Physician Assistant Program - Fort Lauderdale

Prior to matriculation, applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.

The College requires applicants to earn a grade of “C” (2.0) or better in each of the following required courses listed below. Science prerequisites must be completed by the end of the fall semester prior to matriculation. There is no expiration date for prerequisite courses. However, applicants are still responsible for retaining the knowledge gained from prerequisite coursework. Therefore, applicants with science prerequisites over 10 years may be considered less competitive.

• College Math - 3 semester hours   (Statistics does not satisfy this requirement)
• English (including 3 semester hours of English Composition) - 6 semester hours
• Humanities/Arts - 3 semester hours (examples include; philosophy, religion, foreign language, law, ethics, literature, performing/visual arts, e.g. music, dance, film, theater, band, opera, painting, drawing.)
• Social Sciences - 9 semester hours (examples include; anthropology, psychology, sociology, political science, economics, history, geography, criminology, archeology, communication, cultural studies, law, ethics) 
• General Inorganic Chemistry (I & II) including lab - 8 semester hours
• Microbiology including lab - 4 semester hours
• General Biology (or Zoology) including lab - 4 semester hours
• Human Anatomy & Physiology – 6 semester hours*
• Biochemistry - 3 semester hours
• Human Genetics (Genetics, not Animal Genetics) - 3 semester hours
• Medical Terminology – 1 semester hour

*If you take the combination class of Human Anatomy & Physiology I (A&P I), then you must complete the sequence by taking Human Anatomy & Physiology II (A&P II).

Note: Graduates of foreign institutions where English is not the primary language of instruction must present transcripts showing at least 18 semester hours of study from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Of these 18 semester hours: three must be in English Composition, English Literature, and Public Speaking (courses do not include ESOL). The remaining nine semester hours can be any course of the applicant's choosing (excluding physical education).

• Biochemistry lab - 1 semester hour
• Anatomy lab – 1 semester hour
• Physiology lab – 1 semester hour
• Introduction to Statistics – 3 semester hours

Applicants are encouraged to complete their elective course work in the areas of behavioral, physical and social sciences or humanities.

All applicants are required to submit official scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test through the CASPA application portal. The program's CASPA GRE is 0947. The GRE must have been taken within the past 5 years and must be taken early enough for official scores to be received in CASPA by January 15th. Applications will not be considered complete without GRE scores. If multiple exams have been taken, only the most recent GRE scores will be considered.

For further information contact:

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
http://www.gre.org
1-609-921-9000

We no longer require proof of current certification in Basic Cardiac Life Support. All students are required to take BLS/BCLS, ACLS and PALS (pediatrics) during the program regardless of previous certification status or training.

Throughout the curriculum students are required to access various instructional materials and information from the Internet. All students are required to have a laptop computer and printer.

The computer must have the following minimum specifications

PC/Laptop

• Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10 (Must be genuine U.S. English versions or Windows operating systems)
• Processor: Intel I5 processor or above
• RAM: 8 GB or higher
• Hard Disk Space: 256GB solid state drive (SSD) or higher
• Graphics Card: Integrated graphics card or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or dedicated video graphics card with 4 GB video memory or higher
• Display: 1280x1024 or higher

MacBook/iMac

• Operating System: Mac OS C Monterey or higher (Must be genuine versions of Mac operating systems)
• Processor: Intel I5 processor or above M1
• RAM: 8 GB or higher
• Hard Disk Space: 256GB solid state drive (SSD) or higher
• Graphics Card: Intel Iris Plus or higher, or Apple M1 Integrated graphics
• Display: 1280x1024 or higher

All applicants must show evidence of computer skills through course work or self study prior to the end of the first term. Students may obtain instruction through the NSU Microcomputer Laboratory or other training facilities.

Applicants who have attended foreign universities or colleges are required to have their academic credentials evaluated for U.S. institution equivalence by an approved National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) organization, such as one of the services listed below.

An official course-by-course evaluation with a cumulative grade point average must be sent directly from the evaluation service to CASPA.

While there is no minimum requirement, prior healthcare experience is highly recommended. Higher consideration may be given to applicants with prior direct patient contact. PA shadowing experience is preferred. 

Official transcripts from all institutions where course work was completed or attempted must be sent directly to CASPA by the institutions. Once accepted, if the applicant did not submit final official transcripts with degree conferral to CASPA prior to acceptance, the applicant must submit all updated transcripts to NSU prior to matriculation. The updated official transcripts are to be sent directly from the institution to:

Two letters of recommendation are required:

• One letter from a physician assistant
• One letter from a healthcare professional (e.g. physician assistant, physician, dentist, pharmacist, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physical or occupational therapist)

Letters of recommendation are to be completed in the evaluations section of the CASPA application. Recommendations submitted by relatives, friends, personal healthcare providers, or personal friends of the family are not acceptable.