In This Section

Requirements

The Physician Assistant Program will complete a holistic review of applicants to the program, including, but not limited to, review of the CASPA application, personal statement, complete academic history, reference letters, response to Temple-specific supplemental questions, healthcare experiences, evidence of intellectual curiosity, and resume/CV. Special consideration will be given to students from educationally or economically disadvantaged backgrounds and those who have demonstrated exceptional service to the community or country through the military (active, veteran, or reserve), Peace Corps, Teach for America, and AmeriCorps.

Technical Standards

All applicants must meet the technical standards for admission, progression and graduation from the LKSOM Physician Assistant Program. Each applicant is expected to review the “Technical Standards for PA Program” and confirm on the LKSOM Supplemental Questions portion of the CASPA application that they are able to meet the technical standards without, or with reasonable, accommodation.

Students must meet all the requirements listed below:

Temple University Graduate Application

In addition to the CASPA, applicants to the LKSOM Physician Assistant Program must complete a Temple University Graduate Application by the January 15th deadline and pay the non-refundable  Application Fee ($60). NOTE: Your CASPA application will not be considered complete without this application.  After submission and payment, your Temple University Graduate application will be matched with your CASPA application.

To complete your Temple University Graduate Application:

  1. Create an account at https://apply.temple.edu/MED_GRAD/Account/Create 
  2. For academic program select “Physician Assistant MMS”
  3. For entry term select “Summer I 2025”
  4. Answer all required questions
  5. Submit and pay the $60 application fee

Citizenship

Due to issues that place limitations on U.S. government-subsidized financing for medical education, Temple will only consider applications from U.S. citizens or non-citizens who have permanent resident or refugee/asylee status with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Applicants with permanent resident or refugee/asylee status need to upload a copy of official USCIS documentation when completing the CASPA application.

Academic Infractions

Applicants who indicate that they were the recipient of an Academic Infraction on the CASPA application are required to contact the school where the Academic Infraction occurred to provide an official statement. This document should outline the details of the event and the outcome of the institutional process. Once a CASPA application has been verified, students who responded YES will receive an email outlining instructions for submission. Applicants with an Academic Infraction will not be reviewed until this letter has been received.

Applicants who receive an Academic Infraction after the CASPA application has been submitted are required to send a letter to the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions with details of the event. We will only accept Academic Infraction statements emailed directly to our office from the appropriate institutional official (Dean of Students, Judicial Officer, etc.).  

Baccalaureate Degree

By May 2025, all applicants must complete a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or Canada. Applicants who complete prerequisite coursework or a degree after submitting a CASPA application must send official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended directly to the LKSOM PA Office of Admissions. These transcripts should indicate the final degree awarded and are required for matriculation.

Prerequisite Coursework

  • The Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University Physician Assistant Program understands the unique circumstances that students faced during coursework taken during the spring, summer, and fall 2020 academic terms.  If a student were to complete any 2020 coursework with a grade of P, as opposed to a letter grade, it would not negatively impact the student in our evaluation process.
  • All prerequisite coursework must be completed prior to May 2025 with a grade of at least a “C” or 2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
  • “General” coursework denotes the first two courses in the subject sequence for science majors.
  • Students with incomplete prerequisites may apply; however, there may be a delay in the application review process if two (2) or more pre-requisite courses are pending. The deadline for completing prerequisite coursework is May 2025, and submitting a final official transcript to LKSOM PA Office of Admissions by May 28, 2025. 
  • All science and math prerequisites coursework must be completed within 10 years prior to June enrollment.
  • At least four science courses must be completed within 4 years prior to June enrollment.  
  • One course cannot be used to satisfy multiple prerequisite courses.
  • All prerequisite coursework must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university in the United States or Canada.
  • Prerequisite coursework can be fulfilled with on-campus or online courses.
  • The LKSOM Physician Assistant Program does not offer advanced placement based upon transfer of credits for academic work completed at other institutions of higher learning or upon credit from experiential learning.
  • Each prerequisite course can be satisfied by one full semester, typically 3 to 4 semester-hours. For applicants on a trimester schedule, 5-6 quarter hours at minimum satisfy a prerequisite.
  • To identify your coursework that fulfills our prerequisite requirements, students are required to complete the Program Materials: Prerequisites Section of the CASPA application.

Prerequisite Coursework

  • General Biology I & II (with lab)
  • General Chemistry I & II (with lab)
  • Organic Chemistry (with lab)
  • Biochemistry
  • Human Anatomy*
  • Human Physiology*
  • Statistics
  • Psychology
  • Medical Terminology
  • 2 or more courses from the following list: Genetics, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, Cell Biology

 

 *Two Combined Human Anatomy/Physiology courses may substitute

Grade Point Average

 

Temple University Graduate School Policy requires a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale from all colleges and universities. The PA Program will use the verified CASPA overall GPA to evaluate an applicant’s academic credentials.

Applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements, but have a wide array of outstanding attributes, may be considered in the context of our holistic review. If the Admissions Committee determines that the applicant may be suitable for admission into the program, an appeal may be made through the Dean for Graduate Studies at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and the Temple University Graduate Board. The PA Program Director may file an appeal regarding this Graduate School Policy in exceptional circumstances.

GRE (code 1746) or MCAT

For entering 2025 the GRE, MCAT, or PA-CAT will be optional. Applicants who still choose to send scores to the Physician Assistant Program at Temple University or post them in CASPA will have their scores added to their records, but they will not impact their application status. This change applies to all applications submitted for the entering 2025 application cycle. This policy will remain under review and could change for application cycles beyond 2025.

Letters of Recommendation

LKSOM participates in the CASPA Letter Evaluation Program. All applicants are required to submit three letters of recommendation as part of the official CASPA application, but are welcome to submit additional letters through CASPA.

Letters of recommendation requirements include:

  1. One letter from a professor with whom you completed science course work
  2. One letter from a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner. (A letter from a physician assistant is preferred but not required)  
  3. One letter from the applicant’s choice of recommender

Submission of letters of recommendation from friends, relatives, personal physicians, or instructors who do not possess a personal, supervisory knowledge of the applicant is discouraged.

Healthcare/Patient Contact Experience

To be considered for an interview, a minimum of 400 hours of clearly documented volunteer or paid direct hands-on patient contact experience (PCE) or witnessing care first-hand are required. Virtual experiences may add benefit to your educational experiences, however, they will not count toward the minimum hours required. These hours must be accrued by December 2024. The following list are examples of patient contact/healthcare experiences. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of healthcare experiences.

  • Athletic Trainer (Certified)
  • Cardiovascular Perfusionist
  • Caregiver
  • Dietician
  • ED Technician
  • EMT/Paramedic
  • Exercise Physiologist
  • Foreign Medical Graduate – Physician
  • Home Healthcare Aid
  • Medical Assistant/Technologist
  • Medical Corpsman
  • Medical Research with patient contact
  • Medical Scribe
  • Midwife
  • Nurse
  • Nursing Assistant/CNA
  • Orthopedics Technician
  • Phlebotomist
  • Physical Therapist/Aid
  • Radiologic Technologist
  • Respiratory Therapist/Technician
  • Surgical Technician
  • X-ray/Ultrasound Technician

In addition to the 400 hours of PCE, it is strongly recommended that one complete at least 20 hours working with or shadowing a PA.

Community/Volunteer Service

Applicants are recommended to have a minimum 50 hours of community service activities, not including those performed in high school. All types of community service and volunteer activities will be considered.

Resume or CV

Applicants are required to upload their resume or CV in the Document Upload section of the CASPA application; acceptable file formats are .doc, .docx, .rtf, or .pdf.

For more information about the Physician Assistant Program's accreditation status, please view the Accreditation Statement.