Prepare for Physician Assistant Program Admission
Please note: Cal Poly Pomona does not offer any Physician Assistant program. The program is listed here merely for the purpose of providing general information about this program to interested CPP students.
Physician Assistants (PAs) are health care professionals who practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed physician. PAs provide physical exams, order and administer tests, make diagnoses, and treat illnesses. PAs work in a variety of settings including hospitals, long-term care facilities, and surgical centers. They are qualified to practice in over 60 specialty areas.
Prerequisites for most PA programs
The following prerequisites must be completed prior to matriculation in the PA Program. They are:
- Bachelor's degree
- Minimum cumulative overall G.P.A. of 2.5 with minimum pre-requisite GPA of 2.7
General Course Prerequisites include the following. However, each program has its own requirements, so check spcific programsfor their requirements. To plan for your class schedule, please visit our "Class Schedule and Action Timeline" page for details.
- 1 full year of English (Composition component required)
- 1 year of inorganic chemistry with Labs
- 1 year of biology with Lab
- College Algebra
- Human Anatomy
- General Psychology
- General Sociology
- Physiology (human/vertebrate/organ)
- Basic Microbiology with Lab
- General Statistics
- Spanish
- Genetics
- 1 year of humanities (i.e. Art, Music, Ethics, Philosophy, Foreign Languages, Religion)
- Clinical Health Care Experience (direct patient contact experience) about 1000 hours
Strongly recommended: Medical Terminology, Biochemistry with Lab, Immunology, Other Biology courses, Organic Chemistry
Also recommended: Join CPP Pre-Physician Assistant Club
Tests Needed:
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) required by certain schools
Personal Competencies for Admission and Matriculation into PA school
Here is a link to the personal competencies(PDF) described for admission and matriculation into the Western University of Health Sciences College of Health Sciences Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPA) program
PA Schools in California
- California Baptist University
- Chapman University
- Charles R. Drew University
- Dominican University of California
- Loma Linda University
- Marshall B. Ketchum University
- Samuel Merritt College
- Southern California University of Health Sciences
- Stanford University
- Touro University - California
- University of California Davis
- University of the Pacific
- University of Southern California
- Western University of the Health Sciences