A PROGRAM FOR FUTURE PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS
If you’re interested in providing compassionate and personalized care as a P.A., Nova Southeastern University’s Physician Assistant Dual Admission program can help you reach your goals.
NSU’s P.A. program trains competent, caring medical professionals who are dedicated to improving health care quality and outcomes. Through clinical experiences and professional exposure, you’ll practice diagnosing illness, prescribing medications and developing treatment plans.
If you're looking for small classroom sizes, a little more one-on-one between instructor and student and hands-on experience ... this is the place for you.
Dimitrios Giarikos, Ph.D. | Professor, Department of Chemistry and Physics
With NSU’s Dual Admission P.A. program, you’ll earn your bachelor’s degree and your Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant in six years and three months. You’ll learn from medical experts and turn theory into practice by using advanced patient simulation technology and participating in clinical experience opportunities.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Dual Admission Physician Assistant program takes six years, three months (4+2, 3 months) to complete. Students who complete the program will receive a bachelor's degree and a Master of Medical Science (M.M.S.) in Physician Assistant. Candidates will follow a prescribed 4-year course of study in any undergraduate major and 27 months of training in the PA program at the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences.
Degrees Earned
You can earn any bachelor’s degree and your Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant (M.M.S.).
Interview Required
Students applying for Dual Admission must interview during Shark Preview Weekend, an exclusive admitted student event.
Program Length
in two years and three months.
Deadline to Apply
ELIGIBILITY
To be considered for this Dual Admission program, there are some requirements you must meet. Undergraduate Admission Requirements are for first-time freshmen students applying to earn a bachelor’s degree. This Dual Admission program is ONLY for first-time in college students, although college credits earned through advanced high school program may apply ( see “transfer credits through high school section below”).
Graduate Admission Requirements are the standards students need to maintain while earning their undergraduate degree to remain eligible for the graduate or professional program.
Undergraduate Admission Requirements
Graduate Admission Requirements
Keep your dual admission status while you earn your bachelor’s.
Dual Admission reserves your seat in NSU’s Physician Assistant program, but you must still complete a graduate application once you finish your bachelor’s degree.
Keep in mind that these are the basic requirements, and final determination of admission into the professional program is at the discretion of the College of Health Care Sciences.
Degree Required
You must complete a bachelor’s degree in any major you choose. Additional prerequisites may be communicated upon admission.
Required Test Scores
GRE: No less than a 153 on the verbal reasoning and quantitative reasoning sections, and no less than a 4.0 on analytical writing.
*All minimum test scores must be achieved on the same test attempt (no superscoring).
Undergraduate GPA
You must maintain a 3.2 cumulative and science GPA. You must also earn at least a C in each prerequisite course.
Calculation of cumulative and science GPA for the purpose of program eligibility for dual admission will not reflect the "grade forgiveness/repeated courses" policy; all grades for retaken courses will be included. The science GPA for dual admission purposes is composed of only those courses with BIOL, CHEM and PHYS prefixes.
Credits Required
You must earn at least 120 credits to enter the P.A. graduate program.
Additional Requirements
Transfer students are not eligible to apply to this Health and Medical Professions Dual Admission program. Only students coming to NSU in the fall semester as first-time college freshman applicants are eligible to apply.
College credits that were earned through advanced high school programs such as AP, IB or college academy—or in summer coursework following high school graduation, prior to attending NSU—may transfer to NSU. However, we strongly encourage students to take a majority of their specific science program pre-requisites at NSU to highlight their competency in these critical domains and maximize their long-term profile for future graduate/professional school candidacy.
Students who enter NSU with earned college credits through advanced high school programs may be able to complete their degree and program requirements earlier than scheduled and request to enter their graduate professional programs earlier as well.
Please contact your admissions representative for more details regarding high school transfer credits.
Please be advised that a student's initial course placement in mathematics, science or composition may impact the timing of the completion of all dual admission prerequisites and major courses, and could result in the need to take summer courses.
Ready for the Next Step?
Here’s how to apply.
Dual Admission is just one of NSU’s distinctive Premier Programs. These programs are designed to help highly motivated students accelerate their success.
You can apply for just about any combination of the following Premier Programs:
• Dual Admission
• The Fischler Academy of Education
• Huizenga Business Innovation Academy
• Razor’s Edge Scholars
You may apply for and be admitted into only one Dual Admission program for your first semester. Each program is unique and has its own eligibility requirements.
Apply for Undergraduate Admission
You can use the Shark Select Application or the Common App to apply to Nova Southeastern University.
Submit a Supplemental Application
Complete the supplemental Premier Programs application for fall entry.
Interview During Shark Preview
If you’re admitted to NSU and submit the supplemental application, you will be invited via email to choose which Shark Preview Weekend works for your schedule.