Physician Assistant Program at Duke University: General Information

Duke University PA Program is a participant in CASPA (Centralized Application Service for PAs). To apply to our program, you must complete a CASPA application and a Duke supplemental application. The CASPA application will be available May 1. The deadline for the CASPA application is Oct. 1, 2008, and the Duke supplemental application deadline is Nov. 15, 2008, for the class entering in August 2009. Once the CASPA application has been received by the Duke University PA Program, the candidate will be e-mailed instructions on how to access the web-based supplemental application.

Priority in application review and interview selection will be given to those applicants who have completed their CASPA application and all supporting documentation by August 15, 2008.

As the population of the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse, cultural diversity within the physician assistant profession is highly valued, because PAs interact with patients and families from diverse backgrounds. The PA Program is committed to recruiting and matriculating minority and disadvantaged students for careers as physician assistants. Additionally, the PA Program is committed to recruiting and matriculating students from underserved AHEC areas (Area Health Education Centers) in North Carolina.

Duke’s Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The ARC-PA is sponsored by the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, and the Association of Physician Assistant Programs.

Admission to the Duke PA Program is very competitive. The following information describing recent candidates will allow prospective applicants to realistically assess their chances of admission, and to plan accordingly. For the PA class entering in 2007, 570 CASPA applications were received. One hundred and thirty-two applicants were interviewed. Sixty applicants accepted the offer of admission for the Fall 2007 entering class.

The ranges of academic and experiential qualifications for the middle 50 percent of accepted applicants for Fall 2007 were as follows:

Although this represents the range of qualifications among accepted candidates, each application is evaluated on its individual merits. Evidence of academic potential, knowledge of the health care system, motivation, personal maturity, self-assurance and good interpersonal skills will weigh strongly in the admission decision.

Applicants to the Duke PA Program should be aware that all courses within the curriculum are required, no transfer credit is accepted, and no credit is granted for pre-admission experiential learning. Only full-time students are admitted to the curriculum.