Dominican University New York and Saint Elizabeth University (SEU), in Morristown, N.J., today announced an agreement to offer a new pathway to becoming a physician assistant. Under the agreement, up to three eligible Dominican University students will be interviewed during their junior year for early admission decision into SEU’s M.S. in Physician Assistant program.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students who wish to become physician assistants to receive early admission into a well-respected master’s program,” said Sr. Mary Eileen O’Brien, O.P., Ph.D., president, Dominican University New York. “Dominican University has built an impressive reputation in the health fields and this new program will provide additional professional opportunities for our students.”
“We are very excited to work with Dominican University as SEU’s mission of providing a high-quality education to students of diverse ages, backgrounds, and cultures is an excellent fit with that of Dominican University,” said Anne Clark Bartlett, Ph.D., provost and vice president for the Division of Academic Affairs and Student Life at SEU. “We look forward to welcoming our first Dominican University students to the program.”
Students planning to apply for acceptance into the 28-month-long SEU physician assistant program will receive advisement throughout their undergraduate study at Dominican University to ensure that they complete the prerequisite courses and meet the qualifications to enter the program. In order to be interviewed for the program in their junior year, students must have a cumulative prerequisite GPA of 3.4 and a cumulative GPA of 3.2, and be on track to complete all of the required prerequisite courses with a B or better. Candidates also must meet the following requirements by March of their senior year:
- Complete a minimum of 300 direct patient care hours
- Complete a minimum of 16 physician assistant shadow hours
- Complete a minimum of 50 community service hours
- Complete a Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistant (CASPA) application
- Submit scores for the Physician Assistant College Admissions Test (PA-CAT).
- Submit three recommendations including one from a professor and one from a physician or physician assistant.
Under the new agreement, the first Dominican University students will be interviewed for conditional admission to the SEU Physician Assistant program in February 2023. Visit SEU’s M.S. in Physician Assistant page for more information on the program.