International Graduates

Policies for applicants to the Physician Assistant Program who have completed their degree outside the United States are as follows:

  1. Applicants must have their transcripts evaluated by the World Education Services (WES) to determine if the degree is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in the United States. The program will not accept any other transcript evaluation outside of WES. If the evaluation determines work done outside the U.S. is equivalent to a bachelor’s degree (or Doctor of Medicine) the applicant has completed the bachelor’s degree requirement for our program. If the evaluation does not determine equivalency to a bachelor’s degree the applicant is deficient in that requirement and must complete his/her bachelor’s degree. Degree equivalency and medical school GPA (if applicable and explained below) are the only items of importance the program will consider on the WES evaluation.
  2. Applicants who have attended and/or completed a foreign or domestic medical school must have achieved a 3.0 overall GPA (program will use WES evaluation for GPA calculation for foreign schools), no history of dismissal from the medical program, and/or no failures on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE).
  3. All prerequisite coursework requirements must be taken in the United States regardless if the applicant has completed them in another country. Specific coursework on the WES evaluation will not be considered. For example, if the applicant has completed medical school in another country, he/she is still required to take all medical core prerequisites for our program regardless if they have been completed within a foreign medical program. There are NO exceptions to this policy and the program will not grant an exception to this policy even if asked.
  4. Foreign graduates must complete the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The program will not allow applicants to substitute an English course or certificate in place of TOEFL scores. The MU PA Program requires TOEFL scores.
  5. Foreign graduates must also complete 1,000 hours of direct patient contact, meet selection factors, and follow the same application process through CASPA.