FAQs

Students can earn either a Master of Science in Physician Assistant or a combined Bachelor of Science/ Master of Science in Physician Assistant at graduation. With the B.S./M.S. program, both degrees are awarded at completion of the entire curriculum.

We have 36 seats in our program.

Yes. Students can be wait-listed for one year. During that time, if a seat becomes available, it is offered to a student on the wait-list.

In lecture-based courses, our ratio is 1 instructor to 36 students. In our lab-based courses, the faculty to student ratio is 1 instructor for every 13 students. In our problem-based learning course, we work in small groups of 8 students.

No. We do not offer a part-time status in our program.

During the didactic - learning in the classroom - phase, classes occur usually between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. There are occasional evening classes and occasional Saturday classes as well. During the clinical phase of the program, students are on-site seeing patients a minimum of 40 hours per week. During some rotations, there are evening, night call or weekend requirements.

Yes, students must complete 300 hours of health care experience before entering the graduate Physician Assistant Program. The health care experience can be paid or voluntary, but must involve direct work with patients. There is a shadowing requirement for entrance to the graduate program as well. You need to shadow at least three physician assistants in different practice settings for 3-4 hours per experience.

Please visit the B.S./M.S. Admissions or the M.S. Admissions sections of our site.

For a full list of University tuition and fees and financial aid opportunities, please call the Office of Graduate and Adult Studies or Financial Aid, or visit their pages on this site.

Working while enrolled in the PA program is strongly discouraged due to the rigorous nature of the program.

No.

No, advanced placement is not offered in the PA program.

See the Admissions page for current application deadlines.

No.

Our faculty members have more than 113 combined years of clinical practice experience.

In order to be considered for admission, you must meet the minimum requirements. We encourage you to retake courses to increase your GPA before applying.

We do not review transcripts prior to application. Upon application, an unofficial review is done to calculate GPA. Upon acceptance, a Physician Assistant Program faculty member will officially review your transcripts and will notify you of any outstanding prerequisites.

No.

Yes. You must retake any prerequisite course that you completed more than seven years ago.

The program's first class began in 1998 and graduated in 2000.

Our program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) through March 2014.

96% of Seton Hill's Physician Assistant Program graduates who have taken the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) in the past five years have passed on their first attempt. Click to View Pass Rate Summary Report (pdf).

No, our clinical coordinators schedule all required rotations in sites where we have affiliation agreements. 

Yes, a $450.00 deposit is required to hold your seat. This non-refundable deposit will then be applied to tuition when you matriculate.