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Master of Physician Assistant Studies at RVU

| Admissions | Master of Physician Assistant Studies | Application Requirements

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements prior to application. Any requirement below that is not completed prior to submitting the CASPA application will not be considered for review:

Citizenship
Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Bachelor’s Degree
Applicants must have earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States.

PA-CAT (Physician Assistant College Admission Test) **NEW AS OF 2023**
Rocky Vista University PA Program requires applicants to take the PA-CAT (Physician Assistant College Admission Test). The PA-CAT is a specialized test designed to measure applicant knowledge in key prerequisite science subjects typically required for PA school. For information about the PA-CAT and to schedule your exam, click here to visit their website. Additional information can be found in our RVU PA Admissions FAQ section.

     Step 1: Go to their website to register, pay and schedule your exam date for the PA-CAT.

  • Select Rocky Vista University PA Program from the list as the institution to receive your score report.
    • We do not accept scores sent to us by applicants. The program will receive official transcripts from the PA-CAT exam administrators (Exam Master) as long as our institution was selected by the applicant.
  • The PA-CAT exam must be taken by the time of submission of your CASPA application. This means you should not submit your completed CASPA application until you have taken the PA-CAT exam. Your application will not be reviewed until the program is in receipt of your PA-CAT scores.
  • It is highly recommended you take the PA-CAT at your earliest opportunity.
    • The program strongly recommends taking the PA-CAT by the 20th of the selected month so that scores can be delivered to the program by the 1st of the following month. If the exam is taken after the 20th of any given month, scores will not be available for the program to review for an additional month from the time you completed the exam. This may cause delays in review of your CASPA application.
    • The program reviews completed applications in the order they are received and offers interviews on a rolling basis, thereafter.

     Step 2: (Optional) Study for the PA-CAT with resources provided on their website

GPA
All applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. **Applicants with a CASPA verified Biology, Chemistry, Physics (BCP) GPA of 3.0 or higher are preferred

Healthcare Experience
Applicants are required to have a minimum of 1,000 hours of documented paid healthcare relevant experience. Paid internships are not accepted as paid healthcare relevant experience. The RVU PA Program does not determine for the applicant what is acceptable healthcare relevant experience and encourages applicants to appropriately describe, within the CASPA application, the type of experience they have accumulated and support why they feel it is healthcare relevant.

 Physician Assistant Shadowing
Though shadowing PA professionals is not required, it is strongly recommended. Shadowing enhances the applicant’s exposure to physician assistants, giving them a deeper understanding of the PA profession.

 Coursework
The program does not require applicants to have completed specific prerequisite courses. However, the program strongly recommends the following coursework from a regionally accredited institution of higher education:

  • Biology
  • General Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Physics
  • Statistics
  • Behavior/Social Science
  • Additional coursework such as:
    Genetics, Human Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Cellular Biology, Medical Terminology, Ethics, Humanities, Communication

References
Three letters of reference must be submitted through CASPA before an application will be considered complete and reviewable by the RVU PA Program. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all references have been received by CASPA and are not pending at the time of application submittal. The RVU PA Program does not specify who letters should be written by, rather references should be selected from individuals who are well acquainted with the applicant academically, professionally and/or personally over a period of time. References from family members are strongly discouraged. The program does not accept and will not consider any form of reference (email, phone call, letter, etc.) from individuals outside of the 3 official letters submitted through CASPA.

Advanced Placement and Transfers
The RVU PA Program does not take into consideration advanced placement credit for any courses and does not accept transfers from other Physician Assistant Programs.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The University reserves the right to change tuition and fees at any time without advanced notice. Learn more about the tuition payment schedule, individual health insurance status, and the tuition refund process.

The Physician Assistant Program processes hundreds of applications for admissions each year. Learn more about requirements for admissions including GRE scores, minimum prerequisite course work, and GPA requirements.

The MPAS curriculum is sequenced and designed to address and integrate the entrustable professional activities in which are contained the competencies the student must achieve to successfully enter the profession upon graduation.

RVU PA STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Ciera Black, PAS I
Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)

Campus Location
Colorado Campus

Hometown:
San Diego, CA

Undergraduate studies:
Psychobiology.

Graduate studies:
Masters of Biomedical Sciences

What clubs and activities are you currently involved with?
SGA, and Cadaver Lab instructor.

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am from San Diego and I moved to Colorado about 3 years ago on a whim. I fell in love with the mountains and the people here, and decided to make it home for a while. I love being outdoors and hiking with my husband and our pups. We are constantly on the road to find new rural places to camp, ride dirt bikes, and take photos. I love to teach undergraduate and high school students, so I work as a cadaver lab instructor at a local community college, alongside my PA studies.

What initially brought you to RVU? Why did you decide to pursue this degree?
I chose RVU because of its location and the PA program's emphasis on clinical education. I really wanted to be part of a developing program and RVU was the perfect fit for me. I chose to become a PA because I love the perfect balance it offers as a career. Not only does it balance team-based decision making with autonomy, it also offers a healthy work and home life balance.

What do you enjoy doing when not at RVU (family life, interests, and hobbies)?
I enjoy using my telescope and learning about space. I enjoy home improvement projects, especially ones in the yard. Overall, I am happiest when outdoors, whether I'm camping, hiking, or off-roading.

What is an interesting or little known fact about you:
I used to race dirt-bikes competitively.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given by a professor or student while at RVU?
You are studying for your patients, not for a grade.

What are your medical interests?
Pediatric emergency medicine or rural medicine.

What is a favorite memory you have from being in RVU?
My favorite memories always revolve around our in-person skills days because we get to see each other face to face and actually practice what we've been learning. My first time doing an ultrasound to see the heart and vessels was my favorite memory because you could look around the room and see how proud all of my classmates were when they successfully found the structures.

What advice do you have for prospective students?
PA school is truly the hardest thing you will have ever done in your life thus far. Actively scheduling time to focus on your mental health every single day is vital to making it through this.

Click here to read previous student spotlights

CONTACT THE PA PROGRAM

COLORADO CAMPUS
8401 South Chambers Rd.

Englewood, CO 80112
303-373-2008

For faster response, please direct inquiries to the PA Program:
admissions@rvu.edu