- 1. What are the Admission Requirements
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For the three-year MS Program:
Baccalaureate Degree
Overall GPA of 3.0 or better
Math and Science GPA of 3.0 or better
Complete CASPA application
The following prerequisite courses complete with a grade of “C” or better
8 credits of Biology with lab
(e.g., Zoology, Botany, General Biology I and II, A & P I and II)
12 credits of Chemistry, including at least 4 credits of Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry with lab
4 credits of Microbiology with lab
4
credits of Anatomy, 300 level coursework or higher
4 credits of Physiology, 300 level coursework or higher
3 credits of Calculus
6 credits of Psychology
6 credits of Sociology
120 hours of direct patient contact
Science coursework completed more than 10 years ago, unless directly related to an occupation, must be repeated.
As a transfer student into the BS/MS Program:
More than 15 college credits
Overall GPA of 3.0 or better
Math and Science GPA of 3.0 or better
Transferable courses completed with a grade of “C” or better.
Completed CASPA Application if not a current Daemen student.
Amount of course work already completed, and transferable, will determine your standing within the PA Program.
- 2. What is used to calculate the math and science GPA?
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The above listed prerequisite math and science courses only.
- 3. Do all MS prerequisites need to be completed at the time of application?
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All course prerequisites must be satisfied by the completion of the spring semester prior to the fall semester that you are applying for. The PA Program will consider “In Progress” courses. If an
offer of acceptance is made before the conclusion of the spring semester, it will be conditional upon the successful completion of all “In Progress” courses. The 120 hours of direct patient
contact must be completed at the time of application.
- 4. What can be considered “direct patient contact”?
The PA Program's definition of “direct patient contact” is fairly straightforward. It can be either paid or volunteer work, including shadowing, in which you were exposed to patients in one way
or another. The goal of this prerequisite is to be assured that you have been exposed to both the good and the bad aspects of healthcare, and the PA profession remains something you choose to pursue. Direct
patient care with advanced levels of responsibility are encouraged, recommended, and highly valued by the admission's committee.
- 5. How do I apply to Daemen College?
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The Physician Assistant Program at Daemen College participates in an online application service called CASPA (Central Application Service for Physician Assistants). You will visit www.caspaonline.org and begin
an application electronically. All extraneous materials, i.e. reference letters, transcripts, will be sent directly to CASPA in Watertown, MA. CASPA acts almost as a collection agency; once CASPA has received
your complete online application, your three letters of reference, and all of your official transcripts, they will then forward an application packet on to each school that you have designated as a recipient.
Please
note that the CASPA application process is a lengthy one, and that an application will not be considered complete until all necessary materials are received by CASPA. Once an application is complete, it takes
CASPA four to six weeks to process the application and send it to the designated schools. We highly recommend that you submit your application to CASPA by November 1 due to their high volume of applications
and necessary processing time.
The submission deadline to CASPA for Daemen College is December 1 of each year. Any completed applications returned to Daemen from CASPA after January 1 may not be considered
for an interview by our Admissions Committee.
- 6. What happens once I have completed my application?
- Once CASPA has processed your application and has sent it to Daemen, your application will be reviewed and considered for an interview. You should receive contact from a member of the program within a week of
receiving your application, simply to let you know that your application was in fact received, and what stage of the process it is in. If you have satisfied all the necessary prerequisites, you will be placed
in a pool of applicants to be considered for an interview. The PA Department traditionally conducts interviews during the months of January and February. Once you have completed an interview, the time frame for
an admission decision varies; an admission decision could come as late as the completion of Daemen's spring semester, which is the end of May, as the number of open seats will be determined by current students'
spring grades.
- 7. How competitive is admission into the program as a transfer or graduate student?
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The BS/MS and MS programs are highly competitive. In the last admission cycle, we received over 550 CASPA applications, interviewed 50 applicants with only 25 available seats to fill.
Most successful applicants possess credentials far in excess of the minimum grade point average of 3.0 and 120 hours of direct patient contact.
- 8. What does a typical schedule of classes look like within the PA Program?
Daemen College utilizes not only its core faculty, but also adjunct faculty, practicing clinicians within the area, to provide a rewarding PA education. Due to this fact, PA students do not follow an 8:00 a.m.
to 5:00 p.m. schedule. More often than not, the classes that the core faculty teaches will be in the mornings and afternoons, and the adjunct lecturers will take place in the evenings. Schedules will vary
from day to day, and from semester to semester.
- 9. Is it acceptable to work while in the PA Program?
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How much time you put into your studies outside of the classroom is entirely up to you, and the decision of whether or not you will be able to make time for a job is yours. The Program realizes that it is
sometimes necessary to have an added income, and although does not have a policy against working, it is not recommended during certain phases of the upper division. Absence from class or clinical clerkship
due to work responsibilities is not permitted. If you do work, the program does request that you submit a copy of your schedule.
- 10. How much control will I have over the scheduling of my clerkships?
The PA Department has hundreds of affiliations with clinicians and facilities in Buffalo , as well as surrounding areas. If you have a specific request, or know of a specific clinician you would like to work
with, the department will do its best to facilitate that request. Please keep in mind that the scheduling of clerkships does lie in the hands of the PA Department, and without adequate information or notice
from a requested site the Department will place you in a clerkship that best suits your situation.
- 11. What is the cost of the program?
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Graduate students pay per credit. The three-year pgoram consists of 104 total degree credits. However, as a graduate student, you would be eligible for graduate financial aid packages. Transfer student tuition is per academic semester until the 5th year. (See our college catalog for tuition and fees). The estimated total graduate tuition and fees for the MS program exceeds $71,000 for 3 years of study. The estimated undergraduate and graduate tuition for the BS/MS program exceeds $85,000 for 5 years of study. Students in the BS/MS program are potentially eligible for scholarships. (See financial aid).
- 12. What is the structure of the three-year MS Program?
The three-year MS Program consists of two years of didactic, “Upper Division”, class work and one year of clinical clerkships.
Didactic work includes:
Advanced Human Anatomy
Clinical Microbiology
Medical Informatics
Clinical Laboratory Medicine
Pathophysiology
Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine I and II
Physical Diagnosis I and II
Pharmacology I and II
Preventive Medicine
Medical Professional Issues
Cultural and Psychosocial Dynamics of Medicine
Clinical Pediatrics
Clinical Problem Solving
Surgery and Orthopedics
Geriatrics
Emergency Medicine
Research Methodology
Clerkships include:
Internal Medicine
Pediatrics
Women's Health
Mental Health
General Surgery
Emergency Medicine
Family Medicine
Various Electives
For transfer students: You will begin upper division classes once all prerequisite classes are completed, and once you have satisfied all Daemen College liberal arts requirements, and a 3.0 math and science
GPA.
- 13. Can any of the Upper Division classes be transferred in from another institution?
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All PA's upper division courses must be taken at Daemen College. No advance standing is granted.
- 14. When does upper division start?
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The professional phase begins every fall (approximately September 1st of each year)
A fantastic source of information regarding PAs, employment, and statistics, is the website of the American Academy of
Physician Assistants (AAPA). Visit the site at
If you have any questions that have not been addressed here, please feel free to contact Marcy Moore, Director of PA Graduate Admissions, at (716) 839-8383 or mmoore@daemen.edu, and she will be more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. Also, for more information regarding Daemen College in general, please visit www.daemen.edu .
