• PA students casting practice

    Be prepared

    Our program is intensive, but when you're done, you'll be ready to work in a variety of clinical settings.

  • simulated patient

    High impact

    The PA profession is high-touch and high-impact. You'll find our graduates in clinics nationwide.

  • students in a lab

    Faculty to student ratio

    Our cohorts are small. That means you'll get quality instruction from our quality faculty.

About our program

The WMU Department of Physician Assistant offers an entry-level, full-time, 24-month, professional education curriculum that leads to a Master of Science in Medicine (MSM). After graduation you'll be prepared to take the certifying exam to become a PA.

  • The first year focuses primarily on classroom and laboratory instruction, and includes a component that addresses research issues pertinent to physician assistants.
  • The second, or clinical year, includes a variety of experiences in community teaching hospitals, clinics and physician offices.

Learn more about our rigorous curriculum

What is a physician assistant?

What is a PA?

Physician assistants are medical professionals who diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications and often serve as a patient’s principal health care provider. With thousands of hours of medical training, PAs are versatile and collaborative. We practice in every state and in every medical setting and specialty, improving health care access and quality.

See the AAPA's flier

Information Sessions

pa student

We are pleased to host virtual information sessions for the 2024-25 application cycle. The sessions are held monthly via WebEx. More information can be found below. If you have questions outside of an information session please utilize our department email: pa-info@wmich.edu. This inbox is monitored regularly. 

News and Events

Holistic admissions

The Department of Physician Assistant has utilized a holistic process for the last two years. The process requires more time and effort, but the result has been positive.

While it remains largely white, the profession has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent years. Holistic admissions processes will only further aid that movement toward diversity.

Candidates are scored on more than 50 individual data points that assess academic ability, recommendations, grit and other non-academic attributes in a scoring system that more accurately reflects a whole person. Undergrad GPA is one factor, but there is no standardized test requirement.

LEARN MORE

Differentiators

Student involvement

Our students are actively engaged in our program and in our community. The WMU PA Student Society is a registered student organization at the University. Our students regularly compete (and win) quiz bowls at the MAPA annual event. And they're community advocates, leading donation drives each year around the holidays.

  • 2018 Pre-PA students

    WMU Pre-PA Student Society

  • PA class of 2020

    WMU PA Student Society

Our facilities

The College of Health and Human Services building is on WMU's East Campus. While it's not centrally located, the building's many amenities make it a comfortable home for our students.

  • simulated patient
  • students at the anatomage table