Q. IS THE PA PROGRAM ACCREDITED?
A. Yes.
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Canisius University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Canisius University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be July 2035. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-canisius-college.
Q. WHEN DOES YOUR PROGRAM START? DO YOU HAVE A ROLLING ADMISSIONS CYCLE?
A. The program begins classes for each new cohort in January of each year. The application process begins in April prior to the anticipated start date, and we do not have a rolling admissions cycle at this time. WE DO NOT OFFER A FALL START FOR THIS PROGRAM.
Q. HOW LONG IS THE PA PROGRAM?
A. Seven full-time semesters. Classes begin at the beginning of the spring semester each year (January). The first 3 semesters are spent in didactic education, with the last 4 semesters spent in clinical rotations.
Q. HOW MANY STUDENTS ARE ACCEPTED?
A. The program will accept no more than 30 students per year. The program welcomes a new cohort in January of each year.
Q. DO YOU ACCEPT OUT-OF-STATE RESIDENTS?
A. Yes. Preference is not given to New York State residents. International students are also considered. Additional admissions information for international students can be found on the admissions tab of our webpage.
Q. WHERE ARE YOUR CLINICAL ROTATION SITES?
A. All of our current clinical rotation sites are located within a 60-mile radius (approximately) from the Canisius University campus in the Western New York region. We have a number of very strong affiliations with highly respected hospitals, groups, and clinicians. In line with our program mission, students must perform at least one rotation in an underserved clinic. Students are not permitted to have clinical experiences outside of this radius/out of state at this time.
**It is important to note that students in this program are not required or allowed to solicit their own clinical rotation sites. We are very detailed and serious about our affiliation process to ensure students will have a safe and adequate learning opportunity for each clinical experience. Students may be allowed to request or suggest a site, particularly for their chosen elective experiences, but placement is not guaranteed.
Q. DO I NEED TO HOLD ANY CERTIFICATION OR QUALIFICATION IN ORDER TO BE ACCEPTED?
A. No, but healthcare experience is required. If you desire to be an EMT, paramedic, LPN, RN, PTA, etc., then feel free to pursue those career paths. You must satisfy our 500 hours of direct patient contact to apply. This is a competitive process, so anything you do above the minimum will improve your chance of selection.
Q. WHAT TYPE OF SETTING IS BEST TO OBTAIN DIRECT PATIENT CONTACT HOURS?
A. We require the applicant to volunteer/observe/work in a human patient care environment with direct patient contact for at least 500 hours prior to turning in an application. Examples of experiences are: licensed or credentialed positions (LPN, RN, EMT, etc.), internationally trained physicians, occupational or respiratory therapy, physical therapy aid, etc. Healthcare experience quality points are assigned based on decision making capacity in experiences.
Q. IF I ALREADY HOLD A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER CERTIFICATE OR LICENSE CAN I BE EXCUSED FROM CERTAIN CLASSES OR ROTATIONS?
A. No, but prior healthcare experience is beneficial. We do not offer advanced placement in this program. All courses must be completed and in chronological order.
Q. IS FINANCIAL AID AVAILABLE?
A. Yes. Learn more on our financial aid page.
Q. DO I NEED TO TAKE THE GRE?
A. No. We do not require any standardized testing for our applicants.
Q. CAN I SEND YOU MY TRANSCRIPT TO REVIEW?
A. Transcripts are reviewed via CASPA, once the application is verified and the supplemental application is received. We are not able to review transcripts prior to the official review in CASPA.
Q. CAN I SCHEDULE A MEETING TO DISCUSS MY APPLICATION?
A. We are not able to meet with applicants due to the volume of requests.
Q. DO I HAVE TO HAVE ALL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS COMPLETED TO APPLY?
A. Yes, though the program will consider exceptions on a rare basis, all requirements should be completed by the application deadline.
Q. I OBTAINED MY DEGREE/COMPLETED MY PREREQUISITE COURSEWORK SEVERAL YEARS AGO. IS THERE A TIME LIMIT ON COURSE COMPLETION?
A. Prerequisite sciences must be completed within the past seven years with some exceptions considered, but general coursework or other degrees may not have a time limit. This is a very rigorous curriculum, and students may be at a disadvantage if they have not been in the learning environment for several years.
Q. THE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY I ATTEND DOES NOT OFFER ONE OF YOUR PREREQUISITE COURSES. WHAT SHOULD I DO?
A. You must have all prerequisite courses to be eligible for the program. If they are not offered at your university, you will need to complete the courses at another school. We strongly encourage you to work with your school's Pre-health/Pre-PA advisor if available. If not, and you are uncertain whether a course qualifies as a prerequisite, you may submit the course syllabus to the Program email at @email for review. We will do this for one or two courses, but not for a full transcript review as mentioned above.
Q. CAN I ATTEND THE PROGRAM ON A PART-TIME BASIS?
A. No. The courses are sequenced around a full-time schedule. No mechanism exists for students to attend part-time.
Q. WILL I BE ABLE TO WORK WHILE IN SCHOOL?
A. Due to the heavy class (approximately 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday) and study schedule, we do not recommend that you work while in the program. Students have a difficult time scheduling their lives around study, class, and family without having to include a work schedule. Some students have been able to work part-time on weekends on an "as needed" basis; however, we do not recommend this. Students are not permitted to work for the program in any fashion, including instruction.
Q. WHAT TYPE OF DEGREE DO I NEED TO APPLY?
A. A Baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited United States college or university, or international equivalent, must be achieved by the application deadline. Because of the required prerequisite courses, most applicants will have a science-related degree but this is not required. The requirements for acceptance to this program are also listed on our Admissions page.
Q. HOW DO YOU CALCULATE THE CUMULATIVE GRADE POINT AVERAGE IF I REPEATED A COURSE?
A. We include all courses in the calculation, even those courses repeated for a better grade when determining your final cumulative grade point average. We strongly encourage you to repeat any courses where you scored less than a B, but will consider all prerequisites with a grade of C or higher.
Q. DOES THE PROGRAM PROVIDE HEALTH CARE FOR STUDENTS OR WILL I NEED TO FIND A LOCAL PROVIDER FOR MY HEALTH NEEDS?
A. The program faculty are prohibited from providing care to students at any time other than in an emergency. Students are required to have their own health insurance and to maintain all health requirements throughout the duration of the program. Health requirements are due prior to matriculation and annually after, to include all recommended vaccination by the CDC, and NYS Dept. of Health. The program will do our best to assist students with finding local care in addition to services offered by the Canisius University Student Health Center.
If you have additional questions regarding anything that is not found on our webpage, please email the program at @email.