• The Grand Rapids campus accepts 36 applicants, and the Traverse City campus accepts 12 applicants each fall. 
• Applicants may only apply to one campus for each application cycle. 
• Academic request forms (ARF) ONLY need to be submitted if applicants do not meet one or more application requirements and have highly unusual circumstances that impact their ability to meet admission criteria. 
• The deadline for submitting an Academic Request Form (ARF) is July 15 in the year of application. 
• Applicants are only required to submit a minimum of two recommendation rubrics; however, if they submit additional recommendation rubrics in CASPA, they will be used in admission decisions. 
• GVSU does NOT have rolling admissions. All applications are reviewed after the September 1 application deadline. 
• The GVSU PAS program offers advanced placement in limited circumstances. Please see the Advanced Placement page for details.  

• The GVSU PAS program requires a minimum of 500 healthcare experience hours. These experiences expose the applicant to the healthcare system and various healthcare professionals, including physician assistants. 
• Healthcare experience hours can be volunteer, work-related, or observational experiences.  The GVSU PAS program highly encourages hands-on patient care activities as an important component of preparation for PAS studies. 
• The program emphasizes the importance of variety in patient care experiences and healthcare settings. For example, applicants employed as a nurse aide in a long-term care center may benefit from shadowing a physician assistant in an outpatient setting or volunteering in an acute care hospital. 
• For all the following positions, only include hours with direct patient interaction. 
  • Certified nursing assistant, nurse aide, patient care technician, patient care assistant 
  • Emergency medical technician 
  • Medical assistant 
  • Psychiatric care technician 
  • Phlebotomist 
  • Home health aide or personal care attendant 
  • Research assistant 
    • Acceptable hours for healthcare experience include performing procedures, such as phlebotomy or EKGs. 
    • Hours spent writing, entering data, analyzing data, etc. should not be included. 
  • Volunteer work in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, health-related agencies. 
    • Hours spent performing housekeeping or clerical tasks should be excluded. 
  • Medical mission trip volunteer 
  • Medical scribe 
  • Medical translator 
  • Internships and training programs 
    • Hours spent in a classroom and/or training activities not directly interacting with patients should be excluded. 
  • Patient counseling 
  • Health care professional shadowing hours 
    • Shadowing a physician assistant is encouraged; however, GVSU will accept shadowing hours of any healthcare professional as we have found this valuable to increase students' knowledge of the various healthcare professional roles. 
  • Pharmacy technician 
  • Physical therapy aide 
  • Dental hygienist 
  • Respiratory therapist 
  • Nurse 
  • Patient transport 
  • Athletic trainer 
  • Telehealth 
  • Medical technologist 
• The GVSU PAS program does NOT consider the following to count towards the required healthcare experience hours: 
  • Veterinarian technician 
  • Hospital or long-term care food service positions 
  • Teaching experience (teaching assistant, tutoring positions, etc.) 
• Hours spent during research positions, volunteering, internships, etc., in which applicants are not directly interacting with patients should NOT be included as healthcare experience hours. 

The interview is a half-day experience which includes: 

• Welcome and overview of the GVSU PAS program 
• Individual interviews with PAS faculty and members of the local health care community  
• Facility tour with current PAS students  
• Group interview with PAS Program Administration  
• Faculty panel with PAS faculty
   

Throughout the interview day, PAS faculty assess motivational factors, life experiences, patient care experience, maturity, and personal characteristics that are necessary to become a successful physician assistant. 

Applicants are asked to complete the GVSU PAS Program Interview Day Survey to evaluate the application and interview process.  The applicant survey is anonymous and is not used in admission decisions. 

NORTHWESTERN MICHIGAN COLLEGE ARTICULATION AGREEMENT
Statement of Agreement.  The Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) agrees to grant an interview to GVSU's PAS program at the Traverse City Regional Center to a minimum of two (2) qualified Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) students who meet all program admission criteria and additional criteria outlined in the NMC Articulation Agreement.  For more information, please contact the GVSU Traverse City Center Advisor (231-995-1785 or [email protected]). 

NORTH CENTRAL MICHIGAN COLLEGE ARTICULATION AGREEMENT
Statement of Agreement.  The Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) agrees to grant an interview to GVSU's PAS program at the Traverse City Regional Center to a minimum of one (1) qualified North Central Michigan College (NCMC) students who meet all program admission criteria and additional criteria outlined in the NCMC Articulation Agreement.  For more information, please contact the GVSU Traverse City Center Advisor (231-995-1785 or [email protected]). 

KIRTLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE ARTICULATION AGREEMENT
Statement of Agreement.  The Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) program of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) agrees to grant an interview to GVSU's PAS program at the Traverse City Regional Center to a minimum of one (1) qualified Kirtland Community College student who meets all program admission criteria and additional criteria outlined in the Kirtland Community College Articulation Agreement.  For more information, please contact the GVSU Traverse City Center Advisor (231-995-1785 or [email protected]). 

• Advanced course placement is granted into the PAS program in limited circumstances, as described below.
• All students are required to complete all curriculum components at GVSU.
• If a student believes they have completed course work at GVSU that satisfies program requirements (i.e., Prosected Regional Anatomy [BMS 561]), they may submit a letter to the program after acceptance.
  • This letter must include the official transcript of the course, the course grade, and the syllabus of record.
• Approval is required from both the individual GVSU course instructors and the PAS program. Approval is based on the timing of course completion and course performance. Courses must be completed within two (2) calendar years of program matriculation. The final course grade must be a B or higher.
• This information will only be addressed after acceptance into the GVSU PAS program.
• The GVSU PAS program does not provide advanced placement to students who have completed advanced coursework at other sponsoring institutions, including portions of a PA program curriculum.
• This policy is consistent with the Graduate School Approval of Course Waivers, Course Substitutions, and Individual Program Plans Policy.

 *This information does not pertain to high school 'advanced placement' coursework.

PAS ACADEMIC ADVISING/CHP PROGRAM ADMISSIONS:
For questions regarding admissions or to arrange a tour, please contact CHP Student Services Office @ [email protected]

CASPA APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
CHP Student Services Office - Valinda Stokes @ [email protected]

HEALTH COMPLIANCE QUESTIONS:
GVSU Health Compliance Office - [email protected]

PROGRAM INFORMATION:
Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) - Cathy Tomek @ [email protected]

Please note that some of the College of Health Professions programs require prerequisite courses to be completed with LETTER (A, B, C) or NUMERICAL (4.0, 3.0, 2.0) grades. Prerequisite courses completed with Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit will not fulfill some program's admissions requirements. Some programs accept AP credit (advanced credit) as the exception. Please check with the advising office for specific program information regarding Pass/Fail and Credit/No Credit at [email protected].