Professions: Pre-Physician Assistant http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Dr. Judith A. Wubah
Office of Health
Smith Career Center (0128)
Professions Advising
231-6241 jawubah@vt.edu
(OHPA)
Be sure to meet with your departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis in addition to meeting with Dr.
Wubah once a semester.
MAJORS INFORMATION
Any major is acceptable as long as certain specific admission requirements are met. Students should check specific
school requirements.
Common Majors: Biology (BIOL), Business (BUSI), Human, Nutrition, Food and Exercise (HNFE), and Psychology
(PSYC).
SPECIFIC COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Course Number
BIOL 1005, 1015
BIOL 1006, 1016
OR
BIOL 1105, 1115
BIOL 1106, 1116
CHEM 1035, 1045 (lab)
CHEM 1036, 1046 (lab)
PHYS 2205, 2215
PHYS 2206, 2216
BMSP 2135, 2145
BMSP 2136, 2146
MATH 1015, 1016 or other
calculus sequence
ENGL 1105, 1106
PSYC 2004
STAT 3615
Title
Credits
General Biology, General Biology Lab
OR
Principles of Biology, Principles of Biology
Lab
8
General Chemistry, General Chemistry Lab
8
General Physics, General Physics Lab
OR
PHYS 2305, 2306 Foundations of Physics
Human Anatomy & Physiology
8
Elementary Calculus with Trigonometry
OR
Other calculus sequence
Freshman English
Introductory Psychology
Biological Statistics
6
OTHER COURSES REQUIRED BY SOME SCHOOLS
BIOC 1014
BIOL 2104
Introduction to Biochemistry
Cell and Molecular Biology
BIOL 2004
Genetics
No known VT equivalent
PSYC 3014
BIOL
Medical Terminology
Abnormal Psychology
Microbiology
Health Professions: Pre-Physician Assistant
8
Prerequisites
Must be taken in
sequence.
MATH 1016
MATH 1205
BIOL 1005,1006 or
BIOL 1105, 1106
6
3
3
Prerequisites
BIOL 1005, 1006 or 1105, 1106 or
1205H, 1206H
CHEM 1016 or 1036 or 1056
BIOL 1005, 1006 or 1105, 1106 or
1205H, 1206H
CHEM 1016 or 1036 or 1056
PSYC 2004
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ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) or INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE (IB)
INFORMATION
Check with specific schools to make sure that credit from a community college, Advanced Placement, or International
Baccalaureate are accepted. Some schools prefer that science courses are taken at a four-year institution with a normal
credit load.
COMMUNITY COLLEGE / SUMMER COURSES INFORMATION
It is generally NOT recommended to take these prerequisite courses over the summer. Health professional schools
prefer the courses to be taken at a four-year institution with a normal academic load. Please check the schools of
interest for additional information on their requirements.
GET INVOLVED!! VT Student Organizations, Courses, and Opportunities
Course: UH 2004: Careers in Medicine 1 credit, sophomore or higher (Fall only)
Office of Health Professions Advising http://www.career.vt.edu/OHPA
Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-Med Fraternity http://www.alphaepsilondelta.org.vt.edu/
American Medical Student Association (AMSA) www.vtamsa.org.vt.edu
Minority Assoc of Pre-Health Students (MAPS) http://www.snma.org/premedical.php
Physician Assistant Club – Currently no club website available.
INFORMATION SESSIONS
Health Professions Group Information Sessions: Twice per week in the Smith Career Center
Online registration required, there will be specific sessions for Freshmen/Sophomores (Wednesdays at 8am) and
Juniors/Seniors (Fridays at 8am).
Check the OHPA website frequently for dates and times.
APPLICATION & ADMISSION INFORMATION

Admission Test: Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Students should check their schools of interest for the
average GRE scores. It is recommended that students take the GREin the spring or summer a year before planning
to apply to medical school.

GPA: 3.46 to be competitive. A minimum GPA of 3.0 in math and science pre-requisites is required. The GPA is
calculated several ways; overall, science, and non science GPA. Students should check on-line for the mean and
range of GPA for their schools of choice

Experience: Many PA programs require PA-related work experience with a large number of clinical hours.
Competitive applicants have clinical experience (paid or unpaid) which can take place in a health-related setting
(hospital, nursing home, free clinics) or research environment. The Office of Health Professions Advising will work
collaboratively with students to assist them gain the necessary practical experience. Certifications (EMT,
paramedic, nursing assistant, etc.) can help for gaining experience.

Application: Apply through CASPA - Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants
(http://www.caspaonline.org ), an online application process. Not all professional PA programs participate in
CASPA. Applicants who wish to apply to a NON-participating CASPA program must apply directly to the
institution using that PA program’s local application. Filling out of the physician assistants school application
through the online service is time consuming thus students should plan accordingly.

Campus Interviews: Conducted by the Health Professions Evaluation Committee in the spring of each academic
year (March - May)

PA School Interview: Some programs have interviews and others do not. Students should check with the specific
program into which they want to matriculate.
OTHER RESOURCES
Health Professions: Pre-Physician Assistant
July 2012
rev: JAW



www.ExploreHealthCareers.org, an exceptional resource for students
National Institutes of Health Career Finder, http://scienceeducation.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm
Physician Assistant Education Assoc. http://www.paeaonline.org
The Office of Health Professions Advising assists students and alumni pursuing a health care career in medicine,
dentistry, optometry, pharmacy, chiropractic, occupational therapy, nursing, physician's assistant, veterinary medicine,
or other graduate health professions.
Any student of Virginia Tech, regardless of major, can use the services of OHPA. Although the majority of pre health
professions students major in a science field, it is not required.
Students should meet with their departmental Academic Advisor on a regular basis to ensure requirements are being met
for graduation. The Office of Health Professions Advising is an important complement to academic advising.
Health Professions: Pre-Physician Assistant
July 2012
rev: JAW