Physician Assistant Program at Duke University: Prerequisites

All prerequisite courses must be completed by December 2008 for the class entering August 2009.

The prerequisites for application to the MHS Physician Assistant curriculum include:

Undergraduate Degree

A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution is required. College seniors are eligible to apply, provided they will receive the baccalaureate degree prior to the August starting date of the PA program. College seniors or recent college graduates may be at a disadvantage because they often have fewer months of patient care experience than other candidates. Less than 14 percent of accepted applicants in 2006 were college seniors.

Those candidates who received their baccalaureate degrees from colleges and institutions outside of the United States must complete at least one year (30 semester hours) of additional undergraduate or graduate study at a U.S. college or university prior to application to the program.

Prerequisite College Courses

Applicants from all academic disciplines are welcome to apply, provided they meet the preparatory course prerequisites.

At least five biological science courses of three semester credits or four quarter credits each are REQUIRED. Of these five courses, at least one must be in anatomy, one in physiology, and one in microbiology. Courses in human anatomy and human physiology are preferred to courses of a more general nature, and courses with labs are preferred. To fulfill the remaining biological science course prerequisite, the PA Program recommends courses in genetics, cell biology, molecular biology, embryology, histology, or immunology. While none of the latter courses are specifically required, they provide a good foundation for the study of medicine.

At least two chemistry courses with labs are REQUIRED. Each of these courses must be at least four semester credits or five quarter credits each.

At least one statistics course of at least two semester credits or three quarter credits is REQUIRED.

All prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of Fall Semester 2008 (December 2008). All prerequisite courses must be completed with grades of “C” or better (not C minus). Courses for which credit was awarded by examination only are not acceptable toward any of the prerequisite courses.

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)

Official scores are required from the Graduate Record Examination general test (GRE) taken no earlier than January 1, 2004, and no later than October 1, 2008. No other test scores are accepted in lieu of the GRE. GRE scores are required of ALL candidates, including candidates who have already earned masters or doctoral degrees.

To submit GRE scores, use 5156 as Institution Code and 0699 as the Department Code in completing the Score Report Recipient section of the registration form. Candidates should request a pink score report form at the computer testing center, and should fill in the proper Duke codes to ensure delivery of scores.

In addition to the official GRE scores sent to the program, the candidate must self-report GRE scores on the Duke supplemental application. Therefore, candidates who have not taken the GRE in the past four years should plan ahead accordingly in scheduling the GRE, so that scores will be available for self-reporting. Applicants who have not taken the GRE in the past four years must take the GRE general test no later than October 1, 2008.

For further information on the GRE and registration forms, contact:

Experience Required

A minimum of 1,000 hours of patient care experience is required with direct, "hands-on" patient contact (e.g., EMT or paramedic, health educator, RN, patient care attendant or nurse's aide, clinic assistant, Peace Corps volunteer or other cross-cultural health care experience, technologist, therapist, clinical research assistant, etc.). 1,000 hours of patient care experience must be completed no later than October 1, 2008.

The following types of experience are NOT accepted toward the 1,000 hours of patient care experience: PA or physician observer or shadow, non-clinical research assistant positions, student clinical experience (student nurse, student EMT, student athletic trainer, or other health care student), student "intern" experiences, candy striper or junior volunteer positions, CPR or ACLS instructor, wilderness medicine instructor, patient transporter, pharmaceutical representative, ski patroller, life guard, aerobics instructor, unit clerk, insurance clerk, medical secretary or other clerical positions.