Yes. The Direct Entry Physician Assistant Studies Program offers the opportunity for early provisional acceptance to exceptional high school students wishing to accelerate their academic and career paths to become physician assistants. Application is made during the senior year of high school. Accepted applicants go on to complete a five-year (3+2) or six-year (4+2) Bachelor of Science program in biological sciences/Master of Science program in physician assistant studies at Le Moyne College provided that they maintain or exceed an overall and overall science grade-point average of 3.4 (as defined by CASPA) and meet the direct patient contact hour requirement. The program is competitive and space is limited. This direct entry admission option is available only to incoming first-year students. More detail on this program can be found here.
Le Moyne can accept AP Credit for prerequisite credit so long as the credit is clearly noted on your previous college transcript(s) as having been accepted by your former institution toward a specific content area or a score report from the College Board is presented (upon our request). For example, AP Credit in English often is reflected as a English Composition course on transcripts.
Most commonly we see AP Credit requests for Introductory Biology, English Composition/Technical Writing or Social Science prerequisites.
Le Moyne requires four upper level biology courses to be taken within the last five years (from the time of application). At minimum, two of these courses must have a lab component.
Students applying for entry to our program in fall 2022 should show Upper Level Biology coursework from the years 2016 - present.
Upper level biology coursework must be at the 200 level or higher (to indicate advanced, upper level course credit) and hold a biology course coding (such as BIO, BIOL or BI). Coursework in other science categories such as nursing, kinesiology, radiology, exercise science, etc.) are not considered most competitive.
If no other advanced biology coursework is present, we will accept a maximum of one course from the "other sciences" category toward the upper level biology prerequisites. Courses considered for this exception should be from our recommended/highly recommended upper level biology courses [Highly recommended: cell & molecular biology, microbiology, genetics, anatomy & physiology. Recommended: neurobiology, endocrinology, pathology, evolution.]
As a reminder, Le Moyne evaluates students on a semester-credit equivalency. In general, four semester credit hours is the minimum semester credits for a course with a lab.
We often receive applications from students who have studied at schools that do not use a semester credit hour system and instead use quarter credit, trimester credit, etc.
In these instances, we will translate/equate your previous credit to semester hours during our evaluation. This often means accepting more than one course on your record to satisfy one prerequisite class. There are many online tools you can use to translate your credits to semester credit hours to assist in your planning.
No, the standards for patient care will remain the same. We understand the stress this pandemic has caused for many applicants. In order to uphold the quality of our program, we need to see our incoming students enter the program with a strong foundation in patient care experience. Students are encouraged to visit the Patient Care Guide for additional guidance.
Le Moyne has historically been able to accept online coursework, understanding that rigor of a program is part of the conversations when making admission decisions. We often tell students that whenever possible, an on-campus experience will prepare a more competitive application.
However, these experiences are affected due to the pandemic. Please know the PA program at Le Moyne is sensitive to the reality that colleges have had to move instruction online and will be sensitive to those requirements on a student's application.
We can accept Pass/Satisfactory grades for prerequisite work however it is not recommended.
Showcasing P/S grades will make your application significantly less competitive and will provide difficulty in preparing a strong academic profile for your application.
If “Pass” or “Satisfactory” grades are present, the program will need to see documentation from the students transcript indicating the P/S grade meets a minimum of a "C". If it is unclear, additional documentation may be requested of the student.
We understand that some may feel tempted to request a "P/S" grade as they do not feel strongly about their current grade due to transitions to online learning and disruptions due to COVID-19. Our committee would prefer to see your letter grade, even if it is a bit lower than your traditional performance academically. We are aware of the anxieties and stress put on students due to the pandemic and encourage students to pursue a letter grade whenever it is available to them.
TOEFL score of 213 (computer-based exam) or 550 (paper-based exam) or 79 (internet-based exam) is required of all applicants whose native language is not English, with the following exceptions:
- Graduation from an accredited American high school - OR-
- Graduation from an American two- or four-year college or university - OR-
- Completion of 15 graduate credits at an American college or university - OR-
- Completion of 60 undergraduate credits including 6 transferable credits of English at an American college or university
An applicant could be considered competitive with no more than two academic course prerequisites remaining/in the process of completion at the time of application. An applicant should also have 750 required direct patient contact hours completed at the time of application. A guide for patient care experience can be found here.
If an applicant is admitted conditionally with the completion of the prerequisites as the condition, all prerequisites must be finished before the program begins or the applicant must forfeit his/her place in the program.
No entrance exams are required.
Competitive applicants will have a minimum of 750 direct patient contact hours completed at the time of application. A guide for patient care experience can be found here.
The Le Moyne College Physician Assistant Studies Program does not grant advance placement, give credit for PAS courses or accept transfer of credit for PA courses. Previous health care experience is required, but no credit will be awarded for that experience.
New York State residents are not given admission preference. Le Moyne College is a private educational institution. Tuition costs are the same for all graduate students in the Physician Assistant Program.
An applicant could have already earned a bachelor’s degree or will earn one by the time the program begins in August. In addition, we offer an accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree program where an exceptional Le Moyne College junior working towards a bachelor’s degree in biology may apply to the master’s program without an earned bachelor’s degree. If admitted, the student completes the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in five years.