Physician Assistant Admission Requirements

• A baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, completed by December 31 of the year of application
• Any baccalaureate degree is acceptable, but a strong science background is encouraged

Overall GPA 3.0 on a 4.0 scale AND Science GPA 3.0 on a 4.0 scale

• Both overall and science GPAs are calculated by CASPA and must meet the minimum requirement at the time of application
• Outstanding and/or unverified coursework is not calculated into GPA by CASPA. An outstanding course is defined as any course listed as In Progress when the CASPA application is submitted
• In completion of any outstanding coursework, applicants must maintain the minimum required overall and science GPA to matriculate
• Grades of pass or credit for coursework are not included in GPA calculations
• Grades received for courses taken at non-U.S. institutions are not considered in initial GPA calculation by CASPA.  A secondary evaluation service is required in the evaluation of an International Applicant’s GPA.  Please see the international applicant page for more information

• Please review our Prerequisite Course Listing for examples of accepted coursework
• Allied Health Transfer Patterns
• A maximum of 2 total prerequisite courses may be outstanding at the time of application; with no more than 1 science prerequisite outstanding
• All prerequisite coursework must be completed at an accredited institution in the United States before being admitted to the Physician Assistant program
• All outstanding prerequisites must be completed with a grade of C or better by the end of Spring quarter of the year of matriculation. C minus are not accepted
• All prerequisite courses must contain a letter grade.  Prerequisite courses which were changed to Pass/Fail (P/F), Credit/No Credit (C/NC), or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) due to closure of academic institution during the COVID-19 pandemic will not be accepted
• Please note, while the PA program at Loma Linda University requires specific courses as prerequisites to enrollment, these prerequisites cannot substitute for more advanced applied content within the PA program curriculum

• Human Anatomy and Physiology: must contain a laboratory component.  Coursework can be a complete sequence OR separate courses in Human Anatomy and Human Physiology.  Must cover all organ systems
• Chemistry:
  • General Chemistry: a one-year sequence, must contain a laboratory component;
  • OR
  • Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, and Biochemistry: a minimum one-year sequence, of which all three courses must contain a laboratory component
• General Microbiology: must contain a laboratory component.  Coursework must cover the following four areas: bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa
• The program is currently not accepting any science courses with online labs. The only exception is for courses completed between Spring 2020 and Fall 2022
• All prerequisite science courses must be taken within the last 10 years; this is calculated from the time of application.

• General Psychology: must be general and cover topics across the lifespan
• General Sociology or Cultural Anthropology: must be general and cover multiple groups of interest
• College-level Algebra: must be college-level or higher.  Statistics courses, although recommended, do not satisfy this prerequisite
• English Composition: a one-year sequence.  English as a Second Language (ESL) courses do not satisfy this prerequisite

• Statistics
• Medical Terminology
• Conversational Spanish

• Documented paid patient care experience of 2,000 hours minimum is required by August 1 of the year of matriculation
• Applicants must have direct, hands-on patient care experience working in a clinical setting which requires a high level of critical thinking and responsibility to the patient. Only paid hours are acceptable
• While shadowing and volunteer hours are not accepted as meeting the patient care experience hour requirement, they are strongly recommended

• Accepted clinical experiences include accredited, credentialed professions that provide patient assessment, treatment, patient care plans, and diagnostic testing
• The following are examples of accepted patient care experiences:
  • Military medic or corpsman
  • Paramedic/EMT (waiting/transportation time not included)
  • Nurse (LVN or RN)
  • Radiologic Technologist 
  • Physical Therapist
  • Respiratory Therapist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Medical Assistant
    • Administrative hours (e.g., front office) are not accepted
  • Scribe
  • Chiropractor

• Hours completed during the following experiences are not accepted: student clinicals, externships, internships, foreign medical positions, shadowing, and volunteer experiences.
• The following are examples of non-accepted patient care experiences:
  • Medical Assistant
    • Administrative duties (e.g., front office)
    • Billing and Coding
  • Massage Therapist
  • Personal Trainer
  • In-Home Services
    • Home Care Aide
    • Home Health Aide
  • Pharmacy Technician
  • Research position without direct patient contact
  • Optometry Assistant/Technician
  • Dental Assistant
  • Behavioral Interventionist

• Three letters of recommendation, including one from a practicing MD/DO/PA with whom the applicant has worked under in a direct, hands-on, paid patient care experience 
• Letter of Recommendation from MD/DO/PA must be typed on official letterhead  
• This letter cannot be from a friend or relative, and cannot be from a shadowing or volunteer experience

Loma Linda University has certain policies and standards for all students who attend the University.

All applicants must be able to meet Admission, Technical, and Graduation Standards while enrolled at Loma Linda University.  If you are an individual with a disability and need reasonable accommodations to fully participate and meet these standards, you will need to submit a request to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs within the School of Allied Health Professions.  Only through a student’s voluntary disclosure of disability and request for accommodation will LLU support disability-related needs.

Students must meet specific health requirements prior to enrolling in classes. A physical exam is not necessary for enrollment in the Physician Assistant program.  All vaccination policies are developed in accordance with current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). For more information regarding pre-admission health requirements, including a list of required vaccinations, please visit the Student Health Services website for more information.