Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. In consideration of the current health crisis, New York Institute of Technology's Department of Physician Assistant Studies is implementing several accommodations for our current students and for applicants to the program.

New York Institute of Technology Physician Assistant students who successfully complete the program graduate with a Master of Science (M.S.) in Physician Assistant Studies. Graduates are eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE). After successfully completing the PANCE, they will be eligible to apply for licensure and/or registration in all 50 states, the United States military, the federal government both domestically and internationally, some United States Territories, and some foreign countries that utilize physician assistants. Graduates may also be eligible to prescribe in all settings and be eligible to apply through the United States Department of Justice for a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) permit to prescribe controlled substances.

We want you to be successful in this Physician Assistant program. Therefore, for applicants to our graduate program, we look for a bachelor's degree with a strong emphasis in the sciences, along with demonstrated strong performances in multiple math and science courses in the same semester. We have found that this is the best predictor of success. Candidates from non-science backgrounds will need to compete by proving through post-graduate academic coursework that they are able to handle an intensive science-based curriculum. Additionally, their commitment to the health field should be demonstrated through a solid history of work and volunteer experiences, and community service.

The program admits roughly 60 students every fall. Priority in filling those seats will be given to students from the six-year B.S./M.S. program who have met the requirements to transition into the graduate phase. The remaining seats will be open to external applicants.

To give you the best possible chance of success, we urge you in the strongest possible terms not to work, except for the summer sessions when classes are not in session. It is almost impossible to work while classes are in session and even more difficult during the clinical clerkship year.

Please view the Estimated Program Cost page.

The PA profession and the New York Tech PA program is an excellent fit for veterans, especially if you had served in a medical-related capacity. We offer a number of veteran-specific benefits, and our Yellow Ribbon Program is being expanded to cover all costs not covered by the GI bill. Do feel free to also contact our Student Veteran Organization at svo@nyit.edu.

Currently we have no part-time option available.

All prerequisites are detailed on our admissions requirements page. By providing this website as a resource, the program expects candidates to be able to use the available information to evaluate their own transcripts and ensure that they have the required pre-requisites. Due to the high volume of applicants to the program it is simply impossible to evaluate prospective applicants' transcripts on an individual and line-by-line basis. We especially encourage anyone with questions to attend our information sessions, held periodically throughout the year. At these sessions, prospective applicants will get a chance to meet members of the department faculty and administration and learn more about the program.

See our list of upcoming information sessions

Applicants are also welcomed to further explore the rest of the website for additional information regarding our program, including our mission, PANCE pass rates, as well a listing of our faculty and their credentials.

You may also take an actual or virtual tour of our Long Island campus.

New York Tech's Physician Assistant program participates in the Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). Applications must be completed online at https://portal.caspaonline.org. Candidates who have already completed a CASPA application for other PA programs for this current cycle may add New York Tech as a recipient of the same application.

No, we do not practice rolling admissions. Candidates should e-submit their applications by October 1.

A supplemental application is not required.

Please check the progress of your CASPA application on the CASPA portal. When your application is marked as "Verified", that is an indication that it is now fully processed by CASPA and available for viewing by the admissions committee through the application portal. Once your application is labeled as "Verified", it is safe to assume that all your materials have been received because CASPA will not process and verify your application for the program until it is complete.

Please note that even if the e-submit deadline has been met, CASPA may still be prevented from processing your application if all the required documents are not received in a timely manner. It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure that CASPA receives the documents.

After reviewing your application, if the admissions committee feels that supplemental documents are needed in order to render a decision, you will be notified by email. To ensure that you do not miss out on any of our emails, please regularly check your spam folder for emails from either CASPA or New York Tech.  When you find such emails in your spam folder, please enter those email addresses into your safe contact list.  As an extra precaution, do continue to check your spam folder on a regular basis.  Also, do ensure that CASPA has your most up-to-date contact information.

Initial phases of our evaluation will be based on comparisons of academic performance (particularly in the sciences) within a highly competitive pool of applicants. Subsequently, the narrowed down pool will be evaluated based on letters of recommendation, the quality and number of direct patient contact hours, your personal narrative, and overall commitment to the health field and/or community. Based on the scores received, the top scoring candidates will be invited to interview. For these candidates, further scoring will be based on the candidate’s interview performance and onsite essay.

Through all stages of the application process, including decisions, notifications will be sent by email. As a candidate, it is your responsibility to ensure communications are not missed, by regularly checking your inbox and spam folder for emails from either CASPA or New York Tech. When you find such emails in your spam folder, please enter those email addresses into your safe contact list. As an extra precaution, continue to check your spam folder on a regular basis. If there is a change in your email address, please notify both the program and CASPA.

Once decisions are available, notifications will be emailed, updating all candidates on their status. Typically, selected candidates will receive an invitation to attend an interview session in the months of September through February. All other applicants will be informed that they have been placed on a wait list or have been eliminated from further consideration, based on their scores. If any additional interview spots become available, applicants from the wait list will be invited to interview. Each application will be given the fullest possible review in the time allowed and weighed in relation to the entire pool of applicants. For this reason, please note that you may not receive a decision until after the October 1 deadline. However, please check your email regularly after submitting your application, as the admissions committee may contact you to request further information.

Please do not send any documents directly to the program as they will not be viewed by the admissions committee and will be discarded. Candidates may upload up to five additional documents of their choice to their CASPA file, in the "Other" option of the Program Documents section. Do not upload official transcripts or letters of recommendation from a PA, DO or MD—these should be sent directly to CASPA, following correct procedure. You will be evaluated based on the information that has been posted to your CASPA application. If you are selected for an interview, you may bring with you any additional information that you feel will help the admission committee in their final decision. If your CASPA application lists pending grades, please bring any updated transcripts with you at the time of the interview.

You need to ensure that at least one PA/DO/MD letter of recommendation is submitted electronically to CASPA using their Evaluator Portal (Please visit CASPA's Applicant Help Center for further instructions). A CASPA application that does not include a PA/DO/MD letter will be disqualified. Additional letters may be uploaded to your CASPA file, in the "Other" option of the Program Documents section.

As soon as "verified" candidates become available through CASPA, the admissions committee will begin evaluating and ranking them relative to their cohort of applicants. In September, the department will begin emailing a percentage of candidates with invitations to interview. Interviews are scheduled on selected dates from September through February.

Within two weeks of interviewing, a few candidates with the highest scores may receive an immediate offer to enter the program. However, to be fair to all interviewees, the class will only be filled after the interview season is completed.

Our applicant pool is extremely competitive. From the pool, the highest scoring applicants are invited to interview. Therefore, the completion of minimum requirements does not guarantee admission or an interview.

Competition for seats is fierce in most PA programs and New York Tech is no exception. Candidates are evaluated based on combination of factors, with an emphasis on strong performances in the math and biological sciences within a rigorous curriculum. Letters of recommendation should be from individuals who know the applicant well and over a period of time that is adequate to provide a complete evaluation of the candidate. We seek unconditionally positive recommendations that are provided without any reservations. Lastly, we evaluate the depth and breadth of health care patient contact experiences as well as the candidate's commitment to the health field and community service. All the above-mentioned criteria are weighed as a whole, therefore it would be very difficult to point to the specific reasons behind a decision.

No advanced standing or challenges to courses are allowed. All students in the program must complete all 98 credits by attending and passing the courses in our curriculum.

The program does not re-calculate GPAs. All applicants will be evaluated purely on the content of their CASPA application. If you are invited to an interview, you may bring all additional material that you feel may enhance your application. Please submit those documents to your interviewer.

No, our program does not accept transfers.

When completing your CASPA application, you are required to self-report any felonies or misdemeanors. An actual background check is only required after the candidate has been accepted into the program. What is reported on background checks varies depending upon the state the offense and therefore disposition or conviction occurred in. As an example, all felonies will be reported regardless of the class felony or the state. Examples of felonies may include: murder, rape, aggravated assault, or battery, arson, burglaries, fraud, manufacture, sale or possession with intent to distribute certain types and/or quantities of illegal drugs, perjury, and more. What is considered a felony may vary state by state but are all considered serious crimes. Contrast this with minor infractions such as parking tickets which are never reported, regardless of the state. However, some states will report misdemeanors, while other states may not, and what rises to a felony versus a misdemeanor varies by state. Depending on the jurisdiction, examples of misdemeanors may include: petty theft, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, trespassing, vandalism, and marijuana convictions. All applicants should be aware that in spite of the fact that New York Tech has accepted you, the final component of your education necessitates clinical placement followed by successful completion of all clerkships. If you cannot be placed on clerkships because of a conviction, or there is an interval conviction while you are a student in the program, this may negatively impact your ability to complete your required education. Prospective students who are concerned about a criminal conviction are urged to contact an attorney and the relevant state and/or federal agencies to inquire whether their criminal record may adversely affect the issuance of the credentials needed to practice as a physician assistant.

First, contact CASPA to see whether they will correct the information. Perform the following two actions ONLY if CASPA tells you that an update is not possible and wants you to contact the program instead:

1. Upload a statement or the document to the Documents tab in the Program Material section of your CASPA application. After uploading, be sure to click on Update My Application on the main page, or your update will not be visible to the program.
2. After uploading, email pa@nyit.edu. The subject line should be Application Update. The email should contain your name, CASPA ID number, a list of the documents recently uploaded, and ONLY the message "The above documents have been uploaded to my CASPA application." Do not provide any explanations in the email, as it will not be relayed to the admissions committee.

If your application had not yet been reviewed, be assured that the new documents will be taken into consideration as part of the evaluation process. If your application had already been reviewed, it will be placed back on the queue to be re-evaluated.

Please view this guide on matching your courses to our prerequisites.

Applicants must have at least 8 out of the 12 prerequisite courses completed by our application deadline. The remaining four must be listed as pending on your CASPA application, and only two of them can be pending as late as the spring of the intended year of entry. While a candidate can be interviewed, only a conditional admission can be given to candidates with pending prerequisites. We will accept courses completed at any regionally-accredited institution in the U.S. or Canada, with a grade of B or better. Non-prerequisite courses do not have a time limit.

If your bachelor's degree is pending, you are qualified to apply as long as the degree will be completed before matriculation. Also see our policy regarding pending prerequisites. If you are a recent high school graduate, please view the requirements for the 6-year combined Life Sciences, B.S./Physician Assistant Studies, M.S. program.

Otherwise, you must have a bachelor's degree (from any regionally accredited institution in the U.S./Canada) to apply to our PA program. A good option is New York Tech's Health Sciences, B.S. program, with a curriculum which allows students to complete all of the prerequisites needed to apply to the PA program after graduation. Although completion of the Health Sciences program is not a guarantee of entry into the PA program, strong students are able to compete on equal standing within our competitive applicant pool. A significant advantage is the guidance you will receive from advisors who are knowledgeable concerning requirements for PA studies at New York Tech. Please contact the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences department directly at 516.686.3803 for any questions regarding the Health Science, B.S. program, or view their admission requirements.

The program accepts prerequisite courses completed at accredited 2-year community colleges. Online courses are also acceptable (including those with virtual labs), but must be completed through regionally-accredited colleges/universities. Please be careful as there are many online study providers that do not meet the accreditation criteria.

Please note that the 10-year age limit for courses are also applicable to AP credits.

The admissions committee will accept AP credits only if the candidate has uploaded a copy of their AP Score Report to the Documents tab in the Program Material section in CASPA by the October 1 deadline. The report should be obtained from The College Board. Based on the report, only courses that received a score of 4 or 5 will be accepted for the fulfillment of our prerequisites. If you are invited to interview, bring along a sealed official copy of your AP Score Report. It is advisable to order the report early, as it may take a few weeks to arrive. In addition, enter the course into your CASPA application, as part of the transcript listing for the college that accepted that course as a transfer credit, and ensure that CASPA receives all your college transcripts.

If your AP scores are already archived by the College Board, use the form provided on this page to request that a report be sent directly to you. Once received, upload a scanned copy of the report to the Documents tab on CASPA, as instructed above. Please note that, without exceptions, if the AP score report has not been uploaded by October 1, your AP courses cannot be applied towards a prerequisite. The only next opportunity to provide your AP scores will be in person, if you are invited to interview.

Prerequisites can be completed at any regionally- accredited institution, including New York Tech. However, please be aware your application will not be given special consideration over candidates who completed their prerequisites at other colleges. If you are interested in taking the courses at New York Tech, please contact the Office of Admissions and indicate that you are interested in registering for courses as a 'non-matriculated student': 1.800.345.NYIT (1-800-345-6948).

Please view this guide on matching your courses to our prerequisites.

Any course can be re-taken once to achieve the minimum grade in order to satisfy a prerequisite. A candidate is allowed to repeat any course a single time each, with no repercussions, to replace courses that are more than 10 years old or to improve the grades. We use CASPA-calculated GPAs. In their calculations, CASPA includes every course listed in your transcripts. When a course is re-taken, both grades will be included in the calculations. Please view CASPA's explanation regarding GPA calculations.

If the lecture and lab are separate, the B- minimum required grade applies to BOTH the lecture and lab, without combining.

Direct patient care contact may be paid or on a volunteer basis. We specifically require direct personal contact with patients who are being treated in a healthcare setting within the United States and Canada, most commonly in a hospital or clinic, but may also be in other settings such as encountered by a paramedic. It is the applicant's responsibility to contact these facilities to arrange the completion of these hours. The program will not be able to provide any assistance or recommend any facilities. Click here for a list acceptable experiences.

Candidates applying to enter the BS/MS program in Fall 2021 may request a waiver of the required 50 patient care hours due to difficulties in obtaining experiences during the current health crisis. Please contact the Office of Admissions to request this waiver.

If waived, the hours you have already accumulated may be submitted now to be counted towards the 250 hours you will be required to complete during the undergraduate phase of the program.

Please see further down in this section for the required format of the verification letter.

If you are applying to the MS program, do not submit any letters of verification unless you have been invited to interview.

Prior to reaching the interview phase, candidates may self-report updated hours by uploading a statement to the Program Materials section of the CASPA application, in the "Other" section.

If you are selected for an interview, you will be required to submit a verification of your patient care activities according to the procedure outlined below.

BSMS candidates and MS candidates who have been invited to interview are required to submit verification of their patience care experience. Click here for the format and procedure.

No. Please do not submit any GRE scores or any other test scores as they will not be included as part of our evaluation of candidates.

After carefully reading the Admission Requirements and the Frequently Asked Questions on this page, if you have additional questions, please email us at pa@nyit.edu. Due to the volume of emails received by the program, please allow for 1–3 business days for the response.