Applying to the MS in Physician Assistant Studies Program

Contents

Admission Requirements
Admission Preferences
Prerequisite Courses
Application Process
Application Timeline
Interview Process & Program Acceptance
International Students
Use of Marijuana and/or CBD Products
Scholarship Eligibility
Important Application Dates

Admission Requirements

• Standardized testing (GRE, PA-CAT, or MCAT) is not required by the program. Scores should not be submitted to the program. 

• Complete an application through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA).

• Complete the MUSC supplemental application.

• Patient care hours: Patient care hours are not required but recommended. Competitive applicants have 1,000 hours or more. View our FAQs for what qualifies as patient care hours.

• Residency Requirement: Applicant must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. legal permanent resident, or hold other valid nonimmigrant visa classification that allows participation in lawful study in the United States to qualify for admission to the program. We are unable to accept international students that require 1-20 issuance.

GPA Requirements (A3.13D) 

• Completion of a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university by the time of enrollment.
• A minimum cumulative GPA and prerequisite course GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale is required for consideration. Note: This program calculates cumulative GPA without forgiveness. All courses will be counted. All grades would be counted if you took a course more than once.
• All prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of ‘C’ or higher.
• Higher GPAs will be awarded more points (see admission preferences below).

Degree and Prerequisite Coursework Requirements (A3.13D)

• Complete 34 hours of prerequisite coursework at a regionally accredited college or university.
• A minimum of 30 hours must be completed by the application deadline. The remaining four (4) hours must be completed by matriculation.
• In-person and online courses are accepted. (See course list below).
• Prerequisite courses must be completed within 10 years of application submission with a minimum grade of C per course.
• If admitted to the program on a conditional basis, the student must earn a minimum of C in the outstanding prerequisites and earn the minimum GPA requirements for entry into the program. If both requirements are not met, the conditional applicant will forfeit their acceptance and not be permitted to matriculate. The student may reapply during the next cycle. The program will confirm with a transcript review before enrollment.

Letter of Reference Requirement

• Applicants must provide three references from individuals who know you and your abilities.
• Ideally, the references should come from a healthcare provider (PA, MD, NP), science professor and/or someone who has seen the applicant interact with patients (i.e manager).
• Reference from friends, family members, relatives, and personal healthcare providers are not appropriate and will not be accepted.
• References that are “do not recommend” will have 1 point removed from the total score.

Personal Statement

Applicants are required to submit a personal statement in CASPA at the time of application. Personal statements will be reviewed holistically on applicants who are invited for interviews. AI-generated personal statements will not be accepted, whether in part or whole.

Advanced Placement (A3.13C)

The PA program does not offer or permit advanced placement or waive any program prerequisite or course requirement.

Technical Standards Requirement

Meet the Technical Standards required for enrollment. The MUSC Division of Physician Assistant Studies will consider for admission and/or continuation any applicant who meets its academic and nonacademic criteria and who demonstrates the ability to perform skills and meet the Technical Standards listed below, with or without reasonable accommodations, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. If you have any questions about this document or whether you meet the standards as described above, please contact the MUSC Office of EEO and University Accessibility Services.

Admission Preferences (A3.13A)

The following preferences align with the mission and values of the MUSC PA program. Meeting any/ all of the preferences does not guarantee an invitation for an interview or acceptance to the program.

To carry out our mission, the MUSC PAS program uses a holistic review of applications and considers each applicant's unique qualities. The program evaluates applicants before interviews based on the following weighted factors and analysis process.

To rank applicants for interview invites, the following categories are evaluated in CASPA. A “yes” for each category is awarded 1 point for a total score.

Weighted Categories:

1. The applicant is a first generation to attend college: As self-reported in CASPA.
2. The applicant is from a family that receives public assistance (Aid to families with Dependent Children, food stamps, Medicaid, or public housing).
3. The applicant is from a family that lives in an area designated as a Health professional Shortage Area, or a Medically Underserved Area: confirm with the applicant’s home address and compare to the posted federal website. 
4. The applicant has served is a Veteran with honorable discharge: confirmed with DD214 discharge papers.
5. The applicant has earned a master’s degree: as confirmed by transcript in CASPA.
6. English is not the applicant’s primary language: As self-reported in CASPA.
7. The applicant has over 1000 patient care hours: As self-reported in CASPA.
8. The applicant’s overall Undergraduate GPA is 3.2 or greater*.
9. The applicant’s overall Undergraduate GPA is 3.4 or greater*.
10. The applicant’s overall Undergraduate GPA is 3.6 or greater*.
11. The applicant’s overall Undergraduate GPA is 3.8 or greater*.
12. The applicant’s overall Undergraduate GPA is 4.0*.
13. The applicant’s overall Science GPA is 3.2 or greater*.
14. The applicant’s overall Science GPA is 3.4 or greater*.
15. The applicant’s overall Science GPA is 3.6 or greater*.
16. The applicant’s overall Science GPA is 3.8 or greater*.
17. The applicant’s overall Science GPA is 4.0*.
18. The applicant is a South Carolina resident**.
19. The applicant’s parents live in South Carolina: As self-reported on CASPA.
20. The applicant attended a South Carolina high school: As self-reported on CASPA.

Weighted Category Notes:

• *All GPAs are captured from CASPA calculations. The program does not do grade forgiveness; any repeated courses will be calculated into total GPA.
• ** See link for SC Residency Questions. Residency is determined by the University Residency Officer in the Office of Enrollment Management, according to the South Carolina Code of Laws. 
  
• Note: For each confirmed preference (applicants must submit proof to the PA program through (CASPA).

Prerequisite Courses

Note: There will be no waivers or exceptions to any admissions requirements or prerequisite courses.

Prerequisite Course Name	Semester Hours
Statistics or Biostatistics	3
Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry*	3
General Chemistry - includes lab	8
Biology - includes lab	4
Human Anatomy - includes lab*	4
Human Physiology - includes lab*	4
Microbiology - includes lab	4
Medical Terminology +	1
Psychology +	3
Total	34

• *Combined Anatomy and Physiology courses are accepted; however, you MUST take Anatomy and Physiology I and II to fulfill the separate Anatomy and Physiology requirements, including labs.

• + Medical Terminology course cannot be a continuing education course (ex. certificate courses, Continuing Education Units (CEUs). You must receive a letter grade of C or higher for this course. 

• + The Psychology prerequisite can be met by Introduction to Psychology or a higher-level psychology course.

• *We do not accept combined organic and biochemistry. The course should solely be either organic chemistry or solely biochemistry. 

• View Frequently Approved Prerequisites. To speak with an admissions specialist about your coursework, please call 843-792-2536 or email oesadmis@musc.edu.

• Courses can only be applied towards the prerequisite requirement if a grade of "C" or higher was earned. A prerequisite course may be retaken, and the highest grade will be used to calculate the prerequisite GPA. Note: both grades will be reflected in the cumulative GPA.

• Prerequisite courses must be fulfilled by separate individual courses. 
• Survey courses or courses for which a letter or number grade is not awarded (e.g., Pass/Fail, CLEP credit, AP credit, Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory, etc.) will not meet prerequisite requirements. Note: If your institution awarded ONLY P/F grading between January 1, 2020, and September 1, 2020, please contact antoinem@musc.edu for more information.
• All prerequisite coursework MUST be completed within the 10 years prior to the application deadline. See our FAQs for more information.
• We do not accept advanced placement, transfer of credit or credit for experiential learning. Applicants do not receive credit for previous coursework and/or experience.

• Dual enrollment courses are accepted for prerequisite courses so long as the course appears on your college transcripts.

Application Process

1. Complete the Centralized Application Service Physician Assistant (CASPA). Opens April 25, 2025. The following application items are submitted via CAPSA.
   • Official transcripts from all colleges or universities attended for all college credit courses.
   • Resume
   • Three References
   • Personal Statement
2. Complete the MUSC supplemental application. Opens July 1, 2025.

Note: All above information must be received and verified on or before September 1 to be considered for admission to the program. Without all materials, applications will be incomplete. It is the applicant's responsibility to review the progress of his/her application by viewing the Check Application Progress link above to ensure that all application materials (including official reference forms, and all official transcripts are received by the application deadline). Applicants are responsible for reviewing the progress of their CASPA application on the CASPA website.

Application Timeline

• April 25: CASPA Application Opens
• July 1: MUSC Application Opens
• September 1: Applications & Materials Due (CASPA must be verified)
• September through November: Interviews take place
• November through December: Admissions Offers Made
• Late May: Orientation & Classes Start

Interview Process and Program Acceptance

Only completed applications will be reviewed for consideration for an interview. Interviews are typically held between September and November of each year. The program aims to provide acceptance decisions (acceptance, waitlist or denial letters) by the beginning of November.

Due to the nature of our interview process, no alternate interview dates will be offered. Interviews will be conducted in-person for the 2026 cohort.

If selected for an interview the applicant will be notified of the interview process as the dates approach.

International Students

MUSC’s PAS degree program only accepts applications from U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or those holding other valid nonimmigrant visa classifications that allow participation in lawful study while in the United States. We are unable to accept international students that require I-20 issuance.

*Review PA licensure requirements for your state here https://www.physicianassistantedu.org/

Use of Marijuana and/or CBD Products

Marijuana is a Schedule 1 drug and is illegal to purchase in South Carolina. Apart from a narrow and limited scope of codified/documented medical exceptions, it is illegal for individuals to use marijuana/tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in South Carolina, even if purchased legally in another state. Although cannabidiol (CBD) products may be purchased and used in South Carolina, please be aware that CBD products may contain higher levels of THC than represented on packaging and use of CBD products can result in a positive drug screen for THC/marijuana. Be aware that current drug testing methods cannot accurately ascertain the origins of THC metabolites (i.e., whether from marijuana or CBD products). Your academic program has the authority to conduct random and/or scheduled drug testing; if your test result is reported as positive for THC metabolites (even if you only used a CBD product), your ability to be accepted into the program, progress in the program, and/or successfully complete the program may be negatively impacted.

Scholarship Eligibility

MUSC offers scholarships for which you may be eligible. Some are awarded based on academic achievement; others are awarded based on community service, for example. However, the majority of scholarships awarded at MUSC are based on financial need. This means those scholarships are only awarded to students who need some financial assistance to cover the cost of tuition and fees. If you would like to be considered for a financial need-based scholarship, you must have an up-to-date Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file. Make sure you list Medical University of South Carolina on your FAFSA form, along with MUSC's code: 003438. We encourage you to submit the FAFSA as early as possible. It is recommended to submit the FAFSA in January if you plan to enroll in the Fall.

Important Application Dates

Start Term	Application Type	Available	Deadline
Summer 2026	CASPA Application	April 25, 2025	September 1, 2025 (including transcript verification)
Summer 2026	MUSC Application	July 1, 2025	September 1, 2025