on WVU mission question
  3. Prerequisite GPA

Final decisions regarding admission will be made by the Admissions Committee.

Please note that applicants who are offered admission will often have academic records which exceed the published minimum standards. 

Offers of Admission

Applicants accepted to the program will receive an offer of admission through their preferred email (as identified in CASPA) with a link to the online Declaration of Acceptance form. Those wishing to accept a seat in the class will have one week to complete the online Declaration of Acceptance form. Applicants accepting the offer of admission will be sent an invoice from the WVU Graduate Admissions Office for a non-refundable deposit of $1,000, which will be due within two weeks of receipt of the invoice. The deposit will be applied towards the first semester tuition.  Failure to pay the deposit within the required time period will result in forfeiture of the seat.     

An offer of admission may be revoked if an applicant’s application materials are found to be falsified.  An enrolled student may be dismissed from the program if the student’s application materials are found to be falsified, consistent with applicable policies or procedures as contained in the WVU Graduate/Professional Catalog section on Academic and Professional Standards.

Post-Acceptance Requirements

The physician assistant studies program at West Virginia University begins in the spring term (January). Students accepting a seat in the program must submit proof of compliance with all post-acceptance requirements or an acceptable plan to complete the requirements to the Assistant Director of Clinical Education by no later than the first day of orientation.  Students failing to meet these requirements may not be permitted to matriculate into the program.

Students completing a bachelor's degree or prerequisite course requirements in the fall semester preceding matriculation will be required to submit an unofficial transcript documenting degree conferral or prerequisite course completion by no later than the first day of orientation in January. Orientation is held the Thursday and Friday prior to the first day of class for the spring semester. The official transcript documenting degree and/or course completion is still required and must be received no later than the last day of class for the spring semester. Click here to view the West Virginia University academic calendar. Failure to complete this requirement may result in dismissal from the program.

In the event that a student is offered admission to the program after December 1st, the deadlines for submission of post-acceptance requirements will be adjusted. 

Health Sciences & Technology Academy (HSTA) Scholars

One HSTA tuition waiver will be offered by the physician assistant studies program if a HSTA scholar is selected for admission to the program through the published admission selection process.  In the event that more than one HSTA scholar is accepted for admission, the applicant with the strongest academic credentials (average of cumulative undergraduate GPA and prerequisite GPA) will be awarded the tuition waiver.