Frequently Asked Questions

 We accept a total of 75 students per year. 25 +/- 5 students are accepted from Marquette undergraduates with the other 50 +/- 5 students admitted from outside Marquette.

 A minimum total GPA of 3.0 as calculated by CASPA is required.

 Application to PA programs across the country is highly competitive. Applicants are encouraged to reflect on their application and consider ways that they may improve. Applicants are encouraged to reapply.  

 Shadowing is strongly encouraged, but not mandatory. It shows the admission committee that you have made an effort to explore the profession.

Although there are no requirements regarding the format or content of the three reference letters we require, we do have some suggestions for who these references might come from.

• A reference who is familiar with your current academic record and can comment on your academic potential. This would ideally be someone who has taken your course and can comment on your preparation for the rigors of an intense professional academic program.
• A reference who is familiar with your desire to become a PA and your work ethic. This would ideally be from someone in the healthcare field with whom you have worked, or worked for, and can comment on your work ethic, passion for healthcare, etc.
• A reference who can speak to your character and why you would excel as a PA. Ideally, this would come from someone in the community who can comment on your character, goals, etc. Note, references from family members are not acceptable . 

No. Marquette PA adheres to ARC-PA accreditation standard A3.08, which states that PA students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors.

All students meet 1:1 with an assigned clinical faculty advisor in the didactic portion of the curriculum. These meetings help the clinical education team to better understand students' expectations and interests in the clinical year as they pertain to elective supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). 

Clinical students should expect to spend approximately half the clinical year outside of the metro Milwaukee area (>60 miles). Housing costs are not covered during students' "distant" supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs), and the program estimates that most students spend around $8,000 on housing and travel during this portion of the curriculum.

Wonderful! The clinical faculty work closely with students who provide preceptor leads, which are submitted during the didactic portion of the curriculum. Once preceptors are vetted for preceptorship in compliance with ARC-PA standards (A2.01, A2.14, A2.16, B3.02, B3.06), an affiliation agreement is secured, and the program then works to integrate the new preceptor into that student's schedule. 

 Please contact Lori Kazaks with any additional questions!