Admissions Criteria

Application: Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA)
CASPA 2024-2025 Open Date: April 25, 2024
Deadline for verified CASPA applications: October 1, 2024
Classes begin: May 19, 2025

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Residency

Preference will be given to Louisiana residents. Information regarding establishing LA residency may be obtained by the Office of the Registrar or on their website. 

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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 

In the School of Allied Health Professions’ admissions and recruitment processes, we pursue diverse cohorts of students in each program to enhance the learning experiences of all of our students, and foster an open and welcoming environment that promotes inclusion, respect, and compassion.

LSU Health Shreveport adopts a definition of diversity that embraces a broad spectrum of human expression and characteristics that include but are not limited to race, ethnicity, gender/gender identity, social and cultural attributes, abilities, sexual orientation, religion, rural or metropolitan background, military or veteran status, and age. In addition, diversity also includes life experiences, record of service, and other talents and personal attributes that enhance the work and learning atmosphere. We are dedicated to building an inclusive and diverse community through the recruitment, enrollment, hiring, and retention/graduation of students, faculty, staff, and leadership who meet this definition of diversity.

LEARN MORE about the AHEAD Scholar Tuition Waiver for Students from Underrepresented Groups. 

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The following are the minimum admission requirements for application to the Physician Assistant Program:

1. Baccalaureate degree must be received from a regionally accredited United States college or university by the day the student begins the PA program. 

2. Minimum undergraduate cumulative GPA of 3.0 (as calculated by CASPA) on a 4.0 scale before application deadline. 

3. Minimum science GPA of 3.0 (as calculated by CASPA) on a 4.0 scale before application deadline.

4. Minimum Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores from within the last five years sent to GRE DI code 0423 before application deadline:

• Quantitative - 145
• Verbal - 143
• Analytical Writing - 3.0 

5. Minimum 80 hours of experience (see below categories) documented in CASPA before the application deadline. Hours may be paid or unpaid. It is recommended that hours have been completed within the past 10 years. 

• Patient Care Experience - Experiences in which you are directly responsible for a patient's care. For example, prescribing medication, performing procedures, directing a course of treatment, designing a treatment regimen, actively working on patients as a nurse, paramedic, EMT, CNA, phlebotomist, physical therapist, dental hygienist, etc.
   
• Healthcare Experience - Work in a health or health-related field where you are not directly responsible for a patient's care, but may still have patient interaction; for example, filling prescriptions, performing clerical work, delivering patient food, cleaning patients and/or their rooms, administering food or medication, taking vitals or other record keeping information, working as a scribe, CNA (depending on job description), medical assistant, etc.
   
• Shadowing Experience - Time spent officially following and observing a health care professional at work, while they provide patient care, preferably in the physician assistant field.

6. Grade of "C" or better in the following required prerequisite courses completed at a regionally accredited United States college or university by the day the student begins the PA program. If you earned a C in a prerequisite course, it is strongly recommended that you repeat the course.

• Anatomy (4 hours) – Human or Comparative with a lab 
   
• Physiology (3 hours) – General or Human
  • NOTE: A&P I with lab + A&P II with lab (8 hours) will meet the anatomy and physiology requirements if all four components are completed. If courses are not completed at the same institution, it is up to the applicant to show that the combined courses covered all required material (by uploading course catalog descriptions document into CASPA)
     
• Microbiology (4 hours) – Sophomore level or higher (200/2000 level) with a lab
   
• Chemistry (8 hours) – General, Inorganic, or Organic with labs
   
• Statistics (3 hours) – BIO, PSYCH, MATH, or STAT course number
   
• Medical Terminology (2 hours accepted, 3 hours recommended)
   
• Biology electives (8 hours) – Junior level or higher (300/400 or 3000/4000 level):
   
  • Course must have a BIO course name and number or clearly be biology related. For example, biochemistry may have a CHEM course name/number, but is acceptable as a biology course; however, organic chemistry will not count towards this requirement. Other acceptable prefixes may include Neuroscience, Neurobiology, Molecular Biology.
     
  • Number must begin with a 3 or 4 (300/400 or 3000/4000 level). If your university uses a nonstandard numbering system, a letter from the registrar is required stating the courses are junior or senior level courses.
     
  • Highly suggested, but not required, courses: Advanced anatomy, advanced physiology, cell biology, genetics, immunology, parasitology, virology, and other similar courses.
     
  • The following courses will not be counted towards this requirement: Seminar, selected topics, special topics, research courses, and other similar courses.
     

  • Courses from other professional programs or disciplines (nursing, medical technology, biomechanics, kinesiology) usually will not be accepted in lieu of traditional college courses.
     

  • Introductory courses, such as Biology I and Biology II, will not meet this requirement

Additional Notes on Prerequisite Requirements: 

• Pass/fail grades are not accepted.* 

  *In response to COVID-19, pass/fail coursework will be accepted for prerequisite coursework if the following conditions are met:

  • Spring 2020 or Summer 2020 only

  • Must receive a Pass grade

  • Cannot be for more than 50% of prerequisite courses
     

• All science courses must be for science majors. 
   

• Each course can only count toward one prerequisite criterion. For example, an upper level physiology course can count towards the physiology requirement or the upper level biology requirement, but not both. 
   

• The majority of prerequisite coursework should be completed or in progress before the application deadline. 

• It is recommended that prerequisite coursework has been completed within the past 10 years. 

• Due to the wide variety of experiential learning that can occur prior to admission, the LSU Health Shreveport Physician Assistant program does not waive prerequisite coursework. For the same reason, the LSU Health Shreveport Physician Assistant program does not award credit or advanced placement for previous coursework or experiential learning; all course work must be completed within the PA curriculum without exception.

 7. ​​​Selected applicants will be contacted to arrange an interview. Complete the PA Program Self-Assessment to determine if you are a competitive applicant (This is for informative purposes only, to allow applicants to identify strengths and areas of improvement for their application).

8. Accepted students must certify that they meet the technical standards established by the program with or without reasonable accommodations. 

Additionally, many life experiences are evaluated, but not required, in the admissions process including military service, leadership experience, work experience, varsity sports/activities, and community service.  We also encourage interested individuals to participate in activities on the LSU Health Shreveport campus.

Please note: Accepted students are assigned a provisional admission status until meeting conditions outlined in the acceptance letter and completing pre-matriculation requirements set forth by the Office of the Registrar. As part of the pre-matriculation requirements, accepted students are required to pass a drug screen and criminal background check prior to matriculation. Offers of acceptance are contingent on passing both.