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Physician Assistant

The Early Assurance degree program is offered in educational collaboration with Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.

University of Minnesota Rochester (UMR) offers an Early Assurance Physician Assistant Master’s degree program in collaboration with Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences.

This program is designed to save students time and money as they prepare for a challenging and rewarding career as a Physician Assistant (PA). UMR's Early Assurance PA program is designed for incoming first-year students only.   

Incoming first-year students apply to both UMR's undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (BSHS) program and the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences (MCSHS) Master's degree PA program. In addition to the normal admissions process, these students will be subject to higher standards and must complete an interview with the MCSHS PA program faculty.

Students will complete the first three years of their coursework at the University of Minnesota Rochester in a specially-designed track that prepares them for the rigorous demands of the PA Master's program. During their fourth year, students will take courses at MCSHS in the PA program that will also count as their senior Capstone experience to complete their BSHS degree at UMR. Finally, in their fifth year students will complete their Master of Health Sciences in PA Studies with MCSHS.

During the first three years, students in this program will benefit from regular contact with the faculty and PAs at Mayo Clinic. This includes opportunities to observe, shadow and interact.

Learn more about the MCSHS PA Program*, and take the first steps toward becoming a PA.

**In partnership with Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences, this program is open to U.S. workers in the four categories below. Therefore, visa sponsorship is not available.

  • U.S. citizens
  • U.S. nationals
  • Lawful permanent residents
  • Asylees and refugees

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Ideal Candidate

  • Applicants must be an incoming first-year student
  • 3.5 minimum high school GPA and STEM GPA (math and sciences courses)
  • Strong knowledge of and passion for the PA profession
  • It is recommended that high school students shadow/observe a PA while still in high school to become more familiar with the profession
  • Strong composite and math ACT score, ideal candidates will have an ACT score of 24 and above
  • Preference given to students who can demonstrate the following:
    • Maturity
    • Compassion and service
    • Resilience
    • Leadership
    • Commitment to practice locally
    • Military service

How to Apply?

  • Apply to the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (BSHS) program at the University of Minnesota Rochester during your senior year of high school by selecting the major Pre-Physician Assistant. Apply by December 1.
  • Ask your science teacher to complete the evaluation form. Upon consent, you should list the teacher's email in your BSHS application for the Early Assurance PA program. We will send a link to your teacher on your behalf. It is in your best interest to follow up with your teacher about evaluation completion.
  • Students will first be reviewed for BSHS.
  • Following December 1, finalists will be invited to interview for the six available seats. Interviews will be conducted in January with final selections made in early February.

View the Interview Preparation Worksheet [PDF] for interview practice. 

Application questions

Applicants will need to submit answers to the following questions for the 2025-2026 application year*:

  • Tell us what motivated you to choose a career as a physician assistant and how this major aligns with your long-term career aspirations.
  • Describe a specific experience where you demonstrated compassion, resilience or integrity? How did you handle the situation and what was the outcome?
  • Describe an instance where your skills or expertise influenced a team’s decision. What steps did you take, and what was the result?
 
*Questions are subject to change annually

Accreditation Notice

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Mayo Clinic School of Health Sciences Physician Assistant Studies Program sponsored by the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2034. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

Learn more about the program’s accreditation history.