Physician Assistant Studies, Professional Certificate

Financial Aid: This program has not been approved by the U.S. Department of Education for eligibility for federal student aid. Students enrolled in this program may not be eligible to receive financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education (Pell Grants, SEOG, Federal Work-Study, Direct Loans or PLUS loans) or the Maryland Higher Education Commission (Educational Assistance Grants, Senatorial Scholarships or Delegate Scholarships). For current information on eligible programs, contact Financial Aid by calling 410-777-2203, emailing finaid@aacc.edu or stopping by a Financial Aid office.

Admission Requirements

1. Applicants to the Physician Assistant program must have a bachelor’s degree or higher conferred from a nationally recognized institution.
2. Completion of the GRE.
3. Completion of the following prerequisite courses with a minimum grade of B in each course: Statistics, General Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology 1, Anatomy and Physiology 2, Introduction to Psychology or Developmental Psychology, and General Chemistry or Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry. All prerequisite courses will be reviewed for equivalency to the following AACC courses: BIO 223, BIO 233, BIO 234, PSY 111 or PSY 211, CHE 111 or CHE 112 or CHE 113 or CHE 115 or CHE 213 or CHE 214 and MAT 135 or PSY 250. (A higher level biochemistry course may satisfy the chemistry prerequisite.) Course equivalency is determined by the college’s transcript evaluation process. All science courses must include a lab component. We require that the Anatomy & Physiology courses be completed within the last seven (7) years of the date the CASPA application is submitted. We recommend for your success in the program that you also take biochemistry, medical terminology and developmental psychology. Applicants are responsible for reviewing the listed prerequisites provided in the admissions information to ensure equivalency prior to submitting a CASPA application.Transcript evaluation services are not available.
4. Applicants to the Physician Assistant program must submit application materials and complete an application through the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) at www.caspaonline.org. Applicants are encouraged to apply by July 1 since the CASPA application process can take several weeks to be completed. Program requirements such as a bachelor’s degree or higher, minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0, GRE, and equivalency of the five listed prerequisites with a minimum grade of B or better must be reflected in the completed application to be eligible for consideration. AACC must receive the completed CASPA application by the deadline date of September 1. Applicants must also complete three (3) Letters of Recommendation, a Personal Statement and Patient Contact Experience history (a minimum of 1400 hours is preferred) in the CASPA application.
5. Foreign educated students must have their international college transcripts from all higher-level institutions attended evaluated by one of the following credential evaluators: ECE (Educational Credential Evaluators) at www.ece.org or WES (World Education Services) at www.wes.org. Please be advised that this process may take several months and must be completed in order to submit and complete the CASPA application.
6. Applicants whose native language or language of the home is not English must take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The minimum acceptable TOEFL score for admission is 250 for the computer-based test and 100 for the Internet-based test. Please note that TOEFL scores are only valid for two years. Official TOEFL scores must be reported on the CASPA application and be mailed to CASPA by the application deadline.
7. Please refer to the Physician Assistant website for detailed information regarding Physician Assistant admission requirements and process.

Academic Standards

All physician assistant students must receive a minimum grade of C in each physician assistant course (and maintain a 3.0 GPA). Students who receive a final grade below C in any physician assistant didactic course will be awarded a grade of F in the course and will not be permitted to continue in the program.

Selection Criteria

The selection criteria used to evaluate each applicant will include, but are not limited to:

• Cumulative GPA
• Natural science GPA and credits/hours
• Letters of recommendation
• Patient contact experience
• Community, military and/or civil service
• Conversational fluency in multiple languages
• Recommended courses
• GRE scores
• Interview

No selection decisions will be communicated via telephone and/or email. The decision of the Physician Assistant Admissions Committee is final.

A non-refundable $500 deposit is required upon acceptance to the program. This will be applied to your first term bill.

Technical Standards

Students who are provisionally accepted to this program of study will be required to submit a Health Examination Record completed by a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant validating that the student meets the technical standard of good physical and mental health as established by the School of Health Sciences, and verifying that the student is free of communicable diseases as evidenced by required immunizations/titers.

CPR

Students must successfully complete the American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR certification course by designated deadline.

Criminal Background Checks and Drug Screening

This program requires the satisfactory completion of a criminal background check and possible drug screening. For complete details, see the Health Sciences section of this catalog.

Readmission to the Physician Assistant Course Sequence

Students seeking readmission to the Physician Assistant program are referred to the PA Program Student Handbook. Specific requirements and eligibility must be met for consideration for readmission.

Advanced Placement or Transfer

Anne Arundel Community College’s Physician Assistant program does not offer advanced placement in or transfer into either the didactic or clinical portions of the program.

Health Insurance

Students are required to have individual health insurance coverage throughout the duration of the program.

As a requirement for graduation from the PA program students must successfully complete clerkships in all the following areas: history and physicals, clinical laboratory, radiology, internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and two electives.

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