Now that you have made the awesome decision to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant, it’s time to pick a great school to attend. The following is a list of the Top 10 Physician Assistant Program’s:
University of Iowa offers programs that are different compared with that offered by other institutions as its curriculum is designed to allow students to complete more than 60% of their didactic phase with sophomore medical students.
Duke University offers PA programs that are divided into two sections. One section focuses on pre-clinical studies whereas another focuses on clinical experiences.
Emory University offers a 28-month program with an emphasis on primary health care. The curriculum is divided into three phases – didactic, clinical and advanced didactic phase.
George Washington University offers 2 graduate-level programs – a traditional 2-year program and a 3-year joint program. One interesting note is that its curriculum includes a nationally recognized community service.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas offers a program that requires students to undergo four didactic semesters with one additional semester on clinical rotation.
University of Utah offers a program that is divided into two phases – a first year on didactic teaching and a second year on clinical training.
University of Washington offers programs for both bachelor and master’s degree. Students are expected to spend time working on projects, attending clinical sessions and studying various medical topics.
University of Colorado at Denver offers a program with an emphasis on pediatrics, though its curriculum also prepares students to treat patients of all ages.
Baylor College of Medicine offers PA program at the master’s level. The program takes 30 months to complete and consists of 2 phases – didactic and experiential learning phase.
Oregon Health and Sciences University offers a program that lasts for 26 months. The program consists of didactic and clinical phase.
There you have it folks! The list of the top 10 Physician Assistant Programs in the nation. Now if you choose not to apply or attend one of these schools, it doesn’t mean that you will not get a quality education elsewhere. I just felt it necessary to do a top 10 list.
P.S. I would love your feedback on this list, please comment below. Also be sure to share this post on facebook and twitter! 
Wishing you all the best,
Dave
Good to see two Texas schools on here: UT Texas Southwestern and Baylor.
@David. Yep, Texas is well represented!
Great list Dave! I was glad to see three of the schools I applied to on it!! Pete
@Pete. Great! Please keep me posted on how that goes. If I can be of any assistance let me know.
California got no love on this list. What schools out here are good?
great info dave..i am foreign medical graduate and am thinking about applying for pa school..is it too late to apply now?
please advice
@Tina: Take a look at the application deadlines for the PA schools in which you want to apply. Best of luck to you.
i am an international student from nepal. Currently I am majoring in Community health and Biology with emphasis is health and medical science at Minnesota state university , moorhead. i want to be a physician assistant and i want to and can study hard for that but the problem is i am an international student , they dont offer me any kind of financial aid and i cannot afford the tution fees. Can u suggest me any ideas of loan for international students. I am so desparate to be a PA in my life.
I currently live in the Jacksonville Florida area. I have an AA in Liberal Arts graduated in December with my pre reqs covered in Anatomy & Phys I & II and Chem 1020 & 1025. I have also taken Human Growth & Development and Psychology. I am stuck in a rut because like you said not only do I want to help people but I want to personally follow their cases on their whole history in order to treat the whole patient and not just give them a bandaide and say see you later. My passion is to completely involve the patient with their total care so they can take control of their rights along with the doctors. I have applied to be a Surg Tech and a Resp Therapist but that is not my true hearts desire. I came across your website for a reason and I am hoping you can tell me what it is that I am missing. I do have a husband and 4 kids to consider so is it the right time for me? Is there a great school here? OR do I have to cross the border into Georgia and with a 3.5 GPA is that even good enough to apply? I have found no one to answer me until I saw this site. Thank you, Sincerely lost in Jacksonville-Jenn
Hi Dave,
I was wondering about any information you might have regarding the PA program at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. The clinical work is done at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
I also wondered if the information used to rank the PA programs was available to a hopeful student like myself?
Thanks!
Kurt
What about South College in Knoxville TN? It just got accredited in 2007 and I wanted to know, since it seems rather low in the rankings, if it would be a bad idea to go there?
Hey Dave,
What about Mercer University in GA